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The following is a hutong discussion promoted by me on a Chinese history oriented forum:
Me:
As Beijing has been the capital of China for more than 800 years, its1 P% }5 e: j) o! X
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider: r! c/ g" Z6 ^ Y7 t
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
4 m, l4 d# u Ccity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.9 {5 \* U7 U- A1 n( k& k8 |/ \
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,: _, L5 X9 C' H+ ^8 I
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
5 a J1 r/ k& n, ?- \8 AManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
0 N+ W- f4 [. Q( o+ C: D( B3 shutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
! V6 \8 A) E4 h9 [+ Jeach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera% O/ f' _6 {* D2 }- n4 B$ L
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is9 {+ {6 R$ Y; N
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
! l. m$ x" G9 Tdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and* F. _" A& @: x! I+ z, J2 N
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I; w5 Z Q' O2 Z% }4 i
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great- d' V: Q/ J$ X6 _- r' s& i# k
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,# o F1 b' h" T. W3 R4 Q7 ]# |+ `: {
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
" v9 Z& W. k/ x- ~has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment" t) K/ K3 D, M9 S8 j* Q& @. i E* C
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that1 y7 A, j3 X; X" Q& K; r8 F
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are5 W) l. p. G* w/ C
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
3 G+ f& x' n6 l$ Y1 tsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
; X! q8 b ~- N8 k0 n7 uwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
3 ^5 f1 X. C+ m. _" D$ `3 H5 jto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is# k; s! e# u( ^
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,. `! q, o& F+ y5 T1 U }
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
1 X& C' ~; ^/ Sstill living in compact apartment cells, Olympic Games will still be held in Beijing if four-combinations still stand.
Kimchee:
I think it's ashame how historical sights are destroyed due to2 i: D- j8 n/ R8 w
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
s% G2 X4 a7 I+ S. }) l/ x& G1 T: Mmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was8 `# ` ?$ T9 E1 U) r
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a4 K5 r5 R H9 c5 R+ L
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
- i& m/ h2 B3 Q2 l- Jthe street is still there, but I thought it was a crime to do this.
Ashura:
While I do agree and support the perservation of properties of cultural) [( n& {% D, @
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
( [3 i: @0 u* idevelopment.
Hutongs
* W% F1 S4 B! O" U# G, tin the old days were residential area where people actually lived2 [5 R! h4 H; p d I4 k9 S
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions9 W1 f( m: k0 B2 j: e9 J
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
) w+ O0 _$ Y! M8 k$ o W/ uhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
8 ~' A, k2 D4 o, C+ cwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs./ r6 \ Y% y0 {8 ^3 h9 e1 U
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
9 ?6 ~% O- [$ Bto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used6 V4 E& v6 H) c1 I$ u# {
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses. Z8 ?$ ]; q( k- x: G$ V9 b
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
# E( ]9 |, a" k4 Iunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to3 G0 v/ c7 Y/ |3 u
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
$ v: { Y/ M( L( O5 c; z) }5 ~3 Chutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the- e N% T! o4 X% ` \# {/ {, `
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the: m8 T) ?7 m6 P( {0 q
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
" Q& N# v9 \3 e5 p5 Z. }renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong5 U9 w7 E2 i) ~( P5 X) r# [
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how/ W' @ u' P2 }. i. k
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
0 N* V2 m' U3 {. R3 V; rtorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished+ C; P4 }7 v8 j1 M+ j
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".0 O3 H* O2 w$ `! ]$ G
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
8 C5 I# H( L1 W, ] {, D+ Q( yaligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially( r: z' |. k6 O* C; U$ B; L7 H" y- |! x
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image- A* D, t B$ y0 K
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
5 d2 R. f( l- F5 s0 e/ U3 X- AHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
2 F! T# L6 J$ R, l h3 Epeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
4 M! t, \7 S1 ?' h) Dmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
+ w$ D( ~+ ?3 Pof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before, v* k c+ t/ ~$ J- }4 `9 i
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
* n [# C1 g0 Apeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise9 f( I8 f$ d+ J7 o' Y
apartments are the way to go? No.
4 l8 x y) v' J0 B
( z3 s; x% h$ r7 x2 @+ D) C
+ M' V! V, w3 Y+ a, k
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the! T* h4 f+ W! N. a! I. R, p/ w
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this3 Y- B$ B* R z9 G
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make: S6 e8 `$ p3 U* J
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so" F p. I' T6 {$ }; V
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant2 D& Z" I- g- c" J l7 t- N- e
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
7 E8 i5 Y, p" `" E* \% b8 I% JBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is8 ^7 |; }! R2 C |( L; l
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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