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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, its
+ h, M( s" O5 D9 @! L8 v8 Y7 C1 \( Karchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider- ]7 Y' V4 A" B
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian" v P% a6 s8 G, A* ~
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
; S6 r, ~1 Y) F* _According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,- k' V; ?; Z& U" z
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of4 V' b& `& {4 K8 S, M; p" E2 V
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
, b0 z0 c# h5 Ihutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among1 S) g+ V* o m2 {
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera$ R: v) g; W2 g, G( h6 k1 S) m1 }
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is% F! K9 I/ M3 {7 l
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are5 Q) E k1 y: \+ a. x1 r+ T% f
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and% J' b* F' D. g6 V
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I/ J0 S% T2 H* f2 m1 K
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great) i l7 H0 _$ g, \
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
4 [1 ]3 c* S/ z0 Yand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
b: r7 p! R6 k( e, o5 ehas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
. Q# [" f7 h( B1 P4 b& z, Nof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that1 ^$ X3 G2 D" O6 {
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
i! N7 c/ n }. `only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
/ ^8 M4 _6 I& Csort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
) D% m, l# V3 g; r7 ?. ^# uwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move7 O7 J7 ?5 i# Z1 l+ T
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is% J/ o! Q7 X* O5 F1 W0 y
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,# O T; u; Y9 p0 v o$ w7 B" z
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are7 z% N8 ]0 |& Q0 C1 m, O5 B' {
still 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 to0 _% a! Y6 I# n% F5 g2 N! |( K) c
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
) S( H7 s* N4 o' wmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was* a' o5 @* @& A1 w9 j
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a( B' e0 `5 U6 [* m' q
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
" {4 s: R/ i4 \7 f% G$ U% `the 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
6 \: H5 {2 N/ R7 L* ?4 c- |importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for( u. K& M+ J: u* T q
development.
Hutongs o0 v# Y) a" ]" W( ?% [
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived' y) [) s1 W/ o! v6 l# ]
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
8 K x" K3 M s3 m+ Ain hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not1 `% ^" o& H& ]- }2 _
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
2 _! h( s6 U6 N$ P. ^1 c7 h: Ywill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
% |6 Q( G* x1 b+ iFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date9 E+ Z1 N. H3 N# t+ }
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
/ q( L. S& F: I" A# _- ?" mto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses* t; `# J% d5 b( I% ?( i; j( ?
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
' z4 V: p/ Z8 H. v# g/ eunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to6 z+ y# t# C, D; {" C9 F7 W0 Q" H
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,3 W3 g, B: ^" L# A! ^0 h* @# O
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the U# L* b( q6 ~/ F
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
% Q) X. n# ]; X( L8 R3 Z$ L: rproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
. c; N Y, n- P; b+ n3 `3 Z4 [# _0 y- wrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
# C( M; S; E, w) _8 K ?Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how/ x7 o/ q4 S, v7 P B& V' y
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be& E3 }' a/ v9 O, r: j
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished9 L( a7 X I/ A- ^, K+ A( y* P$ b3 m
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".6 u6 U( b3 m- i/ O1 X4 H
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
6 \' h# E4 f) N% Z- J) \; }6 maligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially% X' ~- j4 D8 V: I/ P% O: z
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image4 } _$ i* w6 b* o- M) Y' ?! w* N
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these1 t# Q5 x% ~5 D& [" a* s
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
0 R8 s2 Y; [, ^4 qpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they& J3 e" C3 t; o2 n" u
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some: f# X3 U7 m6 Q `$ a, f5 c7 S
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before3 n- W6 }3 l. z9 n
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
; R, L" M# u, c0 j" speople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise, a. E. X/ u, u
apartments are the way to go? No.
. k& P) L% p# y, `0 ` / u9 q. ?& \2 J
- s7 j, c/ M$ ^1 e* u8 k
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the" h0 @3 T! J b1 M
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this5 n2 z% b/ d* m0 u* b$ m
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
$ P7 _" A% }' b+ ]" ^no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so; {, B: Z: _$ S2 h- n' K( z
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant1 }# `* u6 a! E; U: G
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
$ M6 J: s% ?* c1 O: A) {Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is0 _; q7 N( B" A7 i* g- D" U
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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