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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
! Q7 S! B. W ` `, Z Zarchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
! \) c8 d$ y# U( E0 GBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian": o/ A) z3 m1 k
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
6 M8 o9 a, U- K2 W4 WAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,' ?4 [" [1 T9 I2 N
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of$ O/ u% J: s/ c4 e9 D/ }2 D
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
% d7 v7 Z' {, Q9 n9 O3 Ghutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
# I3 U; I) V9 N9 y7 v+ {each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
7 |: z7 c$ M: f: a3 N6 ?and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is6 v, O! ]$ S! T' w0 m) C6 y u
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are: x2 u6 o: @- G( ^7 L. a
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
! P9 j0 e4 z: U0 v) nforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I9 X: A' U* F2 U3 b" J7 P& z& t3 s
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great0 Y+ i( L; H2 M7 V
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,1 ^! }% |4 e# t# H5 M
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
! v7 m3 l. x4 m; Ghas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
8 x8 K3 |3 X1 sof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
9 {0 u- P. P0 b* D3 _ g' U5 }no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
3 d! L# l# u' |* a1 H! p! U* bonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a0 ^; o% l; v# E- L# K
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
( v) A& ~ I7 {3 o. r0 q9 ^" U0 t7 Hwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move; g: p: c6 F! P+ O: {4 M
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
" p! e/ X H; ?$ g5 k"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,: E' E* V. p& z C& f6 W4 E7 P8 S
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are0 v. L) c8 X3 i: @! |) @
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 to
. v: V& ?; X6 i. k"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make5 s! L/ x0 I) H+ ~+ O/ ?0 a
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was# X$ s9 E& w. K
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a5 G! f3 S/ E; l2 y: @4 N m
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across. ]. n# Z7 B. T
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
2 k9 v' U& A6 Q# {importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for" R/ L: T& @* T
development.
Hutongs
- t1 p; \# j5 Y( Y8 ]/ X S. @in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
" @: K- ?1 j4 [9 m1 zthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions# q) e! g9 U/ d1 T2 }6 B- g
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
* D: T7 {! b& t4 Q% y4 Vhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you: W/ X! a; ]$ v' g+ x( D
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
( J7 W& A6 q6 ^* Q& ]Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date4 A0 i" H* D4 [
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
# ]: ?6 w- O$ s- Pto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
4 g' L2 G% p* csupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
l# G2 ` r$ g. X- e. Qunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to% ?5 q* J& o) T& `& t7 k4 l" o6 Y
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose," u. O! w( v5 I
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
1 A% _; c( Q! s7 _3 q/ }balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
( H/ L* f1 o. l% L5 A. p* B& E9 Yproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be& c- L& E$ ?3 h7 h; M2 X1 g5 S* e
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong3 u# A, o8 M8 o0 a: X+ B, A
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how- o4 ~5 H8 y, @6 Y" ~% J
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
- @" u. L* L+ j) W8 U4 Gtorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished3 J- X) ?* v( E" w/ z/ e
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
: i' y5 i% M5 p4 D% ZNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
( E( @9 |0 _$ L( j4 g0 f) Ualigned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially% Q( k0 o; g7 C/ U/ X0 \: r
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
2 Z% \& E/ _+ |! U: @8 [5 Qof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
0 m: Z& f) d/ U3 f* Y5 o; HHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those7 w A+ I. T, o1 l8 s
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
" D& L e% V" E9 U. U& e1 n1 gmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some, c3 J$ G x0 G7 N1 U$ h. U
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
, m# m' o- A, }2 Y9 z( [0 B4 F"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
/ M( ?- @6 H/ z. l' Q) vpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise* g1 |2 g! g. }2 u* ]/ J8 E4 P
apartments are the way to go? No.
0 Y( ]) Q0 G3 [9 R! Z4 H
9 j; b; Q8 R5 G- r 7 d: R! p% f% z1 p7 b
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
' q- B" K! f7 G) r4 V" Fsituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this- R% B; x/ P- `# W7 ?! ~& s+ o
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make& W4 d, y, {/ u+ g
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
3 j; G" f# d- K# U6 E/ ?fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant) _7 Y Z: P% G: [5 X
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
: I/ Q+ q8 Y2 R; t' FBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is" M4 b* `0 Z/ ^8 o5 p$ Q J4 f4 U+ @* ?+ H
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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