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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, its4 q4 C, B( n) A5 G6 g
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
% D' h: N8 F* gBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"3 p( i; ^+ j$ N% X. p/ l
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.* a% N4 p" K& V! z
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,) r1 \2 m3 Z$ k- ^
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
+ ~3 M! U! I0 E! EManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within0 a1 X; G1 s) F
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
" x" E5 n" l/ [; _: T* teach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
1 S+ j* N2 O5 a+ ?6 Fand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
6 F: t; T1 g4 c5 \harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
4 Q/ V1 R9 `$ `$ ]descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
, E% O4 u. L' ^3 ^/ N1 v( m3 Nforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
! @* w; d b7 |( x, J( ^3 }6 O, Nwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great" T2 a Y5 y" k& I: Q
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,; s; q1 V9 `% G* _' L, i! P
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong& ~1 i$ ], X8 {, B# d: s( o
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment9 g* J' W; O" S: L0 R2 N' i Q
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that1 ]' X9 o6 [8 h4 Q# Z; h. C
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
6 @; F9 b- }& ^8 g; h7 Gonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a/ U& V, G# c7 {& M1 J$ Z9 b6 D
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
% b% z6 v0 x# l. y" D3 l% cwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
) ]3 W4 {9 e" Q, Kto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is/ j3 f; U# [: u" R7 O: D- P. H' l
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
O) e" A6 s9 l3 g$ l; Y9 s6 othis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are$ `; N, x- P0 F; V- k! J
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 to3 z9 @, r/ W. { @1 E, \" N
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
4 L$ y1 j: l" ~1 p2 I1 Dmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
7 w/ m; ~ _$ U4 R% v; [a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a S. ^1 w* F0 U: k2 p& {2 k9 y
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across2 g( \" M6 P, J7 ]
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
/ ^8 r' W$ ~0 Y$ y- F3 l; Ximportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for1 S) M; l2 }- t: Q$ Z ^' y) Z
development.
Hutongs9 T x2 u0 V5 }0 J/ N+ z
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived+ w6 |. s9 k( ]5 J; q
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions* M: P+ z9 [0 \* G$ `$ R
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not, e: X# T, `/ B) u+ v9 p3 I! { c
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you4 d- `+ k2 M8 g7 j% C
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.8 ^9 M) i/ s7 h; `" n' ]
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
4 ~, s' y* G/ x4 F0 Fto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used. h/ U% Q+ N0 ~
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses$ ^8 M/ t) d, A3 ~0 S/ }- D
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
0 d& V/ V: Q- C/ b" e; qunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
/ K+ T4 r' E6 h% plive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose, ^3 L8 y0 S! ?9 z3 q+ m# c
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the, R" {. O3 Z+ ]! L1 @ `( ` ~5 C
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the; E6 j, L7 k4 s
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
* q1 \$ E$ x. A$ G- O/ G" lrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong) ]' `. w) h0 u) S) W
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how" ?" J; j; r% @! N
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
! V! g7 A7 o7 n2 c8 v' P/ \5 btorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
& D# e U! r1 I9 R( \memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress"." E6 S T7 I* @2 O! d, d
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are1 F, L* K3 w4 ~& o6 d) Q: T
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
) D- C) I" z/ I, _% }: T3 bnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
6 Z6 P% e+ v" Bof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these: {8 w$ I( r5 c" N9 D# v
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
8 b" r5 r7 y7 O( ?people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they1 f! u3 Z: G h# c# D7 `# Q
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
% d% r- u5 A. M6 \of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before' P0 p% F6 W1 c" _ b( }- i- v5 A7 Z4 b
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
7 O7 q# |# i* n! Q# s7 j, ^; Wpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
* j7 Q# t( H& \$ ^apartments are the way to go? No.
4 ?7 W. [" B* _# T. f 3 X) w' [5 i) Y1 [. l5 C* N
* R+ S7 P! L( c; h# |
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the" [/ c, M( t( ?
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this; e. L2 z+ h3 s5 M! V: V
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make, e1 p/ [+ ^. c8 J7 e3 N; @( `
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
* V$ F8 T1 T4 Y5 qfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
/ M7 P0 P [9 O- {- |0 P: Cresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
; f& l+ N& c5 @# L+ S' w t* bBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is. ?: \' |" h _1 [- N+ R
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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