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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( \( j: ?4 b7 N
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
, ~! {5 V& h$ P N t; JBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
2 l; \' U8 F9 ?! Wcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.+ i0 g) I! j) y& K( _$ L
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,+ O5 W& q2 B8 Q) m. [9 c
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
: z w7 i% N5 [0 k' m, I0 NManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
) ]7 Y, ?& F* N: K; B/ I) g L8 }hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
6 v% _! I( \, g* ^7 Jeach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera6 O L4 X7 H: p
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
1 w9 k$ a& Y8 Y j$ G' Xharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
( {: L; U. ?; fdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and6 g0 b. A; b+ i
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I) Y% p' m' f2 S, k9 V2 Z
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great. M6 u( ~8 V* g4 ?: p/ a
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
! V# x. r G+ l2 D! f) Pand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
2 p( `/ t( \" W0 I1 Whas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
! P8 y! l. w2 J& J) Xof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that& i2 G5 m9 j- | i, b6 v y* }/ x
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are9 ^- E' L8 f! @: U( ?/ a
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
) x! [4 ^4 p5 D1 A: r4 w$ P& S, Osort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government. `+ ~6 k# d* }+ b$ Y
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
. s2 m/ @" C. A! C) Jto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
! x, e5 ~6 T" ~7 Q4 S"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,: }0 D1 {% E. I6 c5 u3 q
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
7 k% D" j* d% N; D K8 R3 B; cstill 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 to1 s1 R% X1 z P/ h& [; A3 x6 }8 M
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make! p- f4 J, n7 Y) h3 g
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was; u: i$ \& N" M3 v7 N7 i2 T
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a* Z$ y2 w+ D1 |0 W" X- s
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across" O, W G, p9 o2 O" U7 d
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
7 g0 f" L# h8 E& n# n: X& Timportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
v/ c0 s* q. N" @3 ]$ adevelopment.
Hutongs
. t' ~+ Y8 T0 s& v% U& [, @in the old days were residential area where people actually lived( |* C# s L$ @ L4 e0 }0 m( j" J
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
3 k: s- O5 G9 p4 W* n9 Ein hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
5 T/ Q3 Q% E s$ _have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
! d7 s/ X( ?- i- x9 E/ Iwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
5 n" a9 _: u) OFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
7 G4 n0 M" i3 q0 e( A2 `to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
( ^/ |- @# Z3 E& Q3 ?to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
4 {9 O9 L; R6 w' ~" u" B% O' Gsupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically+ C, g& S) X( t f
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to7 Z6 |# _9 ?3 i
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,) g: k& q1 I" @% P
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the' P. R/ x2 V, w# m$ e1 w: q
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
0 x0 [1 n3 f# H& @project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be- _3 O# d$ z& Y" H' Z
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong4 i" a( I2 K8 z3 j# y* a# `- w' {
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how- t& f6 [3 N% [
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
- h: d2 K" I1 B: R+ R' ytorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
+ @4 |: A4 |3 f0 f) _memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".1 [2 `5 H1 h4 ~
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are. T# j$ l' R ~8 A
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially: r- v- D! g9 T$ b7 C7 x
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image1 ` D9 p. P1 i
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
5 V( n$ A1 \5 {6 i" v$ L2 g% KHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
; r- H& y& g7 A6 j7 rpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
" t: H/ M \0 Q! Z+ e: }may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some7 a& s8 L; b+ d L5 l, _
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before. R: b- b! j0 ~$ |
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
& v2 M4 f+ c4 H5 D! K$ u$ gpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise$ j3 ~6 {, ]" K; T* l, d
apartments are the way to go? No.% w7 @, ?: T! \9 w
5 B9 ?& |% K+ T
* ^( g; a! s" m" m9 E. O$ z/ i
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the' J8 j! L6 H% o% n6 D# `- ] Q
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
* {' h" p- w+ H' S) r% i'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make6 Z" m8 C# |5 K9 E9 x; L
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
! j/ y+ a) S# gfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
' d! w2 t: z9 W/ L5 Vresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
! s8 h- v a& }+ |& U* \% aBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
8 ]; Z; }& {3 f6 t/ Y& ^# K* Hunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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