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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, its6 a- m9 a' A! ~
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
) q9 x% }' }4 R, UBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"+ q2 o. W) O! n+ z
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.8 S: [4 M; V7 E& _
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
7 p% X+ [$ Y0 Q) _, c# I d8 B/ j3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of0 f2 T O! }) U2 V) `% N0 E
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within( V% Z- d& `& a* ~' D
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among5 u) [( ~; h$ _1 v* Q& T
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
1 i) g, V. t8 H5 g0 J% A+ H4 O# Cand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
( f$ o9 X3 m$ L6 ^- Uharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are- `: W) b! I( B: p
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and3 A, }4 [7 D. {0 y
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
) r3 x C* ?8 d) Gwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
, e' t, A; S: j+ F3 V3 ^impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,9 x$ V1 I6 _1 F9 ~0 [; M l( w
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong% z$ ~3 n- }9 [& L; M
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment$ `, [7 r/ s" o
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
4 P6 o$ b6 X. L0 L* G' ^no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
$ L6 Y7 f7 R$ z$ E9 y) y6 o* N' Z8 D8 wonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
: u5 y3 x7 ~( \1 x' nsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
7 X6 v0 X( W+ Dwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move/ c) i- Y9 I3 Y0 G
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is, C r, c+ r7 r4 ` J: ]2 V) P' a1 c; N4 b
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,+ |4 [& ]7 n; O- M( Y5 {
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are1 g7 N" M5 i3 `1 Y+ H
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
7 y& B* l; `8 z"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
# e# m5 M4 T3 E: i1 umoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was* h- ?! m/ U D$ `
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a% m6 J3 H/ e& S, ]! I. N x2 S
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across4 q+ g% D; e' l4 O
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* H% z9 g* v M
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
; [7 z2 ?- t% Odevelopment.
Hutongs' v& }7 ]. B* e- |4 ? T- W6 I
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived$ c: L" X( G: j0 I0 N. p, D
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions& m; H5 x& u* i% Q
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
6 R+ C8 a' L5 {( l x' Ehave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
) ]* H0 S: j; R# ?will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.$ X* }( n1 @/ x4 E) d% S. {
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
3 [2 U" t j+ ]7 m/ tto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used8 b+ \4 A4 K& V5 n1 @
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses; M; m/ ]$ ^- [7 y
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
2 M: \: S( w: C5 u* Zunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
c. @, X- _" s/ elive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
c8 g5 s) `$ H" z3 vhutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the" x2 g% ~% R0 u" S
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
) `, q2 H* ^1 X" X9 Mproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
3 P" k7 l& t$ A7 d" Grenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
" D" J3 }& K% a4 [" H' d. uMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how2 }% Z3 P) ]+ w* j f
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be( W% B+ n/ M) W
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
`' e+ y' Z% {4 w: Kmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
* O, O( [! a- T* I" I4 ENothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are. U% O; ]7 @; w$ T# e( Y
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially- b" ?! z5 X5 T+ u) T
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
& i/ Y3 D9 Q+ `8 s# z4 A `of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
# Q3 H- V* z: {! c" [0 M0 ~$ |" kHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
3 m1 w/ }4 |8 ^% ]9 r" y# g2 lpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they, _* o/ M4 U r
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some0 t9 n, D7 {+ L1 b' l, X4 U$ H( A4 T
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
7 _; B1 e" v2 }7 O+ S8 e* M# Q4 x! X2 y, e"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all2 i, r1 n+ D- V; e+ Z+ X
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise' I! ?) U; V8 e' _- J2 |
apartments are the way to go? No.. ^* S' ~6 H7 [, q- f/ ~
# H$ G* D* F: ~; y+ v) y ( y; M* S. N* A
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
7 U4 m0 w( O6 D6 K* ^situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
/ I. s8 m+ ?7 }# F'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
0 h3 Q) \' B& |) e5 gno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
! ]$ g- v6 w/ s3 M1 O7 Cfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant; t/ a4 ]( a- ^. f6 s1 q7 V
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
4 w6 z. z2 U1 t* g; [: o, zBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is! J# ?3 E' Q3 ^
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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