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A Hutong Discussion

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发表于 2007-4-24 05:08:00 | 显示全部楼层 |阅读模式
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 ( I. C: Y1 e0 }( z. iarchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider 0 A% } l# O7 T5 M1 I( _Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"1 E, S a& _9 v$ m: G" g city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.! q. v% D1 g; F" b1 c& U9 h According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,7 R8 v) E2 k0 r Y) x" e- |& [. ]$ B 3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of + |; u- V% ~3 X7 K$ z9 CManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within0 J& n5 _& i8 h hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among 4 X+ M, [; \) [: U* r7 qeach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera 5 S t! _0 Q# f. w5 v# O+ A# Sand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is % ^( l" r+ N% O( Vharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are , o. b( _4 o; Kdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and! M; Z0 S6 W0 x+ s" M1 ` forms of culture emerged in hutong.

I " ?7 D/ P5 F6 }1 e# `- Qwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great . k. n3 w$ B7 c! A2 |! b# \* Nimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished, O3 l# A% g9 d" E; Tand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong ) ^; T% ~( K1 o4 X1 ~! Bhas a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment . [9 B2 t1 H3 c) Oof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that : E! X, \; ]% m0 Z5 h& `no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are - Z4 j7 @4 M7 M- q* Z& D; |only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a) @+ {& E$ ~; H" \9 p# K: a" i sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government' X/ ~4 J1 i, C6 V( ^, G# I( y, r want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move 0 ^( ?8 | ]: hto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is ; w) K6 Z+ A( R4 ^! b6 v' Q" L! T/ L"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,8 `) u7 e! U" \9 K2 [ this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are 6 B- Z% [7 M$ D9 Wstill 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 + G6 q! z5 _; g"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make 2 n0 L& `! c5 k& A$ amoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was- F! }& v A; j G, P3 i/ I a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a9 B: B' K$ h6 K parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across % N+ `2 _6 h; M% {! y5 U5 X3 pthe 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 ' @ _, R& K7 F4 C t7 S/ wimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for1 l+ K }' [9 ^: M8 Y; e2 U! O development.

Hutongs % \- U( y/ [- qin the old days were residential area where people actually lived- w& ^) H& B2 x6 |) j, o there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions$ N; A+ x/ V9 @" T: v! t! l7 E in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not" B/ X! ~* ^' g have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you# c9 I) D& h1 H8 P will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs. & G. P0 o S, O( Q8 d: j' I1 F+ cFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date6 H" k4 q. P+ D to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used8 I9 [) C" K w! X. s to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses" s0 k" |8 W0 ?! f* i support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically H# s: j, z9 t0 E6 [3 T/ Punfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to 6 n4 ?3 j# `1 c9 F1 f2 P% [7 Slive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,1 \0 g2 f; ?: g' j5 l hutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the2 j1 C+ P6 H$ p5 @2 h balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the * e% `0 s% M. N% w6 X _7 ~project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be & Z; D3 \; T9 v7 vrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong9 R) _; P- G' C7 ~, k/ O Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how! G3 e4 z* Q5 ~1 w- W people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be8 O" q" e* [. y. C) `- c torn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished ; c. V0 f& b/ ?memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress". 5 F) t8 X; f( i! ^' lNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are 2 P- @3 c$ s+ Yaligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially 8 w( R3 g3 h# t3 Pnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image0 g6 b: A/ H: T# l of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these7 ?! U# R t- A! S Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those( r6 f/ q; J0 L- O: v0 b people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they S& k& E; R- `may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some( g0 M% m0 ?( s4 A) @, ]3 `5 k2 v, ? of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before& d. C8 Q9 m3 d/ T4 P "modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all; m% G# M, `4 c5 ]8 g people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise $ S7 `8 g1 e1 t3 e$ M0 Vapartments are the way to go? No.7 [9 H- N- H* m0 t [0 O : }& m- ^( o: j" v- q# p* `, d" I, D: a 6 V+ t6 q9 _$ |2 I

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the . x4 T7 s" |5 {; C' jsituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this; d% a U6 a, Q9 [# {" N 'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make# Y( H) O0 w7 ^5 b8 e no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so 2 e* Q0 J, L) l' [fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant9 x: \3 |2 r6 }. i. G! O% L resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless r: r$ b1 I g' F! T Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is 0 p U `+ t0 [ v; Yunlikely to happen too. Sad!
发表于 2007-5-22 20:37:00 | 显示全部楼层
Excuse me. May I use ur discussion in my dissertation about Beijing Conservation?
Thx a lot!!
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