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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, its3 N& L+ I- f0 z: [4 t0 O# v
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider6 [& ^3 l+ H5 E' N8 c: J
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
3 I; X0 p8 H2 T, m& f1 D3 Scity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture." s' ~2 b( {# t3 W+ _
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
( }" k5 w4 y. K p, \. s( e3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
% m/ O0 q( ^ @2 l8 K" IManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
7 w- d1 [! E1 h3 Z" i thutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
9 f! @; U( U+ _0 U. H2 w$ Deach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera5 S& v0 U2 U7 p+ y3 z* A
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
7 M5 u* {# {8 e# z1 S4 Lharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
7 d! b8 a9 S; l' T( z- a4 ndescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and* }2 I- S2 n+ V& L; f, w6 l: b
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
8 z6 `# N" [2 u2 b4 h+ W' Q! pwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great2 I4 U( G0 Q; Q$ f, c# c2 _8 @
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
! h! w6 Z' ]$ U b. l* h4 xand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
5 h6 T6 @# X) D2 |& G yhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment1 f5 h: O( z$ k1 @- ]0 ~: {
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
& j3 I9 n. x1 {5 v+ hno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are5 ]8 w1 U% }1 u4 z" s
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a h1 A5 o3 D3 c
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
! {/ J8 j7 @0 l9 twant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move" y- X' c( \. O/ @0 H
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
0 v/ E5 I2 Z' L5 G0 f"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
- I# n' t! x# _. othis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
( w4 \3 k" a7 u% g C, n' h5 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 to5 ~7 N% b' G. J) e$ o Y
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make \7 Y5 a" Y# |7 r; d4 k
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
# r! ?) J [$ j, o! v# ^a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a x: j, T7 M0 A& g
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
. ^! n) m+ ?4 R8 Tthe 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, Z% _# L2 X0 Mimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for+ g$ s- n7 s' K
development.
Hutongs
, ~) s7 K6 I; e9 e6 ~& ~/ q7 yin the old days were residential area where people actually lived
4 e9 H2 L( k9 a8 ?2 b$ Uthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions# f# `* D/ q* f9 |) ~" W
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not# f, e- b( j, m N/ [: |4 }
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
/ A; u* ?& N* X* l( @# z6 ewill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
+ y$ Z. _3 G/ H8 xFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date- B( }; O' G/ ]* c O# _# |7 l1 Z
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
. ] w2 m5 o" e# L+ Z% j1 |to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
; U' X, f5 e: Bsupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
8 ~# d5 v5 k+ Uunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to6 G3 X0 O$ `5 n" @- ~# K
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,+ Q E1 U7 R- d+ o. b
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the# c2 y |0 b8 D( X5 N$ @$ f) v
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
) [/ a4 k% f2 W9 `1 E. Kproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
$ Q: j( E: {3 P- Crenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
: ~# {/ b* ^; P0 U, M. R0 PMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
* G v0 C. T) _. _people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be( o2 e6 {1 n* [4 L; s
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
( D/ o/ W9 m$ K2 x$ W( smemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
7 K8 I' J. [4 d4 o: n) c5 q: ]Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
- B+ b" Q |' V- L, jaligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
+ ?4 d8 X4 ~* ynon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image9 _& \3 @% N1 Y' e: _
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
7 o) q% g$ L# Y" Y& ]% B' \Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those9 A+ t! D! H3 I9 S L8 m
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they+ j( y. W6 r6 h
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some& `: n& ]6 V: R& d, k1 I9 T% Y
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before& R. a+ s s6 }
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all- ^1 e7 E5 l1 q8 j3 q
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
; X2 p i7 H2 P6 Japartments are the way to go? No.
- g1 D8 ]$ D8 v( [* h: O , L7 w" J; j& c" M" ^: ?
$ Y# W, z- ^# }! m/ \! d$ Q% ~2 ?
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the" O9 X) [, D: C: f, R
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
0 ?" w6 K( A( O'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make, @/ N$ ~0 A/ K
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so2 E* I6 C8 P' q8 g: e4 i8 e5 Y' @
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
- `" N. K% S5 u5 f5 D" _resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless6 ]8 _ m( R, M+ Q- g Y
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
' W8 A) \+ o* H# s0 G3 w2 Eunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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