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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! x% q4 B: p0 f3 G- {
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
9 ?1 I, j6 X6 G3 vBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
2 X2 m" L9 e2 n c& T$ g3 F9 Bcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
- J+ f" }" q' N2 `) {7 i7 NAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
+ Z: Q' s4 |' ?3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
" \, X9 J( x9 [ j! I3 u* v4 _Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
6 }( Y# d9 w! M. n# |0 ^hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
5 h+ M! j; m5 V* Veach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
: A# @6 \2 U' P8 n7 p3 iand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is5 Z% ]* p( w, S t
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
: X: m& P3 S jdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
: V; B3 u" }9 s) c2 z3 L& ^forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
( R- Z. R, X" e, q; j! P! C. Z, ywas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great- a. v7 T8 E; P. o
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
T5 F# p1 U0 x- w6 qand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
# w8 D) Z z% o. vhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment! A0 F' Z' I9 t. C/ D5 D! U+ m
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that: S9 C/ G. ^7 c5 q2 N
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are' w4 a# G% j) v' q k0 o
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a ?6 ~8 z" B7 H6 I5 _
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
3 X1 W8 x- }" |( Z9 {7 g3 ?& }want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move6 H+ V, T& r$ w* U
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
7 w) u) u: `/ b5 `! ?"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
" s8 R& `( m; ?this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
* D6 o/ Q* o4 E3 z# ^6 [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 to9 u$ N9 h9 N O% R9 T% R, a- [
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
) O* v: V1 Z+ qmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was+ V4 z- \1 Q7 X1 K& I
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a( N/ P% m L) n3 Y: _
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
. `2 I7 k2 w: j$ s) O5 S2 \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
1 w' @' o7 U) h q, |! gimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for) o6 x- V3 C6 F
development.
Hutongs' q: G- j8 Y' W
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
3 e1 D* R8 p& Y/ F- d6 j O8 Mthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
5 s/ f# t# I( f. g( f. l8 u7 Ein hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not$ I! H% y. O* D8 a8 l, K4 w
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you B0 S5 s/ F" Q3 g4 P" V# }* _
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
+ F* @1 h, [ |3 w' y9 x( BFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
$ i1 }4 P2 ^& ~% ]to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used0 q7 o, \9 J) U! }
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
8 |* P; {6 g$ V2 ~9 T6 m: d0 Vsupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically7 A4 g: ]' F% R& m8 p/ s$ e: E
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to2 u3 ?$ h! }9 L. \0 L, Z1 U' _
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
5 P" _2 r7 l7 {. J& c$ |. I- Z# chutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
5 u9 G! S3 N& o9 X! B/ lbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the: k& M$ j; p" S$ a* ?, f
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
1 ?9 j6 }0 r$ j1 i: h0 u6 [renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong& E7 i* H2 y# I: F# J6 h( a% F
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
$ F% f n) {! ?, b" mpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be/ }# ?- S% X6 N$ w+ t$ }, ]
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
Z* n" h# ?7 Jmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".' B/ O$ G( `! J, `( o
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
% Y/ b! ^8 G6 B+ [aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially" C/ y: l3 d2 F* t- G; c
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image- X/ M9 U0 J7 r* O
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these( W% i4 f" a1 n% T: J7 t# X5 ]( q
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
+ y8 b5 g' ~/ T0 ]people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they5 Y: m5 ~6 z F% |+ T3 g
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some* v' I, P( O4 B( W& K& I+ i
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before4 X; u1 W8 Q( H' x4 b
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
5 O1 w0 R. Y( Gpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
% b- X% K. {+ q& Eapartments are the way to go? No.
: ~7 X# u+ D& A8 q7 \
5 x- I% F; _7 e - Z( |, p7 S, @# e9 |; }( M& `
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
, _' e6 G5 n; [% Qsituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
4 U1 t2 U& I+ O& V% ?2 w- U ^'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make4 m2 ?* B. C7 G, r
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
1 n$ r+ I6 |2 O/ A3 u1 ^fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant/ J! M# ^& J" T8 a0 A& C( d
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless6 I* y& b$ A1 [$ j2 p8 ^
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is$ g4 _+ x3 r' }+ [4 V
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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