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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 e+ C ]& `1 f& U4 \: N' M. r7 j
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider+ ]9 s6 [) z* I4 e0 \0 r
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
0 q+ |. Y, x- U" ^city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.# x! ~5 Y6 @6 `& ?! X" Z" r
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
7 E$ s9 b' P# q0 a3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of# Z4 e# O0 d8 p" d1 {2 {4 K8 J, v
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within4 c3 S1 N' d6 k0 K
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among' C6 g6 H0 R8 q& ?* \# k' N& I
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
# q6 k4 U4 e5 g; _and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
& f' t5 f& W9 s- |2 S. bharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
6 t8 E% f! ~- b1 e6 ]( f1 Jdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and" Z9 N! W+ x6 {! n
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I( O8 I9 e0 }- a8 j+ ~, D7 I% v* M8 H
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great5 P$ c) c) I& U1 q
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,1 g) J9 y' T9 |7 E/ Y: @7 t3 S
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
7 j$ l2 w# v( X9 N9 r( khas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment% F" D. k) O+ N% d$ Y
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
! l% o# T) }8 k5 t5 `5 g' hno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
" q1 O, I& [( a V' ?% zonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a+ d; n G; z% N
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
5 N& s* |7 ?$ Uwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move& T8 u; S) `5 b6 ^! M5 i; g S3 @
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
) c# O0 f/ `& z; O9 f& o"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
1 ?5 ?4 R+ l0 Y8 h% Nthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
. J& y: d4 A8 ~5 k4 Bstill 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
9 N+ J7 ^9 V: i8 P( T P9 _"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make: Y2 J3 O* u; N! ?" v) b
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
1 Y% Z. t2 r. z% l5 ?9 ca beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
$ a" {9 i1 F! |parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
3 }, Y" r5 R" S. m) Ethe 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
) _; u1 P5 h) |, Jimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
, v$ {* u& O) Y1 _; Z/ a' udevelopment.
Hutongs0 ^+ S. `) k" S: @6 U
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived; W7 [# ^, V- b! J0 t6 x
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions/ O. a- b3 I0 N9 x3 i
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not; Z- G. @' {0 e! {$ ^3 t
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
, }% h5 N" x" \% f+ \- q7 nwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
( Y5 _+ u, J, e" g' LFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
; {8 ^4 F$ R) z6 ~to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used* U7 Q! T! w8 r: g* v# J
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses& ^$ x$ O7 j6 {1 y) o8 q2 v% W
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically2 L$ C0 n$ A8 q0 V- ?
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to2 X) P# C6 Y Z8 h
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
( U3 C6 ~; z( o! s6 \) X9 chutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
: `% Z# [# `# j+ xbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the6 g& ^* Q7 Y% D: g0 E9 |0 B
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be [& Q/ }: q& [
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
" R! j* A& I1 v% yMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
9 P$ X% \+ ` t( |5 Y8 M8 Upeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be- y/ @1 I0 t0 \8 v3 ` `, o2 l& n7 X
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
' a7 f8 b0 z9 t/ Qmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
1 c+ \( u( Z% o4 W6 rNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
, A. p# ^9 C1 D& n0 c% saligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
& W* i9 }5 Y6 p: Unon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image0 s! e( ^2 r) U! B; ^- q
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these0 G! U+ V- U0 `7 @+ z: [
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those3 s4 ^2 B7 V5 j. E5 l
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
3 P: V" l! c4 r& U/ n9 nmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some% J) O! u! G ]5 @
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
" h" o/ F7 T& o. ^0 ^% y5 a"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
6 n1 ~, t* \0 }people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
q2 |/ c. Z- x% R. ^. ~& X$ Wapartments are the way to go? No.$ B0 {) N3 H! t5 i$ [! X- I$ F! o
8 j; \) |( Z0 B) f0 Z 2 ~4 ^, R5 e, c' |2 l3 e
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the+ Z, k. ~' R* j. b1 Y, _
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
. [/ s, j9 e* q( b, i8 Z'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
9 ^; K# d! n' y; L! C% X- ono money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
6 y" [2 i" Y! M% N6 h" Qfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
( ~4 B5 _0 R4 M; f# P# e- z$ Yresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
+ D2 ?8 k! d2 c; z$ I# l% X+ jBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is% n; ?7 D8 f- K6 K+ P4 H
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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