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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$ ^1 |, \# s2 v
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
0 f" Z9 D! T% l0 A f# o3 m6 ^Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
0 ^+ W+ W8 p4 p( Bcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.: w b5 M3 h% g0 p5 }, L8 {
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
, N% d+ m0 N" g* v9 v; Y4 V3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
/ P. H3 P, q9 u/ F. w. QManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within/ j' j8 ?% [, ? I1 j
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
) N6 G/ l- \& ueach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
' _) X2 ]/ B& f% ^! Oand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
8 B" J+ z# k3 q5 w) `( M- Oharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are7 f- n7 D2 Z) ~ K3 \3 V
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
4 j- G- F M. Bforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I) a: E3 Y) @& [6 g. l
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
0 a% b& s+ w$ Z T% Mimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,5 P. e1 v) K- j/ E$ E- }; N4 P# [
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
% U: `8 B' ~8 n$ h- Whas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment2 }# ?+ ?7 j; d( P0 I; Q4 R! u
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
0 Y5 \& }$ f" Z7 |- P4 l% s/ ano hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are/ A+ c% d' B( H% S8 M
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
" j+ F7 W* b9 [' ?3 `# Esort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government m+ q& n/ V- W3 a2 l) D& C# a9 P
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move5 J+ U3 W: O* P( ?/ f0 @
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
5 z8 c5 e+ K/ J/ F! Y: H5 {"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,5 o" G$ ?# l1 A7 ?5 s
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are7 x2 |% [( o+ i6 N/ a# H6 u2 _' m
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( ]. f# S5 j) U
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
$ ~8 e8 R8 x$ `, D; Y0 E# j( {money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was: K# b/ G# ]- d1 \& |- U+ K2 g
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
5 k. t8 @8 U- B6 _* gparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across# X8 h* s0 S w5 R7 \2 ~
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
' ]6 g4 O6 q& Z2 e# b9 cimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
- i) y U" {& C- r! o- r# O: r' h7 Mdevelopment.
Hutongs
9 { E( q, K' B" b1 K; B# ~5 Jin the old days were residential area where people actually lived3 I, Z, ^! I! _! j# R. ~
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
* r/ H; W% F! A' Din hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
. H5 P+ B( r& ahave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
: b; G' F( e5 b! f. N1 hwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
9 d3 T6 t! X' \9 X6 [$ f5 K1 S+ i8 w6 aFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date& V; B% a2 r/ V' a$ a
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
! v3 B1 j0 K$ S( M0 n! ^, j" Ito hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
. f+ B. k+ h1 n( B+ Psupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
Z8 B' L3 w9 w D; t& a ?unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to1 d# W5 B j! J- C0 I! Q# O- n8 z7 d
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
1 q, q# f5 t% X. r- E; V/ U4 Zhutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
0 a6 Y4 ]4 P2 z1 j$ {' Fbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
+ ]+ ~5 m* Y0 k2 bproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
8 I* u- [# r" E Trenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong) w6 W' [8 I$ V; M) m$ f
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how5 l" G5 M; x, y8 @% U; d
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
& j8 J/ L. h7 q- g5 Ftorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
& [) @! ?- r4 y9 j( r2 t7 b M3 Vmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
$ b& T) O, ]. T, qNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are. Q, M1 b2 O) E4 R/ q3 q8 N$ O) c5 `
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
" r: m; ?, |4 j* r9 l1 knon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
' x! q2 }+ \. W$ Z* Mof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these$ G1 h( y6 y8 q* L# {
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
3 M& V$ r% G. v: _people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they, \/ e. C2 q" m" a* x
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
4 v3 }1 l0 C, W9 eof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
3 X8 f+ _. X+ ~- d* H"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
& x$ H# h! J0 c" C% q0 F" k! L) C4 apeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
' o6 L! V8 Y+ r0 S6 @$ Sapartments are the way to go? No.
" v* b+ T* P0 c8 ~$ x5 N, x6 ~# m$ c
- Q5 n$ v% u( }: b* D3 ]; q3 k
& }/ R; Z$ D3 ]! F% I
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the* Z1 ?% M! t6 ]
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
# z; }! I8 G. g9 `* `: H. @! s'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
7 F" P/ x' ]& t& l/ [2 A \3 Fno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
# S( ~* P5 Z9 j) p7 I( tfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
3 \3 c3 o! ]5 Q. T% ^' sresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless3 U7 Y8 R1 n% V6 Z
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is+ X$ ~. H2 O [- |
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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