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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
: v# H5 ?' ~6 A; earchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider @ w2 H* X) i! E5 v* h
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"7 i0 t( H$ N3 v' i0 o- P& J/ y5 ~
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.& z. f- t* d5 [* V7 A. q' t
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,& `. U1 @5 ]" w1 p) L& U9 r
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
# w1 p1 Z- z0 C* k- p$ }2 @" v+ `Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within9 ~; y2 @4 k4 V" Q
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among: H7 b% ?" |3 ]6 @8 K
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
& c T$ }$ w: b1 G" T& Qand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
! ]# u2 B* F0 ^) ~harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are' U8 d, Z& Z/ N, R; L( ^3 B
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and8 H5 g* p: S9 G) y, n4 n& D, Z: l
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I3 k! ?0 D& y: D2 B# a" Q7 S
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
+ f4 I! k+ B8 {! _* n. oimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,* ?9 k; k# C: t6 x M
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
$ R/ @2 W) ~7 vhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment' i& z9 [) {$ @, }+ X% |! a+ I
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that7 X7 e- R* E5 f! J% F2 y
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are0 n7 @9 T5 k/ H) r
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a2 v. J1 `8 `6 x( N
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government0 j8 L$ W0 j9 U1 I1 g
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
5 y7 p5 |2 R% k6 ~to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
! W; Y, ^/ S, T7 I. `"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
( `$ ]" H+ f2 D9 Z! b P: R0 cthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are8 b& x$ h- S6 u
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, }2 e$ Y/ \" t3 w
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
6 y: `7 W" J, @; X* v5 Y: S' Emoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
7 B$ M0 g* R1 S3 j" {1 |a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a( k- ` l- _4 y$ z) [
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
. s; |% m% l3 Hthe 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 cultural4 F0 K! B8 O& D, U
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for$ `$ F7 z% G9 ^0 I% }+ s
development.
Hutongs
, r6 R6 C# T; t# g( Q, Vin the old days were residential area where people actually lived
" R% v) D( b& n; U: N' i, B; Ethere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
/ ^/ J# v7 a7 ^* j5 D, zin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not% w+ w0 I& n. I d
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
& }9 f/ F: S' a$ P3 Zwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.' ^% P) \. a% m9 K
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
7 ]# R8 g# b' z j2 M$ s# h6 _; ^to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
' i# k6 d% A& U. i2 Dto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses- Z% z9 |4 U9 S: d* X6 G C
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically) j& n" O2 M: v K) e4 `
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
) P/ q& n3 q1 Q, m0 Vlive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,/ l# B$ d5 @. ~% _, _9 ?( n
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
1 ~& w6 A- ]* i( |, Z8 K# x$ S, tbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
+ `1 o1 L! ?& eproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be& l/ z" @8 G! Q$ L( i
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
8 }6 C' ~: c$ @6 l; R8 k: U+ JMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how0 u6 T7 U! A' [6 w% w" U
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be! {9 i" p2 M4 G6 l
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
" K2 T4 u8 c8 O" T" x3 q) qmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
9 w& A/ i* Z! D( B: {" dNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are8 z( o, N3 t0 k. k. V% Y: t
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially7 S: \8 c R* ^6 A# W: A
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
+ [4 K% I: f4 ?7 {of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
V0 a& V I6 ^Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
$ _& ^! e; q8 \people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they. \) A8 f: p, c# R1 [ C O) x
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some9 y7 O; j6 _% v! D; x+ i
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before( K( h2 }4 B+ c. ` m! B$ L
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
5 c" F' l# M; A opeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise" `& o% G" ^& T A
apartments are the way to go? No.
) B6 e) X; x$ p3 v1 N% w1 l5 F
! h* {( A2 P5 p+ M; }% p; Y/ `9 M
8 e: Y' y, T# l* S
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
i0 L U' z0 D& j! r" Ssituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this* v) c9 [, f& Z, W4 s
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make/ I6 v' _/ G+ ]- U9 f" E
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so" f/ u3 d% r: g( Y" y0 ]
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
1 ~9 k/ o+ x) Q- k2 [resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless9 r8 _2 q& E( m! v, e/ ?& K
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
7 h; p% C' k. \! U5 c- tunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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