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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
6 ]/ A' r; t# D, @architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
r2 ]& u& }( Q; j( iBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
1 p( u, Z$ f/ f9 J8 i1 L( e/ Icity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
: }# b Z7 j; V# T* p+ y8 V) EAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,- Z/ ]+ |! n/ H: c7 I
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
7 s; @. T% i6 j- V0 X/ MManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within% ~- m1 e {$ o9 x8 u/ V; F' J' @ S
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
0 O4 S8 h4 I! a( S" [each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
% f9 C; a" A6 c! _9 V2 h' Yand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is5 w& T4 s1 L9 [: J# ^
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
5 c) A# [7 V, R: r6 }4 F( Cdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
0 a# P8 G* L4 _' u6 e- n1 S: vforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
; U _( `5 Y3 @& ^was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
4 r2 Y4 o2 i) b; G, i# aimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,7 J1 r% c7 q3 s' B$ \$ ?- @
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
( f3 \! I- |( l% Q- u. t. Mhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment. y$ U/ ]7 K* n) J; Y& i
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that- @" x+ Q- Z# g6 d: E9 l0 Z. n/ T
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are( R+ J9 h) l$ v
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
8 y- `& k8 L+ j _) Asort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
, l1 V3 h% j b& P/ ^* G: gwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move( h$ ]5 O. U. j; c0 N) I
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
! T( Z( y9 u0 X# x3 w' G"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
% h' D, x: t. M/ C. p3 dthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
% w' Z& }* M. Z) K$ }9 c; N3 Z5 qstill 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 }& Q' a- s$ a8 k5 L- J" b
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
6 Y+ ^# r/ Z. v' P8 L0 I" g6 x. i0 K& gmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was8 r% [2 d5 l c2 N0 u3 Z
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
( F' F6 z5 h: t* `parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across7 `7 k* S# O. U* e2 W1 F! B& }
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; [- f' t5 k+ \, _
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
3 P" s$ y9 D qdevelopment.
Hutongs, F+ E& ]* \% T. J5 P: ^& b
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived" ?6 X1 P. }& G1 w) n) j1 R0 E
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions+ e- u6 {1 v, s
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
& R' V6 U! c6 ?+ n% Bhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you" m' E2 {: J* s8 V4 o7 y) B* M: X s
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.4 X5 t, a. f5 A/ A, ~
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date* \5 l: \2 T+ d
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
: g6 H' k$ b6 o+ d. S Ato hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses. A( X& q7 Q: E: p& t0 Z
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
' C* v1 N1 ~! _0 yunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
, W8 b% u N) q( vlive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
" C# T( t' p8 j: C; Vhutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
/ A* ]: n( C7 ubalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the% z# J1 J# I) h; `7 _/ L9 s
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
1 T- Z; h8 l/ T8 x, {renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
2 x( V( a" A8 Q2 SMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how8 q, v l8 p6 H/ v, C
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
6 z" z' ^1 p# I! e, v8 qtorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished5 j- U. V* o; X! X8 i- U, h
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".4 E) p6 [* u' B
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
$ o! h3 `) |; @4 y1 g7 a2 [6 m7 F( qaligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
6 a9 }9 Y* z; N2 d! `3 Snon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image- b0 @/ u/ o9 t- q( \2 r3 F; b
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
3 B6 I2 ~( | I; L# lHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
' B( ]! ^* v" N1 {9 z- w$ M' Opeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they. o m: W L& r. `. _
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some6 V$ D9 n2 ]$ i. @: e5 r& Y
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
& i0 G" l- I6 u( P4 h: d$ L"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
6 R; ^; D# [; B. k5 rpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise7 q# a% F: P! ]. T% a8 u! c) ^0 X
apartments are the way to go? No.
& F8 o! n% g8 u0 Z% N
4 @$ A( I5 a3 t% N
5 m& v' D" t: s$ L- S
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the6 V+ D4 u f+ x' \, \8 R2 ^
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this( \! D0 k- e! `1 ?" Y) v1 |1 E R
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
f$ m/ X C# q) F! |no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
; I E: A& E# q7 Kfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
# F& F) v* r4 T& N5 d7 sresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless, l3 j- i! d+ z2 v7 u
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
' _$ Y* T8 ?$ z2 ^3 W4 ]8 Vunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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