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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
# g+ H4 {# k8 V3 {architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider) t8 M& d1 `& ^+ |' |: y
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
6 e5 V3 d! w2 G! E4 ucity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
0 g; l, y& ?- f0 O- r* [7 MAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
3 s; m0 y. Z. e9 R; w5 B/ N6 D# Y3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
/ k: M$ `8 T( \! c* TManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
6 X% O3 J. h. q6 _- Ehutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
, g) I% o; p$ K0 ^each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera" ]4 k: z" @6 ~# h4 ^+ J, _
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
4 {- Y' o7 R% B F/ j0 n7 Pharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
5 P9 |% h. v9 w- k# T; o' Wdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
( D q0 p& I( M1 ?4 G; V7 rforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
: g- _, q. Z- { |5 t3 I4 Ywas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great! v' C+ s# O. a2 a6 J& y8 t
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
+ j) h9 \3 G& b8 K2 Vand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong1 o( Q0 n g9 l0 B$ w8 S0 f2 e
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
: @1 t7 Y) n' D% y# Wof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
% S4 E: ^6 f- \4 W/ R h: V5 w& x2 cno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are9 u7 X: D1 j$ O8 [) }
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
( J4 l0 k( n# Fsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government; x% e v. b& u* _; [$ T) |
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
4 K# Z3 |; A1 G. z/ l3 ito the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is& P4 V2 D6 F. X7 [
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,) y$ g2 q( p: H" i) y, h
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are0 b8 e X( d2 j6 t; s* C7 O: 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
3 A9 }7 `; r- @9 m$ b"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make; M; Z( A4 ?/ l, ^* J5 e
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
2 u3 Z" {$ G0 B( O" v6 [& j# x1 Ta beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a. u% ^% q, z1 j2 N# u* k+ H: v
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across7 D" s4 W( [& V; l" H1 L( R
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; Q/ N# l7 L" W
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for0 Y2 x5 F' E) f
development.
Hutongs' G6 c5 M- l" m7 l7 [' s
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
q6 f# \- C. V; r7 O; r& x4 v4 i8 t1 xthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions& n, w% R" }4 E* [' w+ ~
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not8 n: f; i* B' L1 ~# K7 N
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
* |/ n7 \& k3 F9 u4 j( {% D- ?will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
6 T# X# N# {) f( |% dFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date$ }- @' _" {" x# M$ I
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
" p4 g" [& O% n1 cto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
+ C9 t4 N& L. @. ysupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
7 f$ R4 M3 q! m; J) Q Zunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
4 J! E& G$ q& p0 klive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
8 J' f' o' u- X& P5 x7 [hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
0 m& Y, q6 g5 K2 P+ n6 Pbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the# V4 G; d G6 d
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
+ T6 G' `( y, _( G$ Mrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
' w0 d( ?. y2 m2 IMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
5 b4 r$ c* l5 h7 Lpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be a$ t3 \6 p" i: U# V
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished( |: |' U' F; \) Z9 `+ g
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".6 ? T' ]1 @6 f4 }3 X) t" \" N, `
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
8 \" X) V+ d. p" `6 aaligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially9 X! a9 @5 {+ w: i' c" Q- ^
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image# C) q! z+ I- p( {; N
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these8 f# ~9 J3 p- @6 `' T h- c; }
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those) ~( Z1 V$ J# U( }) n; v
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they- I0 B6 x% t% i
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some/ A! t8 ~7 r7 F: v3 M! Q: I; ?
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before# H/ I/ s9 J0 v
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all3 D+ M) Y8 ^3 q: [" u2 i! t
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
. l: p7 ]+ B* L8 y2 papartments are the way to go? No.6 o% F# a( y; r9 [. k
! p! r9 S T4 m
9 S9 r. d7 ?; v: ?
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the3 i; V' y% R! c) h1 ]4 j- |
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this* X2 _3 J) Z3 `
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make- J* [# d: N. a/ U* ]( }8 s
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so' G- O/ w, H2 X' g( y3 f* c8 N
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
7 ]# h# N: a3 zresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless0 f( J( W: Q+ e- V5 B
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
. _3 ?. ^+ k; L& j$ D8 Zunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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