服务器里的北京 - 老北京网

 找回密码
 注册老北京网
查看: 6518|回复: 1

A Hutong Discussion

[复制链接]
发表于 2007-4-24 05:08:00 | 显示全部楼层 |阅读模式
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 3 D* _' a# N ~% {0 G$ Q. x2 Zarchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider6 |4 Y9 d/ ], { Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian" 6 ~2 n4 T9 n. t- ?* K9 Ccity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture. / \4 W: x: z! B) u+ zAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty, % u" T/ J+ [+ Z% v) Z3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of# ~$ X/ r% x1 [8 P& i2 v5 E! s& M8 C Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within 2 _/ O# F8 \( a5 P Xhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among, d6 g2 J8 u. U/ t% T$ |; I" r each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera - K, Y) A; U: q: I- fand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is* p7 K8 T9 r ^% ] harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are- H$ K/ h. s8 ^" I- m" } descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and, }( r% I& C. L" F9 ]0 }5 { forms of culture emerged in hutong.

I* p, K) Q' G, Z3 p8 A was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great & s& [: w- Z4 [! }! w% Yimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished, 1 O3 C- t: x0 B( x& S9 Y# X! U, i# ~and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong, I) s% T2 `5 j has a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment 8 W' X( d) B$ Y- U& u/ ]! Lof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that % v+ f+ a: O' X# T5 y$ E3 L. ~7 A6 j# Bno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are h' y, L( v+ S only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a 1 R+ l# @0 e8 c4 @1 s( ^sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government - H$ L/ I* X+ l' Y* D) z* y& Swant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move . i' A' L7 ]6 T( C/ @to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is / n$ M F" F3 c3 E"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact, & G F. A2 c1 X: B. t) kthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are, O7 G# x& j6 T5 }( q, t- f' ~ 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 1 _# E$ x) q& g/ p% B"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make ) ?" l- t5 @' G4 x1 ~money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was & G3 v+ \ o$ }, n8 r+ ja beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a 7 s: \5 }4 ?) f j. l8 `: k0 dparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across 2 f0 d* n, w! J4 r# N$ e8 q# h# lthe 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 . Z0 w4 W9 h* ?' \7 Z! n/ A& [! Jimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for9 J% S) q& R2 W* p, g% w0 }! j1 @ development.

Hutongs8 P. U% |3 }5 k9 B* ]1 p in the old days were residential area where people actually lived# }; }, B3 t/ S2 m there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions ! }/ ^' H2 K4 `* m2 q/ Sin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not4 J4 G; |* A/ U. o' s have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you) t4 k" e( Q f& V will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs. O2 f' T4 J/ ^. w! Y3 G2 NFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date) d0 N* w, S4 I* a to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used 6 t6 M/ J& a) ^* Ato hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses- l6 w: s3 ~/ D- R( t) R& z+ p/ L support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically8 q4 |, @. L4 t7 N; _% w unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to$ v6 A! H* r7 N live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose, - X- N" ?, T. v9 K2 nhutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the ; N( X# m* y) ubalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the 5 d+ _1 t$ Z5 F: Jproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be , F) C' M% X3 Z5 @- u4 U) brenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong 4 d6 r( l( X+ [' P" T3 B& S5 rMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how1 l2 I8 s8 ~6 X7 z people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be $ x, f$ B. R- `6 g0 \1 ~5 l }# J% U; ^torn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished 7 y/ _' X$ }) i5 x: m Ememories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress"." _( W# Y. O& G: H Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are- Y& t' A4 U3 h3 g8 i aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially & W( _+ e k/ E- ^8 hnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image6 A. K5 A8 c! m/ {" D( n G2 m& ]4 [ of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these$ C7 m9 b* m v7 T Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those $ k8 N6 v1 U* D! apeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they6 w1 w+ Q: q0 c9 l" r may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some ! F( ^' m E# q' {" [, F. r" ~of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before 7 q& U; e8 j1 D$ v( e% M K8 ], P"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all . W0 l# q: d1 O: E/ ypeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise5 c. e4 d6 R% p5 r' B apartments are the way to go? No.' P. @( X; l( Y# }' R( X2 i. w ' M: s5 C. A$ B4 z8 w- f $ L6 B- h5 ^# w

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the9 n% p1 T/ k- f0 ~+ V situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this , t4 }( N: A2 g3 w# n'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make+ v1 I9 A8 L' J7 x1 t: X2 k no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so- o1 J1 F3 b# \9 c/ _% p. x* J fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant3 ]6 e: V9 @$ L resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless6 N9 g* s! E' B Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is v2 }! N5 k: _! o! _$ f t unlikely to happen too. Sad!
发表于 2007-5-22 20:37:00 | 显示全部楼层
Excuse me. May I use ur discussion in my dissertation about Beijing Conservation?
Thx a lot!!
您需要登录后才可以回帖 登录 | 注册老北京网

本版积分规则

2000.11.1,老北京网自创办之日起,已经运行了 | 老北京网

GMT+8, 2026-1-20 05:59 , Processed in 0.126741 second(s), 17 queries .

道义 良知 责任 担当

CopyRight © 2000-2022 oldbeijing Inc. All Rights Reserved.

返回顶部