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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# z- d* M) s7 [0 ?/ [, J3 d, i
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
b ^% p+ K5 t4 `2 G. J# O/ cBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
) F* u4 F7 e4 V# h hcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.; i* ?# E' E9 a
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,, F; a6 f3 C L/ C9 f. i
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of" ?3 a. ]4 \ |- i3 Z% m& ]
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
3 J0 [* v7 W. Z L/ {# T, ^5 ohutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
4 Q+ R* r4 w- m. O1 xeach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera6 V3 z6 U% `2 @; o1 v
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
8 a0 i$ j0 [4 R5 R/ O& L; y- jharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are' |" S: ]9 F- A* u5 k! Y7 w; R* m
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
+ z' y" Z. M5 lforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
+ }- H' X& g; B& j! \was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great5 S( a: K s2 l+ G
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,0 K: T- i+ s( r5 e% O
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong; {" q4 _7 `( X6 V0 G4 x: H
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment. Q1 h" c# B. H' {
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
, Z8 l0 r" q& [$ j% Z; Ino hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
~8 m! ]) O4 x1 Z# r+ zonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
# e; r. }, z( M: y7 osort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
/ s X' ?% y+ u' P5 wwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move8 r9 u3 O8 F: i% C- L4 F, @# Y
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
8 F( `1 B( Z( D"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,& f9 P: h4 w5 V9 k
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are6 w( X, y% ?; I/ `, [
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 W4 Z. _6 Y! o" P: j: `"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make; N0 `. c, `) W. C% O7 w
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was" H) I1 Y2 k& x/ S, ]
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
+ p \* j5 m u: a( E6 g" Zparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
8 G: A$ {# L; ^$ B8 i8 ]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+ q0 X& d! Y/ P/ ^! i& Iimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for9 T$ d$ y7 X/ J2 W; e
development.
Hutongs, E6 g2 j; k: x6 Q2 ~6 ?
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
- B! X/ U+ k# Rthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
$ s* l! Z" X j. din hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
r. J5 |+ V$ o# ]/ d; p2 Lhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
0 v. r- B$ H8 ?. B5 D& Wwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs." }! I- m) V( T% j0 w: T( k
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date7 V4 \1 m) L8 M- Z( v2 Q2 V0 A
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
! l Z% q3 X. y9 Vto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses" ?5 ?$ }9 P: \" y; m$ C
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically. E: ]5 n2 y' `
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
8 b& t7 l% e# n/ `5 ]live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
p7 p0 W( r: E! Q/ j {hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the( }) A* a0 I3 o% Y! ~1 a
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
, M! t; }4 K$ p4 F$ q0 V- N- Hproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be2 Y5 h& O, D% o% b. E; v0 E
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong0 n, M( @, L% w
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
, Z% o+ U( v) c- Z% N' y; \people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
+ V; A" B. \ I; K4 Vtorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished& l; j. e+ g0 @2 z9 q, _: N
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".6 E+ U( E1 X( j X( r
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
7 m8 x1 m9 @* Saligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially# l5 p5 b; x/ y8 j1 ^
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image P4 E0 q/ v% y5 Q) v8 @
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
0 J$ _/ N; t; p# C3 I. xHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those1 S9 |/ ?3 X- J5 r5 ?/ E8 X B
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
. [' Q- w1 O$ L0 G0 ]/ ymay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some# z% y/ Y) L) a S# @& f
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before: s( W/ u. B& u) e' w: |4 v5 d. c
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
6 C; G. B% Q; \9 E7 P( Opeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
% b5 O# O# a- x3 Y, yapartments are the way to go? No.6 A" L# E# O7 H! ]/ l# A9 j
2 q% H' z- k! {* z3 t9 q
% T x- C" I0 q9 l
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
}1 T7 ~5 X) I' F1 p3 R# ]1 ]situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
4 h0 e6 o( ], O# Y'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
& \; ]7 J# L' }no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so. p5 U5 ?0 F2 ~4 S
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant1 ?+ r/ f4 c/ n/ E. _6 _
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
! M! p& U& m+ O8 j @0 I3 YBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
) D7 i- w# a- x3 ?* P) w. \unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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