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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. d c/ ~2 ]5 D: k$ \! H3 e
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
) r7 b. Z, |4 `9 y! s* I# d& j/ l" ?Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"6 z9 o/ S! h/ H
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
+ `0 [% t" m& H+ s5 ~" OAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
2 d$ k7 k% F- ~! [0 i( M i3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of! a6 P m4 Y. H
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
% o8 n3 ]! q- f: `0 |: f4 yhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among3 T- v# C+ g, r- Z0 N A8 j8 A# W
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera7 y" \0 j7 m5 n5 h3 p8 E
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is* a9 Y9 [& x! A; `
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are/ M$ ]# v3 v+ P4 G7 J4 m8 W$ I, R
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and; G- G+ D1 h& C$ \$ ^
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I, T7 W! B& R! p( g+ |
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great- }- i) Z- S# V# i
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
* x4 \; o4 S f+ c" _and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
3 ~) L/ X1 e$ J0 y4 @) d& ^0 m1 Khas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment& v, D! o) R+ D8 o! Z6 E
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that; t7 r% D8 h! p) \! ]
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
: Z. W [' E+ conly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a' o& x* r* k/ I* D
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
" q% T% _" i( M: T1 A# mwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
7 {2 U9 V/ J ~to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
! i7 B) K* r, h+ u" Q8 s"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,! {# i3 L# D& W. T4 s6 B
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are6 g$ a+ {2 t, [2 n
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 N4 t$ f/ Z8 W6 Z @- g"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make+ t3 ~* f1 v% J
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was. g U+ ?" {0 p( M
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
3 ]" [* n" p' z9 r2 Z4 Xparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across+ Q, U0 |' B4 X1 {# O
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
5 f4 B- S& _5 q# C3 limportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
" H+ G5 j' Q9 ~4 k. v2 A3 @development.
Hutongs
. D4 W# s8 y4 i1 e3 |in the old days were residential area where people actually lived. b, l3 o$ ~( g' ?, U% u* o2 A# _
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
. A& ?9 J2 Y' S) G, }" x: gin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not; p. A6 q8 ?% R& ^! h5 m* `
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
1 h' y2 @ ^0 U: S4 U7 Zwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.6 q. H+ j, }7 a& H
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date8 C5 B. R; }2 w; r: Q
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
: p; h2 N$ U- \# Uto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
9 c l5 s4 s) E2 _" i& \6 ]: msupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically. h, D3 y6 N( Y* k# ^. p
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
* `: a2 u# X1 U f" dlive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
, u" s4 R7 ?* d Z: M! ]hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the9 e; `7 \, J) ^
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the% R+ E5 V" o4 s0 P% @
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
% y& v( t- m( b! z: p# l5 Mrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
, o5 p+ j0 t( j6 H5 e, T5 XMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
* c1 s, x- |: _/ |, G8 b2 G* ppeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
# P% [+ A: @% |+ @4 K, X/ d, Mtorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished# u3 N/ h% Z8 v
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
( ^% [7 J7 G2 ZNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
; P- z, {/ W! G/ u7 N9 F( Zaligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially& k: y8 I9 b6 @
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
2 a# q* w: y- Q, rof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
7 J$ N; U6 L1 a; @7 p+ J2 M+ sHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
5 q$ m' F4 Q3 c6 C- bpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
- S6 }$ E5 y" P5 }: g4 o; {5 h) Umay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
a' z3 S( j2 j4 a* s) [of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
( v& R6 J( z- i4 l6 `"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all9 Z, m6 B5 w7 o. o% ^ I. h
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
4 n9 P& e: O e! k' Yapartments are the way to go? No.+ h" ]/ U8 |& t2 m8 p+ D
% P6 D5 Q( e, ~ R2 P7 }
9 I, h, g' x0 D
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
, L( i0 ?; @/ ]2 b' i0 ^% |. ysituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this$ g6 m! X, d" M% R& v0 c
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make# b u- S/ H; ~+ w; [, v* d
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
( z9 V2 Y8 F7 S' y, v( ]fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
) o% ^+ |! B! w( s& A6 L( jresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless. U0 [' Z) |/ d4 a* B: I
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
, n' o5 u5 T1 t5 i, Kunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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