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A Hutong Discussion

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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) w) r# |' M9 {5 d6 } architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider # e2 L' U$ T7 l3 K/ fBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"; _6 o ?0 l9 Q" h( g5 a city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture./ q N- ^+ W! l' h7 } [ According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,1 P* X& R/ Q! ~" v% @% C& u. Y 3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of! V# R- r o2 \( R' R- P3 \) z6 C Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within 0 U" H. x% I A/ uhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among . t9 v4 Y. P1 d% _$ u2 }0 deach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera& ?5 M) U" ~3 `9 q and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is/ N1 i0 M) w4 a; A- C: | harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are , u$ m( m: c- Gdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and! X7 A L) R" |! H2 r: ` forms of culture emerged in hutong.

I: u5 g# b6 _1 v was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great1 Z0 {' Y$ J/ h7 I* W" T$ _" L impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,( P& r6 E7 @/ T3 w0 a and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong+ k" A! @0 f. U; x7 D has a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment . H% \# v7 [' Y* Z Q' M/ \of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that ( q# ~2 i8 I, \, B X2 T" Zno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are) S5 E' G, {; P2 W* Q only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a% \8 ^' i' d1 h7 s6 v, z) V0 O' M sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government: G- T9 N- X5 Y4 Q$ N want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move 9 S G. c A. Hto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is* {. W2 G9 O* o N "modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,- {0 h' m5 z( T. ? this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are * M- w' C" E$ H" S! p% D# rstill 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 }# L" H/ S. T"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make! a' q5 u' B. D& k! C money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was # ^# I& _( m8 b" g; F% C) Sa beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a8 r: e. h) y. B' f# Y Y3 K) Y parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across& d* q' b2 F0 G# ]- r; S 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 / C# b2 B, B6 M5 jimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for0 n7 ^9 W3 e) G" Y7 n; ]3 A development.

Hutongs 4 Z' n0 C3 i: y/ d. W1 j L+ ~7 ain the old days were residential area where people actually lived7 D9 n" @ ^- |3 Z there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions 0 @' W# e- {; T5 B: Vin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not & P z9 ]5 \/ R c/ M. S2 ~" ]have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you' a4 _* k* ~5 j% U/ d will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs. ! p3 d% ~5 n r3 ]6 U! N; V$ y$ wFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date , p6 Q) X. h8 y1 ]to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used# z# r; \* s$ l( d) @# q0 E to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses # L( E7 h' z& X4 P) m xsupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically' s1 E8 M7 r; k4 Z; y unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to4 q( V. e. B5 ^3 g live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose, 4 G' y: h3 M$ u8 O9 shutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the& x4 w# q* G( @! G3 G1 t1 E balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the; d v A6 E, S; h project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be3 {4 }. ?7 A- B Z {/ E renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong, K% r7 r8 n4 c. E Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how( J: `: l0 {. g people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be 4 J t# B! V$ {( R+ u( jtorn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished. [4 t4 P. [3 _1 Q/ A memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress". ?) W9 m, Y2 y' C* D Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are * d' @2 k3 p/ f5 h$ paligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially 2 P$ D' v9 V; z" J. z5 inon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image 9 A a6 r; ]+ g* N; `- v1 oof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these6 e V7 |5 T2 d2 a4 r0 M Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those - [8 ]9 C( F% @5 c1 }7 J, E% Bpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they 4 t, t! N& _6 d* A9 B6 k0 J; Smay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some$ W6 i( ^9 B# M) X of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before 4 ?% ^0 W' w+ o% q' v# U"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all ; Z+ ]# l( V" V% Z0 y* o7 dpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise 1 z$ o; V. W& l3 ], fapartments are the way to go? No. : v' A0 f/ @" z- ^: M- U9 K+ P0 A , Z/ n7 D3 E9 T # j. ?, w) G6 ]7 Y# W

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the6 W5 `# Z) _/ ?5 x) K; x situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this 7 S7 y# q2 [' B* I- p! a'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make : |1 i7 m7 ]8 k0 fno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so9 U4 i5 e2 i7 q8 I" C4 m/ k7 d fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant1 Q0 F$ h9 c9 p resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless & U+ U& u6 F) e( [# nBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is( u i( ?. c% ^) n7 f: Q# {% z# l 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!!
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