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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# u8 t6 s: S9 P( s* ]& u& z' d1 C' S
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider3 S+ {& i( p. G+ z
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"- t: ^ g& g" W9 @, \7 N$ n
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.3 s; d6 w9 W) n; E4 I$ Z
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,7 z& }1 G v F f
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of+ Q& B$ S% f) p" Q0 g% C
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
! m1 p( O1 z" C- E6 I& phutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among* Y1 {' y+ Y3 p' ~
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
! R, Y' Y/ \5 w. T0 P3 w/ [, Nand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
/ T8 {# H% I, B, Mharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are; m3 `& z% `. y& g' D
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and! a0 T% a( N2 u1 }1 V; ~' m' i6 j
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
" W3 `0 m: Q; Y6 |4 r" \was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great: N' | P2 Z$ j4 n
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
1 Y& _; ~+ N( l$ ]and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong% a& }6 |# X: X9 o0 Z2 H
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
2 d4 X6 m. m' I1 @0 |of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that+ O: G& i3 i. d: b$ o4 V+ I7 k
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
! c9 t' ^- _3 B. Eonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
' o8 X$ k- Z, j+ Y- Ksort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
% w, H; Q3 p2 n+ hwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
7 F2 T8 l- ^. ~% K5 {to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is$ v+ x T7 L& x' w( t: @ X( r8 u
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
9 T! c8 D6 R( [1 rthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are# S+ q6 A& j; _. M) P5 m/ W4 u
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
+ n8 l( Z) ]3 f) T"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make$ Z, F6 y3 x* F/ B5 s
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
( O# Y1 a* V( c! t1 }5 R" p8 \a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a2 J/ B4 T, S, R0 v
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
, r2 K% i. _( q5 J7 `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
! ?! R5 V& C# _* Q; _' ~ F- aimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for! e% R/ [, O3 R6 D- d! L7 G
development.
Hutongs& f0 U6 t7 q1 H: e+ r. K( v% g$ Z: N
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
3 f; T- W' ]+ F' O- h, cthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions7 X4 H( o! g0 [/ D5 v% D0 A
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
( R$ Z+ M! R! l! ]/ dhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
; i0 K& T6 t$ [8 G: N9 t. gwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs. [( h* r d0 ^# `, d. p: G% H
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date! L T, _ ~) H e: `5 o: ?' F! R- h% L) X
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used0 r9 D" T- G" M S5 b W
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
- `- w. J) ^" z; v; W( Esupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
% m7 I" A% C6 U, X- I2 K& a" f% wunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
1 R( p$ I# c$ nlive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
f* d5 u. K5 t9 a" f7 \" z( O% h: \hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the/ X: P0 F, t- L" V
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the2 I" ]. ?; w. R
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
# {5 K! I! l1 M# Prenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
& }, n% v/ R9 ]4 G/ l8 V& L3 oMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how: d! K W* M$ Q; B3 l( K
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be! b% A" E ^/ T2 y: B% I% X
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished; l j! n4 o7 o7 V5 e5 n! K
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
2 H x' a9 ?' S) ]1 r1 r3 v, UNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
, G4 d. u) [4 w; N! saligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially7 F/ x; L' x2 _" p6 J
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image j0 l2 m7 ?4 d$ {6 k; u
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
: V8 Y& D: p" uHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
( T' [+ g( T: t/ z/ a/ E1 vpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
% k% a# u1 V" F4 L8 L: nmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
" j6 i; N9 J9 T+ [5 nof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before) |+ u3 `8 b1 o$ S7 Y6 m
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all$ T( o1 p$ c* h9 P( W8 D
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
. B, I$ J" n3 ^# _) q8 zapartments are the way to go? No.
* k) U, |6 S/ W, V9 O
8 }$ F3 h) t) ]4 h ) Q8 ~8 r [( R ^( _& o
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the7 c$ |! z; r8 X1 Z$ W7 H" V) x4 b- |
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
' P9 s. R- A) r) W, K* \'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
' X. D) [# v* I& Y( Gno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so! P p3 h, p$ W$ f$ b, b2 c9 s
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant1 G& s0 {1 z4 S) m% ]) q! k
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
M5 s7 A# U8 D' p( n& n3 t1 ^Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is |) T, l3 S- O2 n
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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