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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, its7 v+ J& @4 y# N: f: |! |
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider4 e' L) E- p6 H5 I6 b9 y: [
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
) \9 g2 b: D0 T* K9 Ocity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
+ {8 a( \- j1 ^: HAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,! b1 h1 t) N( L
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of! v+ R/ k/ Z5 O: [* }4 ?. ~6 p3 C
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within% [3 E8 z3 i* x* [9 }8 T4 H
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among T7 u! W1 h7 Q
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera' N7 ~4 \2 z9 Z8 x# E1 w
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
' B: P0 e* o2 ^harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are$ z9 @% |6 D5 p4 T
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
' a5 {% I2 W. N" E9 ?: |. A3 Gforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I/ l/ Z/ ^! W, m& P% n. }
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
% y ?( \ i& W/ Yimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,# I5 X/ Q* a- B& @
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
* k$ t- @5 ? J; p4 yhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment, }' F3 V: ~% a: T2 O
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that" b7 C: E* z/ {' w/ e
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
- j1 v0 P7 t3 n* k4 konly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
9 ?* f- }0 A$ O. Csort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government/ W$ a X2 {+ G" ?
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
5 C7 V8 K; `, U, @5 c8 vto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
5 X* D( `; W3 S& _4 w; v/ Q"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
8 G- Y' ~2 ~5 Q4 Q, Q3 r6 d" r3 I7 K, Athis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
: c5 D8 f3 S, e/ F3 vstill 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 U, X8 g5 z! Q3 Z7 L. d' t
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
. |1 o0 C( f H' h' z- `: fmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was( [- L6 n. ~, ~
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
f) C% ^3 G, m! l/ Iparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
8 W5 R1 O2 o+ \5 |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 cultural3 ]; _" A$ n1 i$ O# D
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
/ ]: p9 ~. R8 E- X' ^* r4 J. p3 vdevelopment.
Hutongs& Q; x" ]; W' c' s) [5 b
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
' q( c+ y o8 |4 c. qthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
; l3 _: N$ h) q7 L6 H! q; P0 \in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not/ w* Q: e2 B4 h; x2 j
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
" M( E# h: i; B' [; n( ^will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.* U- `) J! _5 w0 }- d
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
) T- A. t. X& m0 u! Tto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used' g! [ c8 I# o1 G4 j7 `
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses! F7 Y$ L9 l2 J9 E, U: g Q
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically/ D' }- l* Q4 x8 i( X* S- _* A j
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to4 K1 E; k/ y% m8 X V
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,. G% K1 z E: k. ^2 H) Y* U8 S
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
4 T) W# ]# f9 \balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the0 ^+ A3 ]* w0 b/ C- X( l
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
6 E8 {( L3 r; Trenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
* P- M! e2 U O+ p4 M. Q7 T! }4 }Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
, _& {8 m7 v! ~people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be$ ^7 M- ^+ q$ o; ~6 r0 d* _
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
* `0 Y, E- ?* j' {& gmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
+ f# f/ E! i- Q# A7 kNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
& D% q0 @6 a& a0 Jaligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially1 Q' ~" m$ z- V: |6 ] `; \0 O; V
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image- p4 i2 G8 ^' P: y5 n" l% k7 j
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
) Q! O" Y, @6 ZHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
0 r! P1 ?8 |( y0 h, U0 Rpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
0 M2 i# [7 y, T1 Mmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some/ k( _9 j. ]: ?7 f% l9 A% ?
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before* F4 C' u4 Q# P# g8 y# c5 ~
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all5 u/ B7 V. u3 `0 T a
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise p% m* V+ x( B7 @
apartments are the way to go? No.1 c8 `7 F& m4 O, p/ n
2 H4 G, A- r7 Q4 ^" o
4 N( [* i4 N3 |* M6 f1 g
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the3 F+ P0 W- A1 n3 \' I! Z n' }& N* ~
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
1 _" r. c" Q8 C, A'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
9 G7 E) B4 t2 L* G( Tno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
: T* A* b. m' G: t8 o) L1 Ifast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
' W0 n9 x% a( S0 z9 ?, c- q rresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
5 \ x r' x! k1 r0 |! M9 l6 l7 YBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
2 }$ Y3 X, l0 j4 t) Q/ @3 uunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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