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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$ u+ H: b4 C* c' H( c
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
0 f7 r' }) B- P7 f% m) TBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
. O$ B V# N* b! C6 x9 Ocity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
9 [' ^1 N: r2 \; tAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
$ a7 D. g' z* }' u$ P( w3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
- H6 H- q% v1 {) G1 AManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
: n! S" X/ f' s( Q% u7 D( r" phutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among/ v- K/ w# ~8 o
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
" S6 ?/ m0 `/ [and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is- l/ H* g+ O- A1 t& F! a' F
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
1 w& q' a3 O$ Z3 Pdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and' }1 {& N' O. V- G) E# D7 P
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I! n# @! D7 U0 q* p4 J- [
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
4 e0 X4 S C' Nimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,+ O2 g1 y/ c& F$ c3 a0 g
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong% @; W3 ~1 ~; U% w; @
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
2 ~+ T9 Z q% Q: W5 D7 n, @; yof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that. f! o7 z w. b* a7 w
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
* [% G7 ]$ u: o, s" ionly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a9 N% X) U4 i5 L! P
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
" j3 F4 l3 I1 C M8 o; F# twant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
4 x+ w: s2 h. x7 U4 E% z+ tto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
. w0 X* p* w- l3 `( }& w# i7 _# |"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact, f7 v5 g+ J4 c2 v
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
! q- E( j3 c3 ?: y1 M5 nstill 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+ ^) |6 Y& N9 S; q0 J, }
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
9 X; h" o2 U; J, e _money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
: ^+ `/ l, [# B& Z. ma beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a3 A% n; K2 Q# \7 S4 V
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across7 ~) f9 [! p5 `8 w2 F+ ]
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
: i, j9 k1 B; mimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for; V5 e' d) }0 q% V9 |
development.
Hutongs
/ n {. A4 x1 ain the old days were residential area where people actually lived
7 x! h% @$ h, f% \there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions" n$ X- H, a2 a! _% ?
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
3 L# L. r# G; i, O* k6 khave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you4 }& M8 D" y- }8 T8 y3 v0 A
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
: ?% G& a" M# m+ q4 t6 @Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
9 O8 a2 P+ ^5 }" ]- ^& gto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used ~+ c1 N, {/ _7 V; y
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses% d& j7 e9 [. k0 K
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
5 A) S2 h. _" \unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to. \5 r: H* T! W2 T: R
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,# A/ G4 _3 J6 Q- w
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the1 M. ?3 t! w, S6 ?* w6 g" h
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
! r) I+ N. _: r) V' `3 wproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be# m' G- E# n+ [
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong- y% x& `$ z j
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how) _" j5 s# z6 F& h* U
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
( M2 c4 f4 C9 o R# N( `; O ztorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished" ^9 b' R3 A# k; f
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
9 f/ A1 q! C' e7 _7 O- g+ rNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are, ^ `, `, j/ o; p" }" k, G# E
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially( a: Y: a" s4 J) f: U) E# K. ~
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image2 Z% X% M" T8 U% n( H. v1 W3 m6 o% b
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
" q& j6 r( L; J* a: J" AHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those+ K) j3 N# d& j3 S
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they! U: N M. D" |( a
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some$ Z8 K8 ?6 h0 `- _* i, k
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before% J! A+ W! A* S; G
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
Y# I* {7 ]9 qpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
+ F# ]% [6 {# Oapartments are the way to go? No.' P' M( R! ~5 I9 }
: p. C* ~" B8 y) L; w. o: C" E * c2 @$ Y9 S0 D% W# y" l& l+ B$ l
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
- Y: f! b+ v% w9 P& I) W1 Msituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
& _7 `- R! N0 P4 m2 n$ {'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make0 |- r. q# o6 p: ]
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
; g' s% \7 T2 a7 \5 O+ Wfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
r. ~3 Q# ^2 [. ]2 V' X" l# }resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless1 \) Z' o* p$ y# g: e+ M6 G0 Z
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
2 Q0 ~' E! ~+ ?4 U% o& U2 Nunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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