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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, Z% n; E6 [- W- ~. O; ?
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
. H" \- y& B" X& N; [2 kBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian": o& Y/ F& y# v& x) |1 w5 N: i3 ?7 W% x
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.& J+ z2 t1 ^3 l$ s2 C5 U0 G
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
6 _. V( j8 \) ~8 v- P. l! c, F( P% L" ~3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of2 G5 I* J' ?& S5 Q, t. `+ x( S
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
: y; p9 Y" Z* w/ Y/ M- qhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among. g: L" ~4 i- `: h; o" }
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera9 |' o; c" s2 o: U
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
# }$ @* _/ J s2 charmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
5 g! N& Z! @& k: Ndescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
2 K7 b# `- t3 W! c, |6 M* Yforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
' J# {8 C/ w0 {% f1 Fwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
- u/ K/ z, N5 `impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
3 F2 n2 L) @1 m5 F" Oand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong: A: c6 t8 |2 {% ]
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
/ u# L _" L' _1 }- l2 f1 }of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
* w9 }' K6 X& Q+ R5 ^no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are5 d e! _1 v: U# L) Q
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a/ V2 m3 }, n; G
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government* ` ]% _2 X! c T) J) H
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
) h/ y% L4 U" X" [4 V& O7 Sto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is1 d: g" D$ D6 K- S$ W
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
8 D7 `' L3 s* ?. k W6 i$ K. Y! ?% k. Bthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
" t, I2 I S0 x* M" a2 b& sstill 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+ G6 @, w4 {5 H& p
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make% P. j! R$ }) b: o; @: X/ H
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
) ? D2 ~6 b) j7 b, ya beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
- Y8 l& w/ |, u; N4 @! y, R2 Uparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across1 x! p! i& R; h$ |$ p2 L
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
8 X4 |8 {9 G. R) a. zimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
; A1 F/ v/ X+ B! U5 z# d, G0 N$ ~3 wdevelopment.
Hutongs6 P$ p9 a, N, j
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
3 c" s! p% p1 s; i) ?, F+ B2 r6 zthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
) \) U* F' T- {9 R" hin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
9 B& L, s0 A6 m8 V* |have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you( A( ^* H$ Q- V3 {$ ~
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs. r1 J4 {$ A/ s. ^+ D" x
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
$ M6 {- j5 Q4 [: `to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
; T) C( L# i k4 J9 [to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses* l+ s) g: t$ \( r! q
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
: T: X6 N* r# \( T m& d& t) \unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
$ e; o0 X* W. |2 S; ~2 f7 olive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
! A5 p& c6 @4 G- ?hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the5 M2 ^- E$ T+ o: u/ c5 y. p+ ~9 Q
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the# d% w3 R( p1 {8 y$ X9 M# @0 u
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be% X q& A. c% U# _; F3 `/ C
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
- U+ b+ G5 @& d0 K- y6 EMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
7 Z8 M3 j) R+ p9 C npeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
_* W* G: i. h0 jtorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
5 |6 F9 ?8 Y, P& T; c" kmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".2 \4 V P& Q8 L( |$ ]" y
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
0 |+ ?8 H; B4 _aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially4 g/ w2 @ }$ N
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
& Y! i1 o1 {. @% ]of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these' s# p, _ p* b; o5 R) N& C
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those2 @" R8 X$ J( k9 v* P( ~$ T& c" v
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
( N0 e8 Y. @3 |5 [may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some* z' K+ Q# `0 q, I% B
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before- Y4 h/ R+ i: Z+ q) ?: d
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all9 U, K( }* B* L4 A" Y
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise' l# I/ p" Y! k2 z
apartments are the way to go? No.9 m$ [2 G" L& U4 s; Z
{& p" ?, B7 X8 ?
( z# r& d, ~: r Q+ x9 I; O
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the* X" i5 I! b) `3 U' A+ G i
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this. s; @1 z* D; ^6 G8 B4 B
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
( P- u! d7 q* fno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so" ~8 } a8 m& _' \0 y5 {% P2 @& {
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant: O; b2 w1 I/ n" L; I2 K/ n( H
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless1 N! e' m2 C' B5 D, w5 a
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is) u* g4 T; p. h$ ~# W1 |3 i0 e
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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