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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
; ]4 j1 d% n; `# L) p4 Xarchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider6 y% i! D* l, s' I; g
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
) g0 m7 u- O8 N* `' ecity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
( O& f( H! C; f7 C! w8 ~5 hAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,8 R/ z( |/ T" M' c
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of0 [7 j" k# @, k/ C; y
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
0 O# z$ S4 l; Z# K+ uhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
7 ?: \1 ^! i" u6 @& J& h5 Ueach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera; w5 N! N5 n& C1 r% E; b
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
9 y. Q' `" W# M! B2 [harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are. b7 D, a: N6 U
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
& ^4 T( X) V8 ~forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
, Z( c. P) l; D+ u! ]! qwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great+ p9 x1 R- ?4 K! C
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,8 V' s2 ~" N9 C u! d& E0 `1 x/ |
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong" y. k4 W% Y7 R( ~
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
3 G8 \* P! F; w: Eof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that! {: {* l2 M! x, p2 x
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
2 E& d; K6 f4 q% s, ?! ]" v) Fonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
9 r; y, D& k% ^' k7 {- wsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
/ U/ Y, k! g! Q9 [5 Hwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move4 {8 z( H7 A: w2 v5 S/ p9 ~1 W; N% T
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is, K% |$ C# w% E1 n7 `
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,: n- o8 |) [% d/ A/ Q
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are! b$ w' \6 G9 _5 o" U. H# |/ ^
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! o8 @' Z4 Q5 B3 R
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
3 W; ]2 @- B$ J& S4 [& I4 Smoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
# ~8 q/ L' }5 k5 @* ya beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
# }: o/ z- m3 y: O& E2 I1 L* Zparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across' P, O6 r6 \9 I
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- V- `/ N1 W9 b
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
! Y* B5 q7 t! idevelopment.
Hutongs4 j# V, ^! q& H! G. D
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
) ?5 @) a) T- B: h. H+ T. rthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions' f/ l% h5 e. I8 b3 r/ _1 z
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not2 \8 t$ M0 U8 D) M5 A9 q
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
& O. F6 b' C8 t* Gwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
~* J. z' L5 J; C* _Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date! D8 s$ i% R- i+ k/ g
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
1 w" i1 u6 H6 f2 Yto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
1 m# R. o& W( b* ]( q2 k& @support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically% p% E; f1 s. h3 d* ~
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to: n3 \) D; X8 M9 j
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
( ?2 ]/ [! Q) B1 X: @$ u* thutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
. ?( L6 f+ l5 O# a2 D1 X# X! |balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the6 b" j% T+ h: r# [8 O
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
/ d) E- Y! r8 r$ I: x9 e+ Prenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong U$ a8 z% C3 M9 F& |* I/ @% y' {
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
- q/ U u* \' C4 Q1 U2 r0 f8 C" F& M$ Qpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be1 |; r9 b) q4 j/ I
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished, k) v6 G, z+ B' E5 M
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".: z& N" B; d3 [/ e& e" g0 S3 ^
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are, N, {5 T& Q6 ^% H: R
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially+ A" |; ?; ?5 N$ p3 W
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image' J, ?3 k3 O& p! t' Q
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these1 X* a' I- k+ B. ]% J: |( j; y4 n7 C
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
/ o1 v1 c+ q \5 S6 @; Rpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
) Q# J( g& q" b- i4 E& \may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some' t2 k1 f6 M7 p6 x, |" F) B
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
8 f* o/ w5 r( s6 V"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all' |; q4 j* q- V& {
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise, y! S! L1 b; e$ T* L
apartments are the way to go? No.
: [% n( E9 Y1 [; i. g' V: i 5 B+ V8 t o- {) S7 Z. E: N% h- I# \% L7 \
; B1 b `' S0 M( @% ]0 R
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the' R$ O* x e. {5 f2 t
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this9 J6 f5 P- z2 }8 |# T9 v7 B/ p
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make q& O# V' J0 [
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so5 o R! r7 V4 s7 M+ l3 p
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant0 v: G1 u' e/ U
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless% Y0 e1 L/ s W7 k6 _$ ~1 m
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
1 R( l8 ~+ S% W9 Munlikely to happen too. Sad!
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