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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/ U0 L1 i1 i* Y2 G+ \- _
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider! y- X5 w# Y" \/ O( u
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
# b7 }# k" a2 scity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
9 P* Y" k9 E9 qAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
4 |* y& @, a4 u/ Y }, K3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of, K0 ~3 C" H) B; q+ K' a; h; H( I
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within9 _7 L; m! t2 Z+ {# Q9 n
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among# t/ ^1 b* v+ M7 i/ M
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
' Y/ l* F) X6 }% V1 [- O% l8 x8 cand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is% z5 W6 b- k* M) p7 [; D/ z9 |% D
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
" c8 h/ M3 _6 z8 c- Q1 A# Rdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and; X4 S6 s+ A1 E1 L9 E; ^! K4 j
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I! \" c( i7 m4 u4 Q
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
7 B- j/ u# P2 s' d# ^+ D+ Y( Vimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
% g# g+ C& i3 T, A: q/ X1 \9 sand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
, e/ G6 Y- [" l, h1 ?: ]+ V; shas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment& d( L% }, ~; }# n
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that: s" S9 l3 u! @& }' B$ N
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are7 l! [) p5 B7 ]' h
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a, \5 m9 x: L0 x+ h4 s
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
3 A: N! d# r" m" xwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move5 l+ A& ]- z! m* S$ B% x0 |, q
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
1 V' f) X: s: }4 T+ g/ L"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,, C+ S5 p5 Q7 W% j
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are: ^5 ~$ G: d& ~, b5 z& 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. s4 d$ @+ }- C5 h/ g& T+ i Z3 b
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
* O7 l, w# i: jmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
& ^( j4 r# V$ a, _8 da beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a1 S. B5 }* a$ r
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across ^, b# L( s7 K1 N2 M7 H, A
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 cultural0 V* S$ H: P. A+ s
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
2 I2 A# P$ j! Wdevelopment.
Hutongs9 z# V3 R6 m" S9 u% G
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
5 x0 y8 W0 H5 Kthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
, ~) h8 g5 M/ m; hin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
, o; m4 S, E8 i, nhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
, @; Z _0 v( S5 v; }. T" Y: ^will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.$ z, M, `. u+ Y4 z
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
; m9 D1 ?5 K1 R- pto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
) H. h% F7 \4 E8 Tto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses+ }( O& ]7 _) ?" `) ?: j8 w5 c
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
8 t! q5 N* M9 _$ o) M/ J) e) iunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to* u7 P1 z# f: c! S& k) z; \" |
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,1 \4 T% `& o4 T4 _1 b: y1 D
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the3 T8 n# E. h3 l/ L
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
1 R H' }( _/ H* d; Xproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
- y( [$ F4 R4 g5 p0 w8 o- |3 \$ G: jrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
+ _1 c+ I+ _, C7 n! g6 HMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
, r( d, }; z( W! H9 K0 E$ Ipeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
- X: Z9 }: q2 V! Dtorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
7 H+ C- d+ h& q2 G- n" U" R. bmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
* h3 h- M8 b# o4 [& ^( D5 xNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are# `: x3 V! T( z! X
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
?# h& f% k0 Anon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image# z) j! z6 }. s5 ^
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
0 o9 R5 ?% ?8 t- w1 g1 ]Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those d6 C/ b7 F" P
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they) D% x# M) k( N% I' g/ C0 j6 W, r
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
, _6 L" N6 D- Z* q) [of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
4 w% V# t5 m/ l7 ["modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
. s" n' a! S( _1 d2 Cpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
1 A: c7 o4 I) aapartments are the way to go? No.
# ~7 g# S2 ?% W# _# l. ? - M, a" |# a" P
) {" g0 Q9 p$ @: b
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
, r# H7 r# u3 L, _5 R3 f0 j! N( v( Wsituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
7 [/ }9 U/ O" s6 ['progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
6 F) K7 Y U9 P& X+ Ano money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
; g; X5 U: c" _' ^fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
% {, B3 D' _; V/ K1 ?! a1 }) Xresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless0 m# s9 B9 u) A/ z0 s
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is/ u1 S0 x6 y; I' ~+ n e
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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