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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
5 n" ]0 r0 \. uarchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider" ~6 R1 ~1 Z+ {/ [: `: h- x0 h6 D9 ~
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
/ K0 M+ {) M9 [/ l5 v1 S! _) |city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
/ l$ B/ ^4 W$ K9 O4 F) eAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
7 L$ m" \4 t. j% _4 o9 R5 @3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
, l3 W5 k# D' hManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within ?) t& ^4 T) v8 H! g+ u" S" L ]
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among( W |0 z) E8 t$ i' ` f
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera- F; w# a* [5 k/ n! p4 c4 n
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
`+ Y: w; j" X" X' t: l! l8 l1 R$ Yharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are4 H, E B! g( D1 g9 f
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
4 T* c2 _- N8 W' Q. c* hforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I! h( J5 Q, R% s( n: G: ^
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
7 {& d# X' t$ s) c3 f9 ~impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,5 |" r( e2 O% s. @! I- ]
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
' G1 X- o9 j5 ?+ p. ~6 v0 Z' B" ihas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment; E" I1 L: l$ ?, T I: j
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that, {" b2 N, v0 F2 \ O; o2 N
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
2 H3 s/ V# e0 q( u. yonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
) N& c/ U6 v# i. qsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
8 l; ]/ G9 p/ owant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move# B5 ^, D1 l1 W
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
, h- c' z/ s4 `$ U5 k# q# R"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
2 f2 i) f4 f; l% Z: B" z" ]$ Ethis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are) f# J4 X" G8 K- Y) w) u
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 to2 Q: u! K1 }" w5 A( O
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
+ [4 r5 I3 F2 n7 Q8 W, vmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was, p4 k- a2 X/ K5 @
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a8 A( y( @, {4 \+ E G3 h
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
, j; N+ d% i0 j4 g2 z+ kthe 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
- y8 T5 z# p7 x1 C5 O0 Q! eimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
" m6 {# S3 r* N: \+ cdevelopment.
Hutongs
8 H; h3 h" P( F) ^% @in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
+ A- `. X$ ?8 x# t* _) l& F: d$ qthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions) `# n( L. d5 \8 P! m5 ?. L* X9 ~
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not2 I0 @( j4 ?8 S) h
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
2 `% L' B) z. S$ U4 l# a2 z3 Rwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
# p1 D/ f! ?# b, rFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
4 T9 ?3 P5 E' J4 ]0 a: F- Zto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
, g, C+ |8 q$ o2 v6 pto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
1 u' D7 ]+ i) @6 G3 s5 y+ Asupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
: O b1 o$ W lunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to1 Y& ]! [/ q/ v
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,+ L' X' x* x( d) {
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
' A) E/ N! ^/ [balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the1 L+ {; J0 i/ ]- x
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be+ l, `( N& G- E! w
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong; t0 |9 N5 l. z# V
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how9 a( |' K! N5 z! g+ c
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be, X1 S) X# z8 u; u3 X/ \
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished! U: a& Z7 \$ J& K( H
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
7 ] X, q, D8 v1 S% ZNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are$ D! x, Z: R9 ^+ [
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially! ^$ p9 y* P( V- e
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image+ W& B4 ?$ X% K& |" I
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these2 t" d3 y1 n2 l( |2 i1 D; G4 Y
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those) S1 S1 k6 J1 y @% Y! s
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they1 V0 X' U$ S( \
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some' l* @5 N% V0 M
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before7 X, L: B; T/ i
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all) l9 s3 Y* O$ n) [( y
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise9 j) B9 ?( ], q) s
apartments are the way to go? No.
/ O3 W5 ]9 z& U$ A
: x. {) x# e* i$ `/ H 0 Q! O) ^+ R, l; }: f
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the. N' a$ [6 R9 r$ z
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
& q& F: @, D' C7 h& y4 B& d'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
7 X$ j8 _6 C2 D0 b6 W9 C8 a; o; I% Wno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so4 D' |/ s ^7 q$ k6 P* c- D( K
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
]' w* t/ P* v5 y, {' _resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless: S4 @1 X) f5 N, F% y6 _" w
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
. J* O b% Z3 [! A2 Q ?. ?5 ^unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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