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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* f& n. F& D% F
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider& s" ~+ G6 W) H
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"- x" K( K, P2 [1 ~2 j6 F2 X% x
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.+ a# |2 ]& U: m) ^( H" J2 o, q5 W$ |) h6 t
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
" h+ w& S; V% L3 _+ M+ o0 i* g3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
! ]& q8 s( L. p ZManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
" M/ D( E2 c7 D3 ^hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
$ K0 g* S6 s; S4 t6 aeach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
& |- S2 ~! `1 land Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
) W9 P0 p- S+ w2 [* ]- \harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
. X# p* [& F: B2 Gdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and$ O7 U8 |7 ?( q# q8 H e/ Z) k( l
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
, j- l/ Y1 A) [5 ]( L- H+ rwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great4 L: a4 c: x- W- I* Y0 s* t
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
9 q- B" z# C5 @and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
9 l6 l( T0 D6 c( shas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment' ?% l2 w. ^/ ?* p/ b9 E
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
+ K% ?9 `% n5 o1 v: D/ n7 Lno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
0 D9 i" ^3 Z* f5 b# J( P' U. i2 honly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
+ [2 D* M2 D4 j+ E1 Xsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
0 z' v% s) M8 a8 d0 p* `want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
: v8 {1 ^1 L% D' _" V1 Qto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
6 ^4 l8 s# H$ n( D( h& v"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
2 W. l8 v( ]1 Q% Y ^this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
6 j9 C& V( r2 N% y1 j4 {4 ~# Mstill 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
: @ h2 r% N b"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make* H( i5 F7 d* a
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
) o/ w* T! p8 E F, w& u Na beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a2 g( J' [; ]7 k! R% o+ G4 \9 w/ v
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across l7 t' r8 F- P# E* w2 {
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
5 t6 l. H$ f' V, }% Iimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
! V6 ^" Z, o! O: k' m8 v6 _8 sdevelopment.
Hutongs. Y4 C" a% G6 O5 X
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived8 R( Z% J# C* Y( S2 u
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions/ T. E+ ~ u% H# H5 C* A3 z$ K
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not, @; k3 T3 K, F! Z) Y, H7 }
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you5 V8 v/ ?* r- @9 |# n
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.1 G# P8 Q. J% X s. u
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
: f% u' f) o3 ~" e6 Sto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used% U V& a5 v4 [& U; `* u' C3 n1 e
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses4 x: B1 J' e' s) h
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
$ o/ _! K6 k4 g) C2 v" Zunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to: |4 R+ _ ]+ b6 [2 R% K' i ~
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,/ g( G; s) H9 l% r8 r$ i
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the2 b% A9 X) y* D& K/ i
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
5 N; ~6 K) z* N) D7 ~% I8 K$ j/ N/ G* Uproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
. R/ ~' C* `2 H0 o# z) Wrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
3 ~; h8 M+ h" o TMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how% k A4 k8 ?" i' P0 s
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be [- `1 d" j0 M, s+ e
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished) x3 X* Y- H* M# V* K+ r) d, E6 h
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
2 J( i, a- g% _8 T" c: aNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
: I t& l( v6 g$ c# `7 _aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially+ |6 F( \6 y# x4 w
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image5 W# l E3 z8 [8 b
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these/ t- I8 o! D& p U2 I; c; q
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those" Z. p3 V( q# Y8 \
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
- Q- w2 ]* k x% bmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some8 o1 H+ Y+ i* i& T# D6 C6 o2 O2 P1 L. Q# E
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before2 n) }4 f& y5 L3 U; r( A3 f
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
/ k$ a/ z+ {6 c2 c @5 |people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
b: _/ \0 D" h6 tapartments are the way to go? No.- @( _9 H- ]! t
7 O$ ~! D5 i+ f1 v
+ M: F2 K, Z: j+ N& t/ g
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the( E; a7 A; v, L/ a" v7 S: F
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
7 C' ?( T( t8 i% M) \, d'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
- B! \+ _, @7 ^: E. N3 [ o$ uno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so6 G) w1 K: I q0 E/ X
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant8 o4 D3 E6 L+ O9 `% M4 C8 u0 W" ^& D
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
7 q! c9 N+ P/ hBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is7 e! j5 l$ e. ^7 { n
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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