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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
; n6 r& U# E) A3 larchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
7 z4 I1 d$ c. k8 a w" jBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
3 {% I) D+ F. Zcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture." _) Z2 {. N( @1 ~3 ^( i
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,) m0 e9 d$ a2 \4 n' z
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
4 q, z% s0 ]0 R3 CManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within5 E" E# G) b* u, b) E
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
3 ~, N) j2 { f8 g, d2 E# P' h) Oeach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera0 A2 D1 G! |; l" \2 ?7 s1 k
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is( M# D I$ q. F0 z, W3 P1 }
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are7 C) |# u, `$ K+ F4 v* V3 {1 g
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and0 Y" J8 q9 B4 _7 O* p
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I% ]& e4 o7 A8 }3 D
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great# l# \) x8 l; b* K4 M8 [/ S
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
: P/ j4 p6 M! \ Mand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
+ @' M$ I* ?. @; I t5 Ihas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment. k3 Q! c+ y. V( {3 u# [
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that r0 }' }9 m6 q( \
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are! z! f- h( ^/ i) N5 o
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
4 e1 [; R$ Q) S7 csort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government% Q* J$ E7 G5 [: G: O0 E
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move$ C3 S! j: Y2 U Y Z
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
9 P7 i. T; r' Z2 ?4 n# J) k1 ]' z"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
@# O# X3 z2 T" }$ R1 Qthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are( M6 t1 x: ^; D& w; D; v$ O# o( ~4 a
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, z+ E* A' C( b5 \* Q
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make# D4 r/ z5 f4 `# ]. l
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
( @) q1 A! I; O0 v0 c" g0 o* Ua beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
! S5 C; L% y3 y3 o% vparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
8 ^6 l2 i2 r1 @$ i2 Nthe 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
$ S1 E$ d; o2 B0 y! z$ y% cimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
( p/ m: m4 T1 C: q x1 C( ]development.
Hutongs- J' x1 Y: \$ h/ {# h2 X
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived4 \( q% b+ N* O L' j0 o. k
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions* X" `+ v9 ]) a; C/ ?: h( m G |
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not6 z- ]3 _+ `+ v" M9 I: X% z# ?0 ?* [* C
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you+ |$ R1 c9 y. N! g" g9 `9 Y/ B! M
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.. O/ f/ a9 B: m$ q/ h* K
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date* m$ R# C) K/ q: c3 ` d
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
7 }5 S. ^+ x+ u0 h, q# Y. Sto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
9 n8 l1 Z9 k! M! e$ F- y0 Isupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
6 n1 s) R! [# k" bunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
2 K! e- p' J" Q1 D' m9 \+ slive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,& v: j% I7 x- E
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
' @6 T6 E4 T6 q) t" ]5 X, I. D: o+ bbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the/ @- P* ^+ S3 U6 r! X( [# P, f- _
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
3 T) g! L' U arenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong: a; `% C( V' h6 V4 }& ?- A! e) [& p" _
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how, P+ j8 d. `8 V( J
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
. E: L# j6 X! f0 b8 Utorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished: \4 O) P1 A2 z, ~) v2 P0 v4 l
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
3 \7 c! S+ G- C. W- H' {Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are1 ~2 V( L8 r) ?' B( E. E1 [7 |
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
8 }! ?& V. A0 t% M9 Inon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image3 ?& G8 X- |6 P3 X1 _
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
6 Q5 P S( r- s& B3 e+ y0 E' QHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
8 t) Q. Q- i" C) U, L3 A, \people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
5 |& l- I# q/ _: ^3 I7 H2 K' H% ] ]may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
4 z* m; S# q, vof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
) Z+ N3 s# w% [7 k. c"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all4 \. y- d% P6 W1 y" [
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
/ k3 R2 i! W8 u& xapartments are the way to go? No. i9 }1 n8 X, f m
) ~7 z( ~5 y- u t( {% C # ]* ~1 D0 q- a2 T/ |: Y8 Y
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the3 d4 T; P9 F, ^5 l& s; t( I/ L$ V
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
2 T: f# \! o& R6 i. S: S& h) j'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make* E- k. `" n# [) [
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
4 k z7 e6 [1 c7 w( a# e4 Hfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
3 j4 V+ \+ i2 v: i* @1 Wresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless# h- ~9 p) i8 D* |
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
; I* L8 L4 N# N; m$ ]. i2 W3 nunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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