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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
9 F/ t5 {1 w. }& r; n# m0 Xarchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider( s. I0 ~/ _7 V8 k* F# m
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
, @$ b# V( n" x, vcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
0 g. o# w8 m- L8 E& o/ G0 _According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
. l8 }7 \/ m! |7 Z; m* {, N3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
! ?; A* V/ Z j2 x1 WManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within4 e# v% g: h8 Y4 @& w& |& x
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among' x+ y, ^% z# I
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
, u* l5 n& q: A0 g: [( sand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is0 C$ ? r! c! p% {
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
& C9 V U( L; P, h6 c6 vdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and- {$ a4 G# Y5 g9 w- f# g, k) F
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
% U2 l: U2 A0 ? qwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great2 A0 E2 M3 P1 l
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
6 S l( D, d* m, Q9 pand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong0 ~& O1 u" Q1 {8 ]$ w
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
* P2 w3 x# s/ j3 e9 Tof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
: P6 z0 p# P% Q6 tno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are# f% l) ] w) E) g8 G
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a) W5 e/ f, U: Z% V
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government1 E% `8 E$ R9 U+ U) O/ u# ~
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move( a; g* U% B3 O2 S" ]! y
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
5 F- X+ Q6 K, |+ z9 U7 J"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
4 Q# e9 l: F3 G. U4 \this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
7 `* ~% ?" z6 ^+ A- L, y$ ?* bstill 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
( f; k8 Z, U" p5 M"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make- C, f3 e% L% n. l/ q
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
# C6 A1 K: H _6 Ua beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a5 F) A& I6 r7 W, g
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across+ G: a8 `# O p- ?
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 q! Q2 {* k6 ?
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
- F% [, V. o& R& R( ?development.
Hutongs* m8 v2 j7 W: W2 q
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
6 i$ {/ E; _4 _ {% U& xthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions, Z+ c4 t0 N/ m+ D. I1 M+ \( ?
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
/ p5 b& [" p% @) g3 ~$ Y" Ohave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you, ^, q; Q1 s9 L5 Q5 H; d
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.& R, A9 Z9 ?3 N% T! e4 b) D
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
+ \: e5 L1 J1 s$ ~% ]to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used! h, c) q) \7 d6 H5 n9 J* L* R
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
! r7 ?1 _8 h6 ~support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically% t- _! P, G* y6 {* K
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
# y% c4 ^* B+ |1 B) C4 m4 Slive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
Y& P; E1 J0 t Zhutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
7 t ]" B6 l- `0 b2 w" u# Pbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the7 v8 f5 r5 H: w* w
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
( A* ]' Q- a* t5 Y4 _+ @! x) g$ X, _renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
0 J; O5 p, y' e( h$ |Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how+ s+ Q1 H; ^6 x( L7 K) e& o h
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
) E3 [) @) F: p( ztorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished4 I. R' W7 |$ x, J) R; V
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
" n2 x; Y3 q! A+ u5 Q! ]+ LNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
3 I1 |6 x' H( `& A* G4 k+ k: \aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially, x% g6 Q3 v1 f. M- j
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image5 l2 S$ _7 Z0 K! S" k3 {; u: _( v. T$ M; |
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these, J0 i6 R1 [3 [/ h2 k4 K
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those' c& u4 m7 @$ C3 T
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they4 a: n% Q' K- S9 ?* U
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some7 P( Z' z6 r5 I9 z. ~
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
% V3 ]& L( M" v( q4 v"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
! | p& F9 X+ g* Jpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
( @- J# H( l9 y% h5 R+ u% b7 tapartments are the way to go? No.
0 ^+ X& V# n& @; L2 I9 n# o * Z5 |9 `2 ^& w* o8 a; j
8 d) J2 [4 U' v M# ]1 j2 T
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
1 h' n# X- x3 u8 m4 m3 l/ v9 {) X: Fsituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
% d4 G9 c8 M2 G/ i/ t'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
. ~+ L4 y) ?& ]: Q( o2 ino money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so$ i! Q4 _9 v7 z5 z8 {$ A* S
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
$ U8 k2 F& y' \: i9 s3 Presistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
; k- \" D9 m' p( t5 L- YBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
' s3 P- B5 u* R5 z# V1 a! U2 Junlikely to happen too. Sad!
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