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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 L% K+ E# g9 ^! `+ g& marchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider) |* F0 Z$ y5 \. @( L
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
. x4 v a3 P Q7 K8 zcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.4 n6 ^. Z: q* e6 g" q$ b9 b! O9 P
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,, f; l: _- p1 j: b# @
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of/ `5 ?/ Q0 j' T
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within. I! O) t; N1 B2 |. a; g, t
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
' ~$ z( K8 d) O$ M8 neach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera: U/ _ c! J! V
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is4 p9 N! U: R% a; Z
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are4 O' C9 o8 |* { c; ?/ R
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
1 l; [( z2 _# u" \forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
4 ^0 v" F( O2 l6 }was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great1 d' k0 m3 o# Y' E0 X5 T
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
) H. {5 y" F2 U6 U9 _and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
5 J1 o) b1 w" r& lhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
5 t" [3 c8 B2 j7 s% Tof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
) T1 X2 `9 E, G* m: b8 a1 A; y, Dno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
* D @. J5 G2 }( @only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a- O( s5 [, U- F+ E# [
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
6 N, g8 \, |) I( U* I! N. mwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
8 W/ c- g, W4 h1 b7 R3 tto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is, K0 }- \* E' A( c
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,8 F H9 w& n- T
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
7 ]" P; f, w9 c6 `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) p3 |# J" Q* R7 b
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
% g$ o. n. W, @money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was8 P3 x, i8 L; j1 A( J: X9 v3 f/ l
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a/ g* R' R1 a' q: C) ?
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across9 z( h; \* t0 E( B
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
! p! l% h) @$ W' A2 f |6 Wimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for( ]/ k% s5 F; ?- I% ^
development.
Hutongs
% `! _+ U1 Z- C* Gin the old days were residential area where people actually lived! ^9 V# m9 Y0 \4 k+ o" _
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions& n( e! T+ G4 L4 P% e
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not9 f7 F4 B9 d3 f" K% M, Y+ I. W/ [' `
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
0 ?" @6 @3 S6 ^% xwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.3 M0 i |) S! B6 i# T' m1 |. Q6 S
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date* H! ^5 c, Z# c# {4 Z4 C+ K2 G Z
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used& T" d/ L% Q# q- i) o
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
+ x' `3 N! k& l" F7 X1 Psupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically9 V& |) S" I7 d& \9 z6 C0 U
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to" Y, R! `& P7 H, I X0 b) l
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,) ~7 k5 l) q3 `# o( E
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
) _: r" ]: h/ lbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the/ D& `6 L' f) \8 g8 @ l4 G3 e0 B0 Y, Y
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be. T Z% n6 w+ [( X
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
5 x" v' x- n! ]1 OMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
) M* ~2 L) [) }# g! apeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be: A- V* F( ~! L+ `2 W$ d* D! Y
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished2 d. a" n5 J) k+ d
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".9 C5 @0 b- R. r% o e
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are& j4 N! i7 T0 ~
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
' v3 }& X9 I/ b* v% h2 a- C$ t8 dnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
+ c; g6 X$ O: @3 F: Sof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these0 ?! c6 e( N1 A8 u# A' \" \$ z5 u4 _) o
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those7 w! `1 E5 i/ Q* t& e S
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
% D, t4 I* O2 M/ E5 {" Vmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some5 @- _7 E1 M' b: w
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
- q% D1 B R1 n9 y"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all" E# F5 S( A6 M4 P9 g+ |- _$ d r
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
* ?; H& N# Y! U* L$ ^" |apartments are the way to go? No.
5 O0 n0 o, O. g' u1 p + M1 {6 {# o2 q w* m
: i& l8 x( |' S1 V' S: a
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
+ W! y* u0 Y1 x. f3 Psituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this* e6 n1 S1 R! Z% Z3 P9 o6 s) n% `
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
$ _ q' E+ F8 D7 J5 ono money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so1 _6 N; A. L! \. O
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
! N, W# v6 E' a& ?: P5 fresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless; o1 u" v& y$ F
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is/ H- z! S6 X; x0 H, [
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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