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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, its6 j& i# j# e0 E! V8 w& @- ^
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider3 W- {6 T& N4 k# |
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"* b; J2 P: L- c: j% ~; a3 g
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.+ k( L+ \& ]. D! C7 m
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,0 ?% N0 p9 D& _
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of! K: Y" r5 A5 t# h
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within$ M9 B* J: I) m6 O+ g7 Q: y/ q
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among" h* }. O4 ]' M! P0 I
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
8 T' k- m9 k# H5 O2 Nand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is( \3 |7 o2 ~1 q1 j2 m, A3 G
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
* p1 i" S1 }( _( i5 `' }+ udescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
8 D# u) U$ T) Jforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I, Z- p* ]' U; V. B! w. [( F
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
: @5 B4 G/ x+ C. d& n) h# eimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
# ?6 c# X: ^( Z0 j* pand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong, f4 H/ e$ X6 t
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
( v0 [1 W$ F+ ?- y. a4 Nof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that' b7 I( g$ R) I5 P
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are. `- A* T. l" o+ i
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a- P1 K3 L6 \. p' R7 N5 g
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
: C K! l" [ W. s8 s7 }want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move: n/ k8 q' S( }1 }# A. z
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is4 i# ?1 C/ g) |8 }9 U; Q3 r" c/ h* h
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
" O' X8 ~9 l0 m+ w cthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are3 Q5 s( _. p5 I1 h0 a: k. I4 E0 W
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 T- _, v, r" S# v( h
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
2 T4 a6 ]4 E$ F; xmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was! j8 y( }, S. b+ K# y9 t2 d6 L- B3 ~6 U
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
h' U7 G9 O6 R& d4 D9 ^parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
5 M+ A+ U# t0 x- j" @) L( T+ ~6 f) Wthe 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/ Z6 b: Q) @# Z
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for5 ?& }8 `7 V/ W" r
development.
Hutongs; U3 e3 L9 h7 \" B: z; P( `
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived/ l! K) |4 V- D% X* B( _
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
$ `7 d2 Z6 ^. N. jin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
+ J% n" X: Q: k, R0 z2 _: R7 @have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
\& T; p! J3 Awill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs." v1 C4 i1 k U! g5 `1 V) U
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
2 h @) n3 d- F6 e& V1 ]% T4 K8 }- Y, Ito support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
; O' _# c9 X. t! Dto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
: P5 c5 j1 y) t" ]. ?2 Y0 usupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
$ g; ]) I; b# q+ ]$ @8 g8 w bunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
8 R% d X8 i5 u7 w5 [4 ilive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
4 c- Y% t& ?, Q' k" Ehutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
9 \+ P' \) A, Rbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
5 V) n1 L4 ^0 N4 _+ Aproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
! l/ i% \% J6 Nrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong0 S) }+ H$ S, Y j. v& P: v5 z
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
' g- I4 m* A- [people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
6 A% R6 v6 ?" t- H7 Q. P! Ztorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
" b3 ?" `: n4 U: U7 Q: B9 z2 |- o. Nmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
8 h" Q6 I: J. i, D8 CNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are3 f, V/ b; V/ v
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
+ T! D' R4 N2 K& e6 N5 m$ Snon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
( {% u( P2 ~! e6 }; h5 w) cof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these! }( X8 `4 s5 \9 {( ?( z
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those# d+ R: |' m; r7 ]6 l2 L! S
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they/ \, e9 I& S1 M; F& W$ {2 Q) _
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
) g- [. O$ x+ ^7 P) Hof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before, ^! a5 I2 @0 E2 Z& F: B* X( t
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
+ P& f' Q! J5 speople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
* i ` O0 }& p6 `9 xapartments are the way to go? No.
1 c) V% `. P0 N) k1 H+ g; w
' c; I( w! k b
, N; P, ]2 Z- {9 Q9 x, o" E- `
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
# d0 z# n4 ]+ B0 [& |situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this `6 q3 u; o5 P* L+ W5 F
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
: Y6 ~- U. E& m. |* A% qno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
; p3 L2 s' t0 L/ u/ L1 x# _fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
9 q2 J9 F2 `0 _' o9 q4 Rresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless; C; y/ W' ^; r- \! T' {
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
2 F6 K: f3 h6 ounlikely to happen too. Sad!
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