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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
6 ]: H" R' I1 farchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
# }3 R; D5 x( u9 E" `Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
" H8 u* j; x2 x1 c* icity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
! \2 c" G* T' PAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,' k/ V# V8 p4 C* s! J
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of; h0 a2 O8 `8 R
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
$ J2 y. l8 j# e g0 @& D! D6 R% Bhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
Z5 m& _. L) N: w1 d4 leach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
* y% G& G" ?* O4 l* ~# ~ L4 ?% Xand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is" S. Q3 M! \2 A
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are9 N* V) E% T. z2 W3 _4 C
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
/ c; E4 ?4 u( |5 r, ]* v. Hforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
2 d, q1 ^- T- B2 \: x5 @was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
% L) U( K# ^0 c0 a! q* n# nimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
' y+ L% z$ j" d3 P. O7 d$ {4 }and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
& R7 \( W% k d4 thas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
+ N* _& j, c1 \' G q! A( dof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that, i( O: ^5 }& L! y D, A
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are* c; ~/ Y# M t6 Q9 c
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a. e" j; R% { b* d
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
0 g( _- Y) R1 Ewant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move# g! g2 t) c( a' Z& u
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
& c# Q( W6 |% g2 x"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,8 _8 G S& G( L3 y/ \: R" ~
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are1 s, C9 R, a2 x/ A! I
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% p$ q8 I* V: Y4 R4 i
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
7 z3 K! L# Q+ P; jmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
. m. z2 @+ D3 }a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
( ]0 g* D+ N! r* N; p9 sparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across% Z. ^/ r. \+ o9 S# }
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& _: J( q" N" ]6 @' L; ?6 i
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for% z1 d1 t3 m8 j* ?% y6 u7 d
development.
Hutongs
; v4 B* u) E7 U9 t2 rin the old days were residential area where people actually lived
+ V" }. M% d" \: ]there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
- {6 ?+ c, ]' v+ n; w) N1 U3 Z6 Iin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not! Y8 v$ z6 ]) H7 P
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you8 h4 j& p l! ^, Q7 Y1 i
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.4 w' ?) H) g; D5 S
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date- Q. g8 A3 t/ |
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used- ~% l+ E# t$ ~/ ?: c
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses# s4 F7 Y [/ `+ A5 C) ]
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
5 X% p' z- x5 f; [unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
' N3 D6 r+ {6 [# N; Y0 L- ]live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
7 r+ A& S& n, {$ Y& M/ N# C+ xhutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the5 N. r G6 v8 `- L( f* [# S1 Y
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the2 D& Y" f/ U$ |. L
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
* E& F+ {% m* S' trenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong% M! s$ n! }, @' k5 c' t) x$ p
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
: Q0 m* g+ e' j4 m; ~" @2 I6 S5 kpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
0 k8 l& ?1 D' a1 a2 i0 ?torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
6 M! @0 T7 J5 `memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".8 _+ W: E' m, N) R5 S1 I" T; S4 a" O
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are# y- a4 ^2 x6 ?8 j( C; e# K! C: @: C
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
{, k, k6 F* ]# J/ C# ~/ Dnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image9 x# M! T$ C! d" C+ |9 \
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
. V- c; S- {. j3 THutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
e; Q# g# W$ l% U7 qpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
/ e$ A+ r4 x' i5 O: s* N! emay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some" ?4 S. k- s$ D( g8 i% ]! f
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before8 S; r$ \3 ~! M! f' h+ Q( Q) _
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all; Q3 f4 l" ~- A1 X$ Z$ n/ w
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
7 ]' V( i/ P- b0 capartments are the way to go? No.
" j+ X) t! _* {, l( N
8 P$ ^. |5 ~! F0 G - k% P6 c9 e" j8 a1 j3 K" ^
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the( j3 R6 k5 Q5 u$ n& H- \
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
( f$ M) o2 m7 C( s( ?( z5 I'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
1 p4 g m4 Z3 k- sno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
" q5 d( U" h1 T) Q' G# Lfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
" f, X& K% r8 E+ {, Nresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
! F6 z8 J7 Q: n8 g! X3 EBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
# h2 u1 }, A: D) E, v+ j' `* Hunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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