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A Hutong Discussion

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发表于 2007-4-24 05:08:00 | 显示全部楼层 |阅读模式
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 0 \& @# l' ^# m! Darchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider7 p' B. Y! a& _- N4 p" X Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian" 2 C' H$ @3 F- B8 Dcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture. " T' v$ [$ g" K# L+ RAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,3 d7 l2 M* W0 C1 m% m: ? 3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of5 Q n" o/ y( R) F Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within 1 H! p6 }' R Vhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among3 D' o# ]2 S; F9 U7 Z7 }) A5 m each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera a( e3 K# [9 ~ R, N* l1 Z and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is 6 _3 r0 I$ Q2 `, sharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are" u, p8 P1 }; _) _ descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and; X3 P2 W2 a3 q' e, x+ V* ]4 @1 W forms of culture emerged in hutong.

I& n3 X2 V. e4 p was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great/ k$ h- I& i1 V( e$ a. D9 j6 {7 R impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished, 0 m {5 X. ^ W3 d6 y( iand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong ; u/ r7 M6 _+ O' C, B$ }has a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment, J4 F* w) a! ]/ k0 { of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that # ]4 L( g8 c6 V* i' p, Ono hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are! W/ K2 e* t4 q0 v' Q only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a; `" B( N) R. ? C6 I! I sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government ; B- G% E( s6 b! E% cwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move8 b% G! `2 G4 ]0 b to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is& L( |: c- i" W7 }2 B+ d" b "modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,# o7 \7 d+ q' }& Y this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are + U G# N6 u( ?9 T$ G6 qstill 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: r# x% X. {: |: o# G5 R6 d: n "progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make 3 c' ?# S+ W. p3 ]% n& @+ b0 mmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was 3 C" O* S% O+ H1 O1 oa beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a1 W$ Z* \5 V |9 c parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across1 o" e4 a& C- G! I, `# } 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* b4 W6 B. c; K4 ^/ G) s7 s' Y3 g importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for+ z% e* n3 h0 i6 I5 j5 J development.

Hutongs 1 d9 R1 u5 \$ r$ e Win the old days were residential area where people actually lived, \- }& i0 ~$ C there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions % M/ @9 {6 W5 r4 w5 B' nin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not ' o' |( r( a S- y2 r- T- zhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you! R0 Q6 m: E: z! v1 h8 e# d* B S2 Z will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs. : |- J' z1 v. }( l# R! H, e& t/ ~Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date " X$ ]/ G( ~" p1 Sto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used. Q( t7 M! k3 _7 ~4 t$ g to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses: ^3 f4 Z, D. h* ~3 K" Z support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically , r7 U& ^+ l- c) k2 ?unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to5 W4 a4 _* G) y) f% l: | live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose, . y7 P. ?9 T. |/ Lhutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the% i8 x0 S) K: }- G( C+ D balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the$ X+ n4 P0 K, P- I$ C/ } project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be7 A+ D. s6 K$ n* B9 W4 b: N) R renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong : }! E1 o" j* }Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how& t/ Y3 k1 _8 u8 ?$ W- [ people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be 5 Q- m9 T2 K7 btorn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished ) Q# i2 o- A. g& Omemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress". " v" m% ^- N: _1 B3 iNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are & U$ w7 j' S5 A' G: Faligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially0 F" w5 Z/ r/ @* i2 n4 _ non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image6 M5 V2 J- \- x$ F) r* @$ ^ of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these" h5 A& A! E" ^% J' r' _ Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those$ E" H: Z' S# T9 q& z3 g people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they % Y3 x- p. H1 Y0 A9 Tmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some! L7 Y4 c% }2 I: X of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before 1 r) S) q; ]+ `' s$ y9 Z( B"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all - Q+ O4 R4 X4 n' o. a8 N, w' lpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise ! ^2 G) l$ b5 Capartments are the way to go? No. ! P' _, O6 o* Z7 j: k: k# v & `5 U' K" m# @ 3 m3 D! j$ R7 @$ c5 a- j2 x5 O

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the 9 @% l2 ]) @; k* l1 T, N& lsituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this 6 b9 D: H% ~$ N, b& ^/ \) r'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make 6 }! k7 a$ _5 c% I# p3 \no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so ! I/ d1 G- k% v& O1 Sfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant( C+ B& h% r6 x2 V4 D, X% l resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless- l9 f' |2 Z- y9 a* s3 e Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is " s' J) C, F+ w+ Uunlikely to happen too. Sad!
发表于 2007-5-22 20:37:00 | 显示全部楼层
Excuse me. May I use ur discussion in my dissertation about Beijing Conservation?
Thx a lot!!
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