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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$ A- Y) ]1 F: {8 d6 E2 u architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider 9 D6 X: m3 ~) h p% Q- IBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"& Z7 C ^% n1 a, Q city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.3 C8 z: Y' Y5 M- I6 d According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,/ Z; i5 _. n0 R8 A 3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of . d- m4 V# a" {! AManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within& y& p1 ~1 _7 g9 _ hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among0 c# U% q) Z6 W+ e( i5 \ each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera$ M- w' d m' Q% r" w( V6 ^ and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is 1 ~: p- ~/ l4 Hharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are& Y9 e& S: S2 z; w5 j4 H descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and ! r* i8 |! W' f% u* `/ d* x7 m6 Iforms of culture emerged in hutong.

I ! R: C7 G5 {- B4 {0 f# Y rwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great ' ^$ T: V# Z+ Aimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished, $ t0 I+ I: f( xand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong 6 @! B2 m9 S8 P; x: T4 e7 yhas a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment ! J _9 P: {- z Q3 P2 lof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that! Z& S; L% r( b0 u8 M no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are' y* g6 g! O5 e" X only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a 7 J# `8 Q/ I3 M7 i( s* h; ssort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government# ^% q/ I6 \! U, S1 m" U4 m5 @ want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move 7 v2 G4 s& L* p7 @$ l7 uto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is 3 [- Q: |/ G4 @ n1 X# D2 l& F/ a"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,- t1 ?1 A' ?: s0 A- w this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are9 |, A, d3 |1 ^3 R4 ~. [; ]8 d 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 8 i# O( }9 ?: \% G+ |"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make, X) U5 m5 W' b# x1 J0 O1 H money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was + X1 Q& h6 A9 b8 i0 g8 Pa beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a ! W) u/ \ r2 z6 X2 H6 wparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across ) Q4 c) [: Q0 v0 R) 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 cultural9 D! s& h; O' H0 l9 ^ importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for $ D+ ~4 [+ f' a& k; W( L: b) f r$ ~development.

Hutongs# u. [5 j b& X: i in the old days were residential area where people actually lived - }$ G4 p! z* ^3 L' ethere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions + l, v. A3 r# N0 V% G7 T6 _: e2 f( rin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not( {7 Y+ C! T5 q$ l6 I& V1 i1 \ have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you , i$ g7 n9 g2 W h2 o2 Awill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs. 4 \- ^2 r" R! K& w uFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date# Y! S Q/ D; L' x8 t2 y6 Y# p to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used7 B6 ^" Q$ U( s# ^% Z2 `: t" m to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses9 [$ m) Y; g+ a6 b! r9 x. _; m support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically1 r" L, v. }5 \ unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to! S! i$ F4 `. H live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,& P& k9 {, a% F& K' L hutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the7 Y, ?- Z; x4 E7 D8 j! p9 a5 y: b! | balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the 0 i' K! H7 j3 G( ?9 s( Vproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be. B( s0 M* L% n1 t% ^/ \ renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong ( y9 }7 r+ \0 z- d9 Y2 `Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how & I }: T& r7 a8 R3 Y5 U6 Z+ Vpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be & u* x1 L# E8 N" r; x( Rtorn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished 0 v5 }; P' C2 D4 w1 D; P5 {& wmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".' W6 b: y8 S/ r; W- S6 g Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are8 w: n1 Z4 `1 e" s& \; C aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially7 h- W+ ]5 b# w* w non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image . {5 u1 k2 k" |- G5 r7 c& A2 }6 ^of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these+ b5 A: W4 Y2 r2 e# ~8 r Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those4 H" J( W/ C# J' @* F% R people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they . U: r/ w' m. }* fmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some! _5 ~5 k5 y' q" q) }/ C of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before 0 r- p3 h+ m7 r4 S, l"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all 5 A) F0 y( ?* p4 Hpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise # z- M6 L4 S% Q1 W3 n0 Q" `apartments are the way to go? No. 1 z% z. o0 ]& U4 @ - p' e5 r9 s) n9 D ?$ I+ Y ) f& b% l7 a- T5 ~, p4 l

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the* T8 \- e. k$ l1 Z q; O situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this( C x+ S0 t9 {7 Y% Y' k1 [6 [3 r 'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make 7 f/ c) X9 E8 T2 k& fno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so ; X, F/ }- l8 k! A+ C7 [0 [fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant. G3 ]6 P' W e- F7 t resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless - e, V- D/ h, o8 B. cBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is ( p, H1 x* z* Z1 R9 ] g# funlikely 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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