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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
' Q! W( O0 [3 W3 q: ]! D9 F/ O) a: Narchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider. ?7 e" f; j* |% D$ Q: N5 F9 |
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"6 a }: |( k) l
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.8 H" F0 k: O2 o
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
! n: c2 a& ?! l4 q3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of+ K4 B8 C6 [' B I% i, i0 z
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within: V$ S% N- M3 P% G# a# R9 Q
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among' O9 u( d: f0 ^% [5 b, ^! W' X7 r
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
D; J/ y- q/ Zand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is x) F: M0 }1 h' y! W
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
9 _1 ^ s- m1 _, P* v9 Ldescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
' ~! b- N; C8 Mforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
9 q3 u1 {. P! i2 E! M/ cwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great8 D! I8 M- W5 P1 M- e9 c \
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished, T, o) }) x3 q4 e2 |
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
$ O! Y7 g8 W ^5 q* uhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment0 m% R5 O+ r/ g( Q- ^4 O
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
$ H% J& A9 l$ y8 m0 zno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are$ f+ C! a4 F/ _8 @" }, T
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
7 j2 Z! d: X+ fsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government7 \% h0 P! z" Q' m
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
) L0 \, l4 y. ~0 m m- H/ T0 ato the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
6 k: P7 j# d' Z) t( t9 L5 s- D"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
# B% K9 C9 Y2 H, c- K6 X& Ithis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are' q* ~8 r7 M7 W8 k& O6 L
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$ U6 Q0 O% ~9 K' r" `$ U
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
7 x* U# F7 \- omoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
9 s" c1 p: e/ Y1 S5 aa beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
4 W$ V; h2 G+ ` k* n) }+ Aparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across7 `6 H- {* h3 W' Z
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 cultural6 {: Q5 ^* a0 f' M0 E }5 ^0 M
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for3 Y$ D, C8 v/ e( r# R1 |/ `
development.
Hutongs
+ X6 a' N8 N6 ~0 J+ v/ n+ sin the old days were residential area where people actually lived
" b3 L0 D" v8 Q! m, gthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
- @5 k1 _) I% u, ~+ S. jin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not+ R$ p7 a- N" e s
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
" u3 u1 ?; g# X, J0 v3 L5 cwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
5 p+ N3 }. h# `9 c6 N% q, FFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
4 R2 P7 c' l- \: _to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used0 y4 X3 j2 J# s5 j- @# n& n { ^
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses4 m, J, z: f3 Q
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically9 e0 [8 h I' v5 P
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
% i0 p$ c. c; V3 X0 h5 u0 h Blive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
* ]1 `! f2 [/ }& {hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
+ a" A8 `5 O' L* D0 |balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
' g. V( { \ \1 x% Hproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
0 W, l/ V1 q+ H: w; P; O$ M! D7 A9 hrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong1 N7 Q; v2 E7 `0 w+ F1 D
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
; L1 G/ V7 c6 Y9 z3 m& P c: Opeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
- Y( P; h$ p6 r& H( ]7 qtorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished9 e8 N( U! _' m
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".2 E( q/ C( i3 }- t2 j+ b
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
/ C) i" ?' o3 Q* Xaligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
6 z/ t/ D9 n+ L- q+ S& \) ~& Z1 C6 qnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
! V3 N1 o+ n( D2 m9 `# vof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these/ @7 E$ I/ M- [# i2 Y" C6 R' l
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those/ Q2 k1 `. d: c; h
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
, C+ Z- j Y2 {/ b/ [% _may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
2 l6 C/ y ^- y2 |6 Pof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
8 ]0 }8 z' U* i$ T* V I"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
/ I8 Q/ v8 D2 D& J' W; w: cpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
; |1 F& e% U; W" hapartments are the way to go? No.
* N# E- Q1 {8 D8 ?5 F
) Q# [) F; i/ N! U
9 ~2 C3 C- R. C
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the' }7 ~+ S; V) t" F
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
+ t% m: {# H1 o'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make! T- O7 f5 g4 H" q& k& D& |1 y+ B1 @* y
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so3 J: n u: ^. _7 f
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant5 t* e% j- H" Q# J' d
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
1 p6 o; C) h$ X5 H2 {" n- CBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is$ q9 l0 ? \( z3 \1 p
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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