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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! X% D0 r& B4 t/ y. J. U
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
' d( S7 t4 Q; cBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
3 q& |7 p8 V3 E. T" R. Pcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.' J5 B8 s1 y y+ k; g
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,$ s3 b1 o/ n& x i9 x
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
' p, ^7 [+ I) X/ G. wManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
5 w$ M# t: z% q6 x6 B9 X( Fhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among" l. l5 O4 {$ }. ]$ V' ?3 g
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
: {- w5 F5 z4 T) Oand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is+ _% h! y, s+ v3 K0 M6 R
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
! F) Z& Y8 e9 idescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
# m8 l* x$ T1 h' t! hforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
4 Z r( c/ [. _- k. uwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great1 S7 g" \* S; y! m: C/ Q7 Q+ e
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
* j" P# q `3 R5 l7 pand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong( J2 i3 f, d5 u) t9 J* E
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment ^* ?, k& ~0 f' b. X# K
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
/ D f* r7 N4 S7 Bno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
7 ]: e5 i& j2 ^5 ?: H5 X) ionly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
( I' ^5 Z6 l1 u- c4 ?sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
: G! P! j3 r2 B+ d: h4 E2 Z4 Zwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
1 i- a6 M3 l( G2 \: I3 ~to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is" ~! f' `5 @# D& D% I7 l9 y
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,# U% J6 H4 ^; Z
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are: |% D6 Z9 B1 R+ [8 |! \, e
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# I Y2 `8 b$ q5 B
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
3 O% b7 Y, y/ R; Q% o) E" ^money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was3 P! \) d# r$ Q. U2 p" b9 f( ]% i
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a; [+ }3 w6 d& f, w
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
o; x, ?: `# s6 othe 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 cultural2 D# S6 N+ N% V6 J' Z
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for) P* U7 q7 H" p7 x( {6 M
development.
Hutongs
8 u9 ?7 h( p+ Q" K% `$ Bin the old days were residential area where people actually lived
$ B$ |' ~3 R" @$ Xthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions( f5 p# Y8 p; e- ]- C. K
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
6 K% Z9 |: [% phave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you' q I* b# P f \' I @! F, v
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
! W) e) }' W: ?9 B: S- YFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
: x% V& k4 x% xto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used* h, W/ K6 K- q3 e, F
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
8 w* S# Y7 O9 I) Gsupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically* [, a4 X$ R+ i2 ^
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
8 \5 t- }: | K4 {! T3 @live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
5 g, C7 x( d& j6 }5 W! nhutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the" b6 Y& T0 Z* [3 p7 ~) _5 @ E0 z1 s
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
& Z% S4 Z" o8 ]project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
; U. X4 @1 e# n+ Erenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong) ?7 u" ~& }: o8 L. s
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
, F% I- {3 E7 X3 f6 H! Wpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be5 D6 u3 I( e5 u: |8 V/ `/ u
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished; @ s8 [3 ]4 l! ?
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
% p) T6 G6 M) X) C2 K1 X7 INothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are, ^$ C7 Y( C+ @5 y/ F6 H( Q
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially: I; ]6 L1 C- I1 m
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image4 U. y+ i1 j" V0 |
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these4 B/ a. H( d) B" p0 v
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those/ Y, u- F4 y% Z q4 a# h6 l }# T6 A) D
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
* \ B* F6 p( h" Jmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
( C' J, x* n+ _' M; iof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
* t( _5 O3 f+ w"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all7 U4 L) p t# H K. `$ v0 z
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise, \ [2 x5 U+ P& G
apartments are the way to go? No.* e* l8 b0 [4 f
7 @. Q6 `% C/ R; i" Q; t0 |) f
1 F3 [) E2 O& e' |" w0 O
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
% y. m) `5 Q9 q9 \situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
+ t! C8 |3 _/ }1 j$ w/ J'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make }4 t9 e! S( X8 C2 z4 q, @
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so+ Z- R( j7 z/ Z |+ q' b
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
! y+ X: O( _8 J5 \+ O' _resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless" @" T! P, B" u/ L9 T3 m
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is& }" ~. ] T1 g3 a$ _
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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