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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, its8 m( K* l1 h) U' g) M E
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider( `* C" ?1 S0 D
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"; x$ j0 ]( t" n. T: k% N& j
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.$ F. e) r# u: w7 ?) r$ e
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,8 K C, |$ n2 I, p/ p
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
: J8 _' W& P/ ? w( KManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
c1 R, x: W: e0 u2 Fhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among f- h, v4 n' `, r# \
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera$ E( ~+ A) {- U* @
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
/ b0 U: H, g9 Kharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are; r1 f9 n' w3 X" @) Q) f- B
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
$ k- m% f7 J8 ]$ D( [9 ]forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I8 n7 U; J* b) l5 M
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great6 @' l0 C2 h" F- J
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,$ |$ y/ u O/ Y# \5 J
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong8 z$ L/ ^0 f$ S o6 N0 c0 _' Y
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment% G0 R9 J" y6 Q# z& V% D
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
2 k% T3 \$ v: C$ U4 N7 Ano hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are' ~$ T* W+ [; E" G
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a9 K3 h+ X# g$ q$ @% \
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
1 x% E- }6 t4 {& Gwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
% B7 W9 q6 Y u7 E4 d6 \) }6 Lto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is$ N! u y# t* _, ^
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact, A+ F) ~. z1 E7 A
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are1 M- s1 D8 L; h @# H2 m N
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. a. E# m0 |+ J
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
& W0 ]7 i. F% W7 qmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was) H8 I2 p# e& z2 D! a. T. ^% E
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a7 Q% X9 V* P) N1 F
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
' n5 R: v0 u! k$ s! ?! b, o4 b/ _! gthe 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
7 i/ C. b0 O! X2 i2 k1 C/ x: pimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for6 v/ l9 \$ [+ b' b1 @+ T; p7 _1 u3 @6 `
development.
Hutongs2 H8 Q' Z" k1 r* v
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
8 l- E' Q' q A) f) o0 P7 [there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
3 D5 h( m) q2 Z0 l4 Ein hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not; I* E6 o- N9 B- z$ a
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you: x% K P# |* J! O- v* g5 w$ s
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.2 X5 j) g# O& Y* Z, q) x# X' K4 ^( R
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date2 `8 ~- z& L3 i p1 o
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used( M7 z; u0 {: ^" J# q2 ]# p
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses4 k' Y6 Q' M- F: e+ ]) i5 K3 X' S
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
8 c' O) n F( {: s/ h2 g' tunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
, V7 {1 h* w4 L" G; ?0 alive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
" m' z8 u% B" ghutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the3 n2 K p( N8 U, ?4 s. n
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
- Y' r# A4 C" W% lproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be8 [6 r. O8 S: G+ Q+ ?4 W( ?( Z
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong' T1 J. E3 _9 A" \
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
0 e! u- u" |& `( Q% v1 Ipeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
: U- X. b% c: ` dtorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
' e) ^% A: }! Y! @5 }# Pmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".4 y: V8 {# C4 s
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
" P+ f! Q$ d" ealigned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
$ Y3 ~. ]( A5 fnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
3 j0 D/ a% a( T8 Mof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
$ j5 k- v! F9 O* B- N sHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
3 g5 Y( C5 c/ q& r7 c: _people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they/ P5 x1 k: _! u1 b. J5 t
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
# A1 w0 W1 ^! Rof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before7 {; Q! _+ z5 S1 w6 O
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
. [+ y! V- j. F! L4 j5 Gpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise4 ~" M5 v! ?; ^. ?8 w
apartments are the way to go? No.& n6 y5 b/ A; m- h# i8 t5 s
5 Z3 i n- q2 f* {4 b0 k
- a7 C8 p+ u* f
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
" e1 N% ]. s+ P# h: ssituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
( @2 e* n$ \( V! j'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
0 z. D( I7 }6 T6 F& b: d S1 mno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so2 C1 X) Z( {* g' ?4 c
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant' S' o- D# y5 T$ q( G; Y3 ^. b! Q( B' w
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless M3 ]. s1 R2 ~; l# K
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is ~4 A, S9 |- ]
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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