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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
) T8 ^) R$ u+ @, j' T5 ~! Sarchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
8 F% {7 `2 E2 [7 B% W3 S5 iBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"7 a2 z& ]/ p/ q Y5 R# m8 C2 f$ ]' }7 F
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.; e& T2 a" c, n8 q
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,: m' I$ j% t3 n; I+ ~, a
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
1 O+ W$ ]; D& {+ v. h2 AManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within' ?% @; i5 d: u+ k: o4 k
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
* z3 C# x" s7 I6 u& p+ c" L3 leach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera. ^- R& G1 U# d6 b5 Q/ F0 O* b
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is6 z5 R! h) [6 E5 `; W* ~1 I$ j* f
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
' K$ a6 k5 K [2 fdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
! f% G7 r3 h7 G7 Fforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
8 ?. o) G8 _; _5 {1 g$ hwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great( } w8 j5 C- X7 ?6 ]; e7 K
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
" d* q- f" M2 g; N) E6 O) C2 K9 f- Rand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong) r( N; q3 P7 G! y# w1 C
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
/ \# t- n5 R$ ?* R7 d1 `) U4 nof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that% y( {: E4 Q9 b0 F% z* t! p- F* x
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
( e+ n* ?; l9 \' e) G) S% S* O4 E9 aonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
! x g8 _+ s$ b0 ^ R5 asort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government, @. O M. P) v' F
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move% p' E2 Q. U. ?+ R$ R. Z
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
" F' d1 K5 Z" v9 ]! @$ r"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
9 N) y* I6 p3 [7 H r c5 P6 ^this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
. g4 B! f% W: K' B" X- I$ Y1 V: ~1 Bstill 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
/ Y! w9 L$ W3 ^0 w; H"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
A: p# D2 ]; m6 z5 _% l6 l4 r8 ~money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
1 F% w8 h* h6 i" K9 ~7 v( Pa beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
9 ]! b2 a5 G& `1 `! \1 X- v' F" _- gparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across# O* o4 h' ]+ j8 F
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
0 v9 x c% F+ Y7 o6 ~& simportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
: P6 Y J: x) @; P: l/ `development.
Hutongs% a$ P! J% Q' k2 b7 E& j# _
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived5 P5 T% E9 x: D
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions2 t- S0 H/ x: D. h# J" U
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not3 t* G1 ]# j7 a8 L
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you/ i/ v% Y Y7 Z* g" v: h
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
1 l- I( U1 ~- m9 p8 w! Y3 lFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
1 p7 l: m6 p% R5 R" u4 _3 ~to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
, y( X* V( @+ L! p5 `to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
& G, D4 t: w$ k$ j; Gsupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
/ ?+ h8 ^5 J: U/ _unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to: V& ]4 U; E: l/ a# G( u
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,3 T% q# v6 Z2 _" u7 B. u
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the4 g. c& |8 E0 V4 ^* s
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
2 H0 L0 c0 r7 b6 ^& K" }project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
! g$ [, M$ Y8 q9 f2 hrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
% K5 e2 @, L8 u" ]4 O% C: j4 o& j% eMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how2 o" E* h2 O7 S! F: R6 X6 p
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be1 L/ X0 L$ }6 c. r: Y. @" g
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished5 P! R( T: O' F7 W2 o4 O# d4 D& N' m
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
/ g+ t' J8 v4 B& |: a) NNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are. {# n7 U$ z8 ^2 k6 p _5 A/ m g$ y$ ?
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
5 U. F; q$ J, {) l4 Znon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
/ J w- w: v9 b+ z3 ` y" G9 ^of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these. I. E, M# P. N# ?7 _. {
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
L6 W7 r/ |# x! {" lpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
, W$ K- I; x, }may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some, b) m8 K6 D9 a. C6 Q
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
- M7 ?& W1 C" i: t* U"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
0 K; {) U6 H, d( L' epeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise0 v! O2 M8 ^* _$ A/ i s7 z- a
apartments are the way to go? No.7 a( x4 y" _0 M1 u4 v% Z/ c
9 B& J# }7 _1 ]/ c
; _, }3 V5 V% J8 C3 @
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the2 S$ q M n( h
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
8 h. N9 X/ w8 j5 c' r" h3 e# y'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make; q7 ^/ ?4 `/ b: y
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so& ?; ?' v- ^* Z2 m! p/ }
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant L1 k3 z9 ], ]+ k I3 o5 R
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless1 N; v* g4 r3 `+ m$ t0 k* v
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
9 D* R9 }3 S, M7 _( Yunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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