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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 ]3 Q0 L, z4 ~7 q1 D
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider* w7 ^% C8 p" r# Y
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
. H9 O R: v4 G; c$ Bcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
6 M8 j" }0 Q( i% lAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
& f, p" j7 s2 s5 v% J# P, e: p3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of/ D# n0 s9 T. K% I' N& G" y$ _8 ?- g
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within& d0 H" C1 j' E* |5 }9 `1 z. p
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
* I0 T5 ~* L2 k! @each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
) n2 {# }2 b; R) p, d1 o& U8 Y7 v; mand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
0 u! T @- ?' y( _# sharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
! u. p( g& j5 Wdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
% o# X7 w( B4 q6 N6 ]3 Sforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
) ?# B7 L) \' j+ s; hwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
+ l+ L7 g6 L8 M8 E8 m) C) _9 ?impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,% s, l: h9 l0 ]; W; ]
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong: }# F7 I, T* d& ^# W. j
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment# `3 {+ E( ^* @ P" w5 f% X: o
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
* t9 B- R" l8 p4 S% v- nno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are. W o- g9 m% q X
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a( H' Y& }" ^( A1 w, {2 K+ s
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
4 M+ h X( r7 T H4 z- `" X+ Ywant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move$ y5 H. ]: ~/ Q. l5 k1 q) o& i
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is9 Y) p: q$ L& Z) y" J+ D
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,; Y$ @4 t& M: t
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
$ ^1 J0 A: J( q- j3 l/ Z* N8 zstill 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
7 J9 w I4 F# B3 d/ [9 i"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make6 n2 D: b2 ]" F/ _( v8 ]' N: X; F
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was: b% @( x! I6 C5 L% `$ E: f
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a: K& |' @7 Q! j& i4 g
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
2 p7 i% N: C. z u( ithe 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* P5 q' w+ T+ s! A# |: R
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for* @$ e3 k& X- g: |' d/ g5 t
development.
Hutongs
6 p- L# _8 ^5 P; i4 J8 Win the old days were residential area where people actually lived6 P5 m" {5 y( V5 |8 h+ a. _
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions# b4 ^( g% D6 V
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
) h/ [5 L- R( S' n, Uhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
3 s/ I" C% s! w2 g9 \will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
% L" F; g, h% T! ^2 x% l$ XFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
5 H5 _+ N5 l$ U1 [1 Gto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used2 H5 [: Q6 @! B3 Q
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
/ P$ N' l/ w, f, Isupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
" }& g# D! `4 ~& N4 Funfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to" x/ W% o/ h+ S$ l& O: d/ w
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
4 ~) T5 ~5 K+ a& D) M$ I1 c. e. Xhutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
' l# _5 q& s. }$ r- k# g6 Abalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the# d8 G' G: d* {9 T/ `
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be5 l1 R9 O5 o0 @: y/ F3 ~% p5 D
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong+ a! f7 K1 f# U3 g/ ?* f+ _9 Y
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
( V( l. |; X- |3 p0 V9 J2 \! N5 _people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be" v, N+ F. b; _
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
0 Q5 e' X+ F* m$ d& G, a k& K- vmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress". o0 c# D+ T$ D% w" u+ u2 B% O
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are4 R; Z1 R$ W% J1 C2 z, m
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially% p- @; J" g [8 @2 s+ `7 w
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image% T1 W* |+ C0 g. b4 {
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these- A0 _4 a3 ~0 P+ s9 O P
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
) Z, J5 K3 g6 w6 [- u; q5 T" Xpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they, r x. y3 Y8 p. @, V! p
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
$ u- j0 u+ p/ u+ Q1 W4 ^of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before# {. a) l4 W) g' A% u
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
1 s: \* ], @8 t, f. {; Apeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise1 w, T) D, v6 q% T* q/ ]
apartments are the way to go? No.
& U5 Q6 ^5 [+ ]. h) S, _4 T3 U) j
( m7 A+ t& F4 E& k* K
. o# F& @7 O; k
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
) s2 n- U" ]( K+ V6 y- l9 @situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
8 R. w. Y# v% M5 @. f' d3 P'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
4 a1 \) u4 Y' g7 h# Sno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so, w: ^3 ]1 y G2 t2 S- ]
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
4 L! V) B9 D3 ~$ `' K/ n& P5 |2 _$ Sresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
+ [) j8 {/ _7 @. N$ P' w$ A' dBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is* V4 n1 k: x2 T: B
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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