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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/ E+ U" w% S" D: D. X# e! y
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider5 |1 d$ {/ b- E' r1 ?
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
6 {2 l6 E) ^4 n! D; _city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
_) r( I% B0 {$ {According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,- F. j3 ~1 ?, j+ |; N
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of' u9 ^* O# W0 V: ^
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
/ T' ]' m9 [2 Fhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among1 u& `$ q9 S: m! U4 p5 x5 @ G9 M
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
0 K- E: S) H& iand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is* y' e% I0 T1 N* X
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are" P/ q3 ~4 d$ c
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
" j4 L* ^, J* ?+ |0 ?forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I* V' e- E/ u& A- [% j6 ~
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great+ { M* Q1 V* v1 I
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,' V6 i4 H5 V$ P
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
! s$ f# I- ~! c" b5 M; ]has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
) \' d9 X2 B4 o( O# {% V1 T4 N- [ Vof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
, w6 g6 k2 i( V! Y5 h* U: Wno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are2 f/ c& P2 }& Y
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a! N$ y" j0 m- |9 C1 o/ ~% F0 G
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
1 P; } @0 M6 n1 [$ gwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
( ~' \: Z9 G% V2 h, [7 @to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is0 s. Y( d. W1 m9 Q/ X
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,/ U9 x! a- _- n4 R) H
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are# y1 B5 `; p$ i* i) i
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 to0 G! N& v! \% b5 ?3 N4 T/ Z' v
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
0 z0 b+ v- e- a: rmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
6 A! g F4 N3 l5 aa beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a. g* n) w- r6 J7 U B6 T
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
5 T7 x0 u k( }. ^( X0 b; e$ 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 cultural) V f: ~% W+ H$ G4 V$ @
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
0 U G3 K* b' Z0 B, V- x4 P3 d2 Kdevelopment.
Hutongs
, Q, g* \* m5 P* M. ]! e( nin the old days were residential area where people actually lived. O4 S+ [& Z8 w5 B" m# s
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
- H2 P& m( W4 T3 w: [$ kin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
6 n x+ A" K7 Z7 W# M: }have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
! a: F8 w8 x3 iwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.6 r- h, U6 \9 Q4 J W @
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
# k9 {* F; ~; C t* F( R, ]to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
) S( s+ [/ _3 j$ {7 j6 J' e. P! X- Ito hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses$ O2 X$ M+ e# T, l) o. J
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically2 P" M: E. j1 j. Y
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
' I$ S6 [8 Z% i! V7 @live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
4 r5 z2 L8 ]5 fhutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the$ i. j; U: ?9 T3 M0 A
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
2 o8 l6 Z- m! g Y# m" mproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
1 w; Q4 ^ ~4 ^; `2 Q2 ]" Q2 N, Orenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong H1 c- w0 B9 Y& `0 @5 T
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
8 h. |% h) R9 [) ipeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be r$ j: N$ [+ L$ h0 E+ Z
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished- s6 B" g- z; `. K8 m
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".0 M$ _3 p" Y$ ^
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
* q1 L% z! R" xaligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
/ i$ n8 b- y% x5 e( `6 p0 u( h2 Anon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
) R" }3 Y1 X r- t- ?+ H3 tof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
/ c/ _4 q z0 A( M/ N: p7 f6 E' cHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those8 f; ?2 B1 Q+ O$ S+ g* \2 R# g" [3 o
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they0 O# \' f0 c q! B
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
; u2 d1 e$ s* I! Jof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
; ]5 B4 J* b) o"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
6 T, c* p. D. a9 V. f. R6 Xpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
) ]$ z; b+ r9 q# c( K. Y( X; Xapartments are the way to go? No.
( T0 v5 G0 ^2 C0 \- Q; P9 m
4 @2 N8 H; v9 d * q! ^7 q9 W7 v& E9 |( V1 r
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the1 D7 t( p( g0 b) \) L( k: B/ u6 P
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
2 ]' d0 h4 q( G' Y3 \& j'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
/ C/ w/ B E/ ^no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so* O" p, q% q: z# s5 V
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant' h8 ?4 P6 ~- Z- }, R" W$ o
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless, o# E, L7 U$ |3 ?1 q& \
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is5 \3 u( r, ]' |& f' ^
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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