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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$ {' y# U; u, |/ B
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
9 U' b: p4 V0 U1 E0 UBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
& e- z; R. H0 M$ w3 C5 h3 A1 b4 Vcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.! k* v% U/ M/ M0 Y( b" [8 L" f+ h, ]
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
- k4 u! z% }! z3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
" e3 d2 a- g) F9 U: vManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within+ C4 A6 f6 M6 G# \5 \* @3 g
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
7 f( ?/ [! D; g( Eeach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera) i) V; @! X& a0 v% p$ F6 u/ ?
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is, l+ i. c: D ` C# F
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are4 i, J. T$ i5 i- r* U: {
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and: q3 y& s% v3 H8 l/ x
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
: w) `. }& e) V6 d: q5 qwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great4 @9 p1 @) H8 D. k+ d" b
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
- G4 R/ _4 K, W N! b# \! o6 aand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong* b y; V4 n' T
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment5 f; r, D! v* u& |0 _7 m/ B( Y: I3 Q
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
6 L$ W, }3 v# ~4 Rno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
8 W1 g H& z# r7 z/ zonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
. ~& R5 O6 x9 b# O* U7 nsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government+ [& |5 H+ H: N* w0 _; F. u9 L& `) r
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
# Z- V5 M6 \; H- Jto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
5 K2 M8 V3 p/ F4 X. t- ~, a"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,8 ]" D I, n# B! e4 y: t6 B
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
$ K3 Q$ {* e P; Q" [8 s; h6 nstill 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
* U& C/ e; W5 s4 M) e ["progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make/ m/ h5 C' Z d. V3 p$ h" q% |
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
4 v% G7 r: ~" _ F. Pa beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
5 v9 ^; O+ w0 h( a$ x. mparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
* n5 x5 t& ?$ F0 u: o* cthe 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 cultural4 I0 _( C) w2 N0 G Y
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for' c% |' S, x3 I. Z
development.
Hutongs
- A6 f% m" d$ b+ D: @7 K% Vin the old days were residential area where people actually lived
1 u+ F8 b4 A, \1 K$ @1 X8 Qthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions& x$ @5 y7 n1 }/ @
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
& a6 x% c- d" W0 n9 H" P" _* a" Mhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
' b$ Q; {" V4 ?+ ^will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs." { i z# ]" `6 h5 }5 j
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
* f0 b* z# ^) f0 ?% l. q2 wto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used4 b) ]6 P" t8 Z. ?3 O0 I
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses6 u8 r2 L. z' z: |# M! C4 a
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically6 f7 Q5 T/ Y% x; _8 V3 D
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to/ Z) u# F8 G* ?
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,- T, |. {$ a, W
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the( T' K# b# _- y4 V0 x
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
, Q. c8 a/ y1 P, K; _+ Z1 [6 Xproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be# g4 [* p' C7 E
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong' D9 m. Z5 N2 t0 }
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how& Y% H; I4 r7 @% N( t" u
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be k( I$ E0 i$ V* V, n7 a4 x- N+ i
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished' T7 O5 h! u! g: ?, z
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".# h- v' e1 x& O ]# z9 I7 I, B
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are3 D5 p' D# c! n. B4 A/ b
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially% c/ p* D) c# [1 K) T- c- G) N3 \! `
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
, S7 Y6 C3 g, b5 Z1 k yof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these+ \ F. H/ U! v/ h$ _3 R$ E
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those0 b' ]! U4 k+ \, q8 k0 J
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they+ O6 Z! P1 z* z8 |5 E! B- f% x
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
: |7 J0 ^5 z8 t9 G. u+ [of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
0 \ D( f L( Q"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
% O- t3 W) [' e( Y- ~7 ]4 w. apeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise1 w* u1 N. ?8 x7 L0 G$ L
apartments are the way to go? No.
& z6 s0 ~6 Y: Z1 U ) T% [+ a: _# G- g, X% G6 G, U7 c
" l- u, [9 ~1 q8 M5 C# f2 h
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the# Q; T- Q/ O5 Z
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
& P: l0 ~3 T) O( U( U'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make* Y9 n6 a: z$ H/ W4 C( D& ]0 r; z
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
$ Y# H- O4 b+ q8 `4 Mfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant- q$ E* q6 N. c9 `2 X+ Y7 t' @
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless- F& Y; U2 L. p: o, J- e% R
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
& q1 O6 @ z+ b5 L7 l: nunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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