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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
1 g* c$ v) c+ X: F6 karchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
- p) @7 y9 x& N, i2 c6 lBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
. B6 M) n* _4 o1 Ecity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
) Y+ T" L& k w5 ^; A6 J# iAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,- E, w) `& r' G" E, m6 o( j& h
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
. N3 s, @3 d5 i: |- A8 LManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
) q$ Y# _$ X& N" ~hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among: _- @6 x% f! I8 C; c7 p
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera% I4 i7 E3 O/ N, i7 {" ]) N9 ?
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
8 W2 K* O- K. q# V+ [harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
/ I6 l, Z9 k4 P" k' sdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and9 v3 L& z1 H. R# l2 w0 q
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I) F& D) g Y( u% \8 O
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
5 I' [2 e/ p( L" T4 W% I+ Limpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
1 j( e. o; g6 k( x5 k1 M Iand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
, o* E+ e+ I4 T+ U* |. J3 `has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
, ^( L- I( ?# P9 K8 ~0 yof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that) c0 Q3 A8 f+ A4 | B5 V- x+ |
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are9 {) F) K% C% k+ |" e3 w7 [& A
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
5 O) j/ N: l( } t1 g R& vsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government3 ^! m- p+ r& \0 P( X$ {" e+ e. Y
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move& K# E( Z% B7 U. G5 ]
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
$ P4 {4 [) W9 J% {2 @6 l"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
4 o) B+ h$ I1 {7 h: \this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are7 B2 U- m7 v7 T A! b7 `7 w% A
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 to4 B c! k4 v' p4 ~/ V1 Q
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
' N% T0 J: u8 z7 M0 w; o5 xmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was; K- m9 A3 O- Y L
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a; W' M. w" \3 f9 ?
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across6 g" ?% i. S+ C& q" v1 \ i
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
: J% G- R0 O( Y* L% F1 zimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
; Y1 V t$ o: Vdevelopment.
Hutongs% e7 s8 B3 X- I& E4 {8 k
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived% r/ u, p% B: ~7 A$ o3 g( G
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
/ q5 L N- p& g7 r: o& e; lin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not7 ?9 }$ D1 |$ a, w! ~. g% d
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you7 Q. u% l8 j4 ?8 e, K
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.% D. h! ?# {4 O \$ H
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date; [2 G- t6 ~, y# Y/ I
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
5 p5 [9 u# E& k4 a! {to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
6 ^9 z* s ?/ M8 N% k" ksupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
4 i& @/ W. h; b& K5 k7 X2 |unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to* I- ^) w2 G, U* B
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
! ? O* c4 l2 @* P5 \6 W2 Yhutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
& _7 v+ Z7 |! [, M& j( }! _balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
% e( x2 M3 F& X cproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
! n3 C# v, e0 i K/ yrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
2 L8 B2 B! K, n9 l$ H: Q1 YMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
o; u! Y+ ]6 b, ypeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be2 g* m, E8 u# k
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
& U& w6 e6 I x& }+ v; Q: {3 a$ Pmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".2 w/ ?0 B# y+ s" J9 n
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are* ?: E% U. K4 q- u
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
: b$ o; b1 W2 q( _/ O2 U pnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
: P) x; f S; a* b1 wof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
6 u0 ?8 e1 X7 G. lHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
+ g& ^, P0 z% o, g+ N# Gpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they# l, e0 E# ~4 t- _
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some# J2 s5 b. T8 `/ t: ~! t* u
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before% @, S0 a5 p9 I" I7 A% U
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
- ^: y: H% Q: h" |% _2 [- D7 Wpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise2 }9 ^; ?1 \1 y7 c8 E
apartments are the way to go? No.6 i& [' z% r2 [8 J+ g
' {8 X# U& B5 y5 t
( I+ f% \! V6 \2 q0 X4 g
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the/ W6 z l9 J9 E$ h
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this) f B$ \( y- U+ P- A+ G9 R9 U$ [
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make! R# e# @1 ?0 L/ t4 l0 \
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so$ N9 w) d% W4 i% J* M
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant9 F( P/ s3 [6 N
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
5 X# L+ S1 P4 nBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is# X# c9 f8 X9 K4 p( L
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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