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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* B& J) \/ k0 ~; ^+ J: t
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider' Y p. f2 {) d. N- \0 G' T/ A3 `
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"# o" c' U1 ?* Q1 b; g
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.9 ^) q& p2 W- P
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
5 z7 {- W9 y0 a+ v3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of L6 p; r8 v3 @. I9 s2 K
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
+ B; U9 S0 @7 O, E* g7 chutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among2 A! g, Z" s+ J P& A) m( q/ d+ E
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera b3 [$ V6 P' [" _
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is4 l( v0 W" W' q" u1 c1 c" w- J
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are- F/ I/ ^, R4 M2 V4 T- R2 [
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
2 Y2 C$ p! |& K3 n' ^3 j* v. X+ dforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I* T O9 ]! z) H" V, t$ R! \! h5 U6 I3 }1 E
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
' |0 J; y* z$ ?impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
8 @+ @# L W( O; r3 Eand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
2 k4 \" H2 U% X2 @1 ~has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment, W; d9 B9 I- X4 F1 q b! a0 x2 w
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that! S% P5 c% W4 f! u. n" d) {
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
$ w9 f: D- k4 Lonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a8 d* V8 X8 c5 c, d+ `: @
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
5 c( h; s! c/ F+ `5 s9 gwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move- @8 H7 s/ b0 l' q8 A" t- N+ T
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is5 M3 o; r1 l0 \0 t1 S
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
. R3 G/ `; W5 a; Pthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
" B7 o7 V! C7 M# Q/ ~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 to: ]) X% r0 M$ C0 z1 h9 L
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make j6 Z4 T) E. k, p. ]3 l2 N: r
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was! B c9 }6 d, N
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
& s* ^3 I; ~( p8 A1 tparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
6 w8 C7 M; E k' I8 `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( y( z* \# |; r+ f d1 R
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
$ i8 e: d/ a# Y E1 m- \3 v9 Edevelopment.
Hutongs
- }6 i/ \- Y" T! Oin the old days were residential area where people actually lived( [# m# l4 |! [7 K( B
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions7 N& [ _2 o9 @+ | ^
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not: ^% x7 w% I8 F3 r' x; F: A4 c$ \
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you6 v, l$ x$ U- F+ a' q
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.) y- }6 q0 X9 [# U L1 i
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
! }1 P5 B/ t+ h- N! tto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used8 k4 @# f* D; @
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses; k% J7 `- [- H( ~% f! ?, L
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically. F; v8 e5 ]- V# q
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
$ w k4 i: k+ ^1 Jlive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
/ }( I2 H8 q8 G1 S/ O6 a. qhutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
" ?% `/ _2 C% g3 M$ [6 j$ D; c5 vbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
6 H9 n; k3 h$ Q) s+ }6 x6 e3 _project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
% S& q. S2 @/ p: }+ Q6 r- @6 Q& |renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong! K9 k5 u( {% f" o4 p% `1 U
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how0 p$ ]6 f# Y0 f% e
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
' c& H' @5 D3 m5 gtorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
& |* M2 `* R8 D) ?* f% O: i4 \1 \$ mmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".0 W4 X: {: s8 {% G" J1 m# L
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are6 @& R# I9 e! M; u: o+ e' n- @
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
3 X7 V' T7 K9 Q; p2 e/ ^0 C2 Rnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
! A2 `' k3 B- H4 Q! u; dof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these( q" Y" Z. w& c6 m/ j
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
8 H6 E1 a) R- hpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they9 c7 u) |' _5 ^
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some* W1 C8 }! B7 k- P" u! n
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
% n7 N+ l5 V t+ Y"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
$ B# m' g% l7 o4 h; R3 f$ Ipeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise- \; s& O X- X- M# @, T+ _6 Z
apartments are the way to go? No.' W# `, E8 T9 [5 e7 W
) M3 q- i; L' r
/ ^2 L* V9 w4 i& F
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
3 D' i7 e+ d ]6 E; p( g& Ysituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this! M# e1 U w* _9 T; f
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
l9 H0 g# g8 S7 Jno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so1 g9 b4 J* } H( p# @& E5 Q" P
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant. N( d$ B" v# G2 o9 J
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless$ M4 m! A! f& z* { D
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is, G4 B/ I6 l* v( D! O
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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