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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, its6 L0 b Y; \4 h9 D: f, b
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
/ f- E9 b4 ?% ~Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
" K3 V0 [! h; `* wcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.! a+ t) v$ [/ s9 C- ]7 h
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
% k0 P# w, {! J, C* S8 _" }- J5 o3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
( W$ Y; r/ b" W3 p3 j1 |Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within) C# ] Q# w; k ^. f6 {! Z; r
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among/ [+ w3 R6 u; z [& A E& s0 M
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera y! z$ T: a2 B% q
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
4 X( {% x" C8 Fharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
+ U) c) L G8 ^5 d c4 \' adescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and- K5 }/ N8 E8 D G
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I9 z* r) E% M% ~8 F3 G$ E$ ^0 X, h
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
6 j2 K3 K& X4 i. T& I3 P! ximpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,; ~! X9 x$ l, e% U
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong2 \: g/ W% u! q. w5 a `
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment) n- S0 J; d% ^8 G, D$ M3 W
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that/ L( u" H( d! t8 e& ?
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are& f C0 E; L+ l c& N/ N
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a: g7 ~+ n! J( t+ @/ ^
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government7 o5 v9 o$ k6 j* D% Q( r
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
; q |' g! B% e4 T) rto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is: q$ D9 @: |9 z/ Y0 y
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,6 g! t6 n2 `. o4 S+ W# d
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
8 I! n6 D; b$ F/ W7 P1 Tstill 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 to7 M& l4 w$ O+ ?) `& {8 I! r& n' F5 @
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
% b8 z* ^, Y$ U2 y. Kmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
3 C8 E% m4 K( L1 @a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a( {5 Q1 a% q9 c8 }) M
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across( [: Z8 \+ m F# Y
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, k7 Y' K" v0 R$ B! ~/ [# b; }
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for- \5 `$ B3 _( M, A
development.
Hutongs
- D* [" k e% g' a; F! y% |" `8 rin the old days were residential area where people actually lived0 H4 T& v% r/ q9 f' _
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions7 O& t0 N# E5 { t
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
3 }& U6 E, Q. c+ @, p2 khave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you# q- |" l1 _( a/ \- o
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.3 @: U; a [; l$ ?! h
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date; |' _; j# m' C1 }7 k1 |6 ]9 C
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
- y h. b% D1 e. [# |/ D. A8 Pto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses$ u8 a! i$ \$ M6 e
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically+ b2 l$ K! k/ d3 Z
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to8 p W8 `# j8 w8 [. S" q7 j$ ]$ I
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
: ?. `! F4 Z$ m( N) v/ Ghutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the9 R' l" `" `/ N" H, |2 g0 V
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the' l1 K/ c& P$ g# q+ }
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be7 ~! x' V& W% ?4 ^" q
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
$ p0 t2 O7 v4 p9 g" U4 z( j! G! A& WMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how, Z4 d5 Y7 n; R1 k
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be% J! R- A- k% C' h( N7 B: Z6 d
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
' x6 G( ^# \8 b' U! N! T1 j( Rmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".! {/ Q8 p- J* Z& N u# Z
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
9 u R+ F0 o; a# e2 P4 G" \/ c% Laligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially7 F7 T# h7 p2 W: e' X& B
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
8 R! P! `' C0 I# b1 H4 tof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
0 T; Q" d4 i, q( G9 {5 z) WHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those0 N% f* d' G Y+ z) Q
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they3 J; O3 U I9 u) Q! g7 y' G2 r
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some) u- u- y, Q0 X3 Q! m2 P
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before8 V+ m4 {3 n" y. ^( |9 n
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
# p" \) F+ U& `6 L- c4 |people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise" J& J0 U: Q0 K" g' s) M
apartments are the way to go? No.' l' U2 X$ U9 @( w0 p9 [9 l( ^
) I" q& [6 y ?1 ]5 a2 I
0 ?* ?, @. W, `* Y4 O, Q
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
1 h( a- [8 j- N' ysituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this2 [- o+ ^! l$ {- g' r5 \* D) S# `
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
' ~- F' R5 ^; b1 J% \no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so( {6 v2 |( s( k& E
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
) O/ Y' P' k! `8 ~0 G' q6 vresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless) R9 x# K1 A, c+ l) u! G, f6 g
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
& ^5 P4 E! i' _/ J' w! u& \, ]unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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