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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
: z" R8 [; L) b) G. Parchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
" o$ I) d( ~1 c& i7 [% t$ BBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
; K! D/ k- V) ~8 G' E& }) ?% H. E9 Vcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
. v% t4 o; U* q6 FAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,& W ~3 ]3 U& ]! \' D
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of8 d& F( s1 X* C
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within4 c; b5 O- M3 o; w: n
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among% p, j: B' s, d2 D2 b+ N
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera3 x- n+ p5 O4 L" c" R2 ?) D
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is! y. A2 w) S- N/ b' h7 @
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are5 x R+ e. @* n- m# D
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
, G$ F5 j9 C* |8 |. cforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I2 {; s0 z- U# N- J; ?
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great* j* b# e! H( j5 ~
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
5 I* l$ C; W! O& n5 dand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
, t. G s( _3 Dhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment6 v4 z4 F, M% O% F# W6 I3 J
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
, p# m/ _% y: X6 e2 m Qno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
' W9 z; V: c4 M i; V( aonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
' R @) x% d: m& r$ Z7 Usort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government. b7 y! E( g# {( ]' `3 [" l
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move5 J0 b3 v$ ?% m# h6 s1 ^2 K
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is+ v& E7 v" u& Q, M
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,- A3 G+ |7 L0 ?% @
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are# X3 f* Q& N2 U+ S, _3 t
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 to7 w5 V+ Q7 |9 Z2 \% u
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make7 M p$ K4 J: S4 s
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
8 @# N, V: W, w7 \& u; ?a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
9 O5 u( k. g# Y0 Z* Iparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across6 h: S4 U' C0 X1 T% {# r7 C/ 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
* h3 K9 v+ O0 f% S9 E Z( rimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for3 w/ D# `$ ~, |6 D5 {
development.
Hutongs- ]# _0 j1 I4 F' E* V
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived, G ?# J7 b& S, Z; d6 d
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions( e; G4 m- q/ a0 M+ f. p4 L; e
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not& U7 a0 I' s% Q/ J4 R
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you5 {( o* v0 m1 }$ u
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.9 b" b* D' L/ \2 n' `
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date5 V W% }- \; `" \' c% J! \- f
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
: O0 ~+ O' o! Z/ l- n4 Dto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
8 d$ k( l' k' Isupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
! J4 c4 u0 n8 E* }( F5 g5 R8 m iunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
( c. t" e0 ]) Z$ ^! p& K! Plive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose, a$ Z$ ]3 F' y h# ]; B3 o
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the, O7 ^5 E; \- O" r5 T
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the! b% s( I* D/ X6 d
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
0 `! t. @( I* {9 e& W) d# `, j! e7 orenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
& i2 \# a) i! \' y* b" LMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
, j+ s7 u. ?4 c% U- y5 M+ F. mpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
! ?! N5 t1 @1 H; V4 f. wtorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
# p" c$ Y1 V# {3 Dmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".* D6 s! F" U$ k) Y- p
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
; J& Y! [# j1 ?+ D* {aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially% q' s p7 @" V! R& w
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image( V [1 Y) Z! V; y8 `
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these" x6 J4 h2 m& ?& ^+ b3 r
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those9 k1 @6 i% l: n' G3 V, F
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they g' c3 K! N" l. q" A2 s5 r/ I
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some- ^3 ~. I5 Z6 B( }# `
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before* _& d, M. z8 i2 q4 ?. d
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
" x6 q+ Q. L! J" rpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise) j: U* m5 M2 e
apartments are the way to go? No.) b& ]2 ~7 o: \! |! k7 E8 ~7 m
! D5 }, u' k# b f1 }& Q2 X
6 \$ u/ |$ U0 \6 I* ]# Q9 c
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
& Z/ f2 v% b( @( b% |situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this2 R- v5 s1 g. A; E2 M% F* O
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
Z/ o$ q( c+ k+ }no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so5 Z- }( O, j0 @$ J8 F
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant1 P; y- e7 }3 L
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless$ g/ y6 I* n! s$ ^5 Q+ O
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
& s8 v( A$ q$ i. Dunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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