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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, its9 c4 {9 U- E8 A- R
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider/ i/ R# X* S$ s% C3 u; d
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
0 r$ u) U; i5 W2 h& k: Dcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
# V& U5 J- c" SAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,% K/ y2 w: j' M7 k6 E8 J
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of0 |% {9 K$ O& O9 ]# j4 l
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within/ {/ Y" m& F2 K: s
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among; W# D: v U+ Z" \5 X
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera; ?# X4 e, j1 _' v
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is7 K% g# @ i1 e1 X. U- z0 @
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are" @; i, c8 W# ]' ~5 M
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
2 i* Q" p1 U; Z6 E2 l5 A( Nforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I9 N0 T0 N" }* l+ ]6 }7 I
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
$ S) D% N: }, a1 ?: ]impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,# F* }# C& w* f) N
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
: [6 c% g3 o) Fhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
3 w- y% p9 F) q2 Mof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
8 ?+ x7 W; V% a+ Sno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
$ Y. U" ^" f) f; z, M* F( Tonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a; z) e" S4 f F. [ u
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government/ G* C# w+ B6 W' w4 U* i
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
! E1 U- B: X* M6 w3 sto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is7 b/ m& {. `" w" t" t# C
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
8 W* ?+ _- P5 A+ dthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are$ [" r. N N1 N- m4 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
1 [; r+ A/ Y. k! k"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make7 Y4 N5 `6 N+ S! S X
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
9 L9 { T1 D* V, u2 V1 a1 m5 qa beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
; H3 Z7 T8 h1 ^: B2 f) Xparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
/ Y5 o- J+ n7 ~, h; Tthe 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
5 j% B# |$ A; u/ i/ pimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for' y- N+ _8 A- D# i Q; \
development.
Hutongs
: I) j; y; l" c3 l: K! ?in the old days were residential area where people actually lived9 o3 o, C2 c, R0 p
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions7 d1 u9 J1 L3 D6 |. G3 ]/ _
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
9 [5 m5 [9 ^2 E% q. C; C- ? Thave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you( J+ |9 ^" e O( M
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
1 v; S# d! C+ B) w2 t: A# T. v, {Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date/ n6 R4 N" F* x
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
/ r* ?8 y4 K/ O/ W" x2 n& ~to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
( ?- J3 ~$ _/ G2 [! B! y. {+ ]support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically9 u- Z- l0 u, b; T3 W! B! M
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to2 v: j4 c1 V* |2 G- _4 |- ~0 i) r
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,: o, v, q7 ^, t/ Y
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
' H% }- z: p9 ~4 Y8 dbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the, n, J/ q/ G% |; ]
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be! b2 t9 V, K* r; E% K' }: c. A
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
: T' L2 d6 K, {" EMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how1 E& j, C; A5 W2 z/ {: R4 s
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
% l, e7 P; f( Ftorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished% I7 z8 {& }+ n2 m' e9 ?
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".& G8 X2 d& `( _! y/ V
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are) f1 z4 @; ?- q% J4 i# n" U5 e
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
. T! j2 W# m" m: T& P% Y6 snon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image, k4 Q4 c) ?& W9 q2 K& r
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
1 t" E& u. s; R" `1 O7 @% D7 {Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
) z3 Y; `8 g. `/ n3 z' ?people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they3 ?- K9 _: R: f& G
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
$ l. G2 n2 k. P( [5 c( E% K' z- \of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before6 T0 J+ H. c5 e$ A3 c
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all/ U: h5 D* @) F' m
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
. X4 s! G A3 y: @, A5 r% Lapartments are the way to go? No.$ c8 W3 h' _7 ]
6 r: n; n' V+ G. T . Y2 a; R, h) m- R% W, T
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the5 o9 K0 b7 i% L' P% W: p
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this0 t R3 S! m. B) F1 a- m& @
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make( {, {" L- O$ S" v: N* x! l
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so/ Q) D5 |6 W W1 M
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant# u& l7 ]1 a9 v( [
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
8 I5 t2 q- `$ m2 N; t$ ^" w7 `$ jBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is6 V \( v9 a. @' Z( g' z
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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