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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+ Y6 e# y8 e0 l! | A; S* s5 H
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider+ Y! v; c t2 V# e z" P4 o; ]
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"! `* w( i* S, ^" C
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
; N( V6 b# X; M6 H0 q- hAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,, g- I# H" i& T* \0 A4 S
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
8 `% x! c3 Y7 r0 y( Z9 v8 f8 H6 AManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
9 w- _9 J: K: S- vhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among. V5 D; n) M0 K6 `. _( f% L: O9 K
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
) `! _& g* z" W& W' d( G/ M* gand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is- x/ p) I4 i7 M9 j- O
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
$ ?$ e( ~; [$ W' t& s1 x7 Vdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and9 O- ^( C" Z# X, |
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I# y& f+ A( a" E9 H B1 z1 i* j
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
& G4 n2 p3 g/ c3 a( H* H. ]& Kimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
' |$ k" G& o; hand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
& v t$ o6 M' J( j G: U: Q) V$ j' Vhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
2 R( s7 f: v+ X2 _* {7 M& uof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
5 @# \: q/ s! R, U* X% pno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are8 F% [1 X7 {$ l
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
. e8 S( A# m9 F7 u" t! Y8 ~' rsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government# C; B( E" f9 l
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
8 E2 Y/ C- G! ^1 U: r' Ito the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
0 B% o' B% X/ c3 r }1 |"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
6 A- `! w$ l& l/ @* P: q# S- hthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are; r+ w: w: e5 j
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
, b5 v; l K, h"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
, W. J* M4 y# d zmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was1 y @6 e3 q# x
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
+ H, `9 c5 m0 q* H3 lparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across. {: Y w( u1 Y9 R: X
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# k6 L) C) S7 q4 A# h. X
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for" ]' [! Q7 {$ t1 B8 ~- q, k
development.
Hutongs" e: r9 |# f$ Z: v+ L' Q
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived O) }8 j: ^& y2 T% v
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
1 g, I) H& B8 gin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not$ X6 l1 j- {0 d! l
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
* }4 e7 v9 N' I9 v/ b* Cwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.4 }! @9 Y, M ]3 @1 s
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
6 X) l# `; |7 g# Gto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used' w0 o" V$ p0 p6 v+ \. |$ A
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses0 d5 |' s* _' S+ \5 y" F/ J
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
2 v& w0 G$ i" f: c _1 `unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
" y+ s q/ o+ s9 ]& y, I- q/ Jlive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,* D0 y1 l" b* \2 o
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the0 c2 L' t. {: S. n6 N' e
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
3 B: r* [+ X" l& oproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
6 {& L' S$ e( L$ K: H& I8 arenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong6 d0 `6 e I/ x. V
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how: T$ D7 h4 T4 d9 P& M
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
2 f% C8 U; n5 X/ z: P, y3 ^; otorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
q& \% }+ _, F4 f9 _memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
9 f0 Z \* B3 a& U5 e- L, p' PNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are, [6 u: D+ b: [. D& J" Z
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
% l' @2 g2 }" s+ z6 gnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
7 E5 U, r7 Y: r$ ?, _- T) @0 b Wof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
+ t) n# {9 U# B! XHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
& f. |+ c. q% q# `9 g0 n# Rpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they# v! E5 `# V# p/ \
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some/ K6 `2 N* }1 C+ v
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
+ I- Z7 f! D/ F; }7 V+ E( F"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
. O' b7 O8 T( N( f# Q7 R& ypeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
8 ]3 _. S \" y( xapartments are the way to go? No.
& x. j4 O& w; S% @
& V$ {' g9 K6 M% d* z3 T
& X& g% I- _' P `1 s. Y* ~' ^
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the. q" S. w, v7 p" |
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this8 ]7 a7 h# ]" N/ r
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make4 O& I5 r& H! j# G. r2 M! E
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so% }' F) n! e0 p6 P( h
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant- R, d9 X& i& a
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless3 D7 |" [, j6 ~
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is" G* p) i) v! Q3 k3 m
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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