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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- u* G2 y4 n# j) h
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider6 b) i2 a* h8 T5 C
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian", i/ N! m1 S4 e7 c; |
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture. T" B% U1 b) U! r% r$ O2 z
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
) i- O0 R6 h+ G# }. M/ J( R( Y3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of) L4 ~9 T; }8 t7 W# Q0 O% w
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within6 D# C. y" c' Z' W
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
, a+ h- B$ s9 S4 Oeach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
' d/ j1 Z T' w% O- q5 Dand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
7 k/ F4 a# N: _: mharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are) I# j( q9 y; E/ u3 p
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and, q9 c" r& y+ e( `3 ^ P
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I) V. Q3 t& L/ y) X
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great t; V- a! r! ?3 ]7 Y1 d5 C3 o
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
" j0 G1 A9 S) o$ S3 R0 C, hand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong* `4 v$ E! w( A+ b- H3 y+ O# E; i
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
1 i6 {4 x% y( M N9 p' o, v3 G3 ~of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
8 s' X8 P6 U4 p$ a3 T6 G: Vno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
) Z9 r# a, X4 N+ p+ a. G9 ~only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
/ c6 A; d( [* z3 }3 Isort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government+ u* y4 x+ ^' x s
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
3 k* W1 ^! f1 e B; zto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is1 S; a# n3 P3 w' k1 h
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,6 S. G" G2 L" N3 Z/ A7 y
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are. P0 {# ?2 {3 D- i$ C5 O
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 to4 d; [6 U0 V c( j" p
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
+ y/ | x/ p( W3 Q2 _money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
9 o# d5 a; w/ S4 K3 C4 ^a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a2 c1 ~3 B: L( q
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
% c+ ?5 b0 }" G' ?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
2 j5 L) G% G Himportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for. \: v4 [9 G5 o6 n$ V% v- X! S: K% |
development.
Hutongs! W* a4 r6 W' W' ^1 o
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
4 L* f( X: L. V8 U2 V6 Y, R7 }there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions1 Q0 c8 N" Y1 I* v9 F$ W8 i% P
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
+ Z& q7 O% Z5 uhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you* b4 x4 n9 D7 R: O6 Y2 L
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.$ |& x+ D6 j1 X
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date7 R, r0 R, y: f' G; J: i7 e
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
$ V W$ _) j* p1 Wto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses7 U+ T# S$ h u5 h' O& b8 G- z" V
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically* v1 e; R% L# D: ~+ |- [+ ^
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to% B; _5 k6 ~& a; }9 ]" E/ M# @/ W
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,& V- j2 K& A+ c# K0 \
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the" b! k' d7 L' n, S. L5 M) o2 A
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the( H" Z. f" x) H% P G; a
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be* i( x) D% t. u" r0 Q
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
% P' [% y9 s% b# j& \Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
: G0 ?$ C) G% P$ b5 H; }people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be f- |) {/ i7 O2 ]" v
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
+ S+ r6 E2 D G- x3 l7 p& wmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".5 R& s2 E4 V) y. p, }9 O$ \
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
' Y( i- E' P' P, o- E2 Y, ?aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially$ V5 A5 D! y- }' f0 ~; y! w
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image' r9 C4 b, X/ x+ R4 M
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these0 B; I' v+ q; ~- P. R" }
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those/ Q: c2 z- q( Q/ Q4 V0 @
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
- j) y" w. b/ \" Gmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some8 ~8 m% P8 K! G* S
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before. g+ V8 w- B7 B0 W3 W
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
/ u0 Q8 g1 c- A \& u" V$ o$ tpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise9 |1 I& Y; I, P S
apartments are the way to go? No.3 n s- ?4 a: c' O
; x1 |' [: u3 v6 X+ n8 {- j8 u
' D6 t$ a+ b# k6 d* q
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the0 | o) r0 B# _+ C
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
% ]5 C9 P5 O0 H( g'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make+ P* D. {( Y9 U- b
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
- ^" T; A1 u. v! rfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant9 `1 X3 }' }/ A; D
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless6 R' k+ g8 {' _! Z' t( m: C
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is$ C- D) G4 {4 K0 Q
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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