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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, its4 m2 ?% U1 q3 _ M
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
, }- i9 j/ o. }" n- S$ YBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
, l$ _* F# G3 v6 X) q3 Pcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture. e& f3 H* I9 a; X, w5 K9 H% L* {. z
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,2 E% ^6 _3 p. b
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of3 b7 u+ B9 ~# z/ i7 O
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
& R$ Z! t0 e" S+ f6 K* t" ^+ m2 Yhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
, ]! d, V7 J+ m U# m5 z2 Aeach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera* W0 _0 A+ R, M W! o
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is# O( q1 E( {9 w, R W4 U
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are- J- R: r: j+ V0 h- N, [* b
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and: c# o6 C( C8 P+ X+ H/ v
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I7 ~ m) B7 M2 P4 D1 C
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great: Y7 B; g: i) p) E! O; L- s) D. H
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
% U! Z( H0 d, j* Y$ Rand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong( C2 l& ~4 H! G
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
. P/ E, }% ~0 aof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that- U- c$ r9 ]4 w; C. d
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are$ k$ L3 y2 I$ [, v k( v
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
" o! ~9 u( f# ]+ _sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government: G: |3 X! Q6 @1 f' C4 v9 S
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move$ x: U, o8 [4 F* ^6 d% T3 w
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
' [, q2 V- Q" H; Y/ e"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,- ?- c7 a: a8 b7 V" W7 B+ l/ G( D
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
: O: z' A4 s$ C2 m7 Ystill 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
! j' I5 ?3 r, `7 o"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make8 u0 ] T3 v0 r( b
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
! }/ a: G& J3 ia beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
- \, l: e( {& ~# Y( ]2 e$ m, l7 Dparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
0 j. S, ~+ n5 }5 \; R! U- uthe 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
: }' G# X5 m) S* ~: Fimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for2 ^6 O. i3 ?6 K
development.
Hutongs1 G7 H9 i$ P1 Z4 I4 ]4 @
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
; L( ^: K4 B1 P/ Nthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions; f% d" C& e/ t7 {
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not- |6 Q# s7 q' }; s5 M- }
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you4 O. {/ h9 }2 b; ?: d+ E6 F
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs./ j" `0 q/ S5 Q; D! E
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date/ ?' ^ A% c; ]- S; ?
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used4 y* q$ u" V8 T* `4 l. o
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
$ \- T; r6 z- j2 Z& y6 _- nsupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
, {5 u J: A7 l% z+ h& Sunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
3 y) ^( h; W/ N C j7 \6 Elive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
. `2 r" l* I: g& A& A3 ?hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
5 z0 B. Y1 y Y0 R, m! lbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the, t, h4 Q9 M: `$ X) G9 P& {5 `- y
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
/ `+ b4 o7 n3 S2 Q2 Arenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
1 }7 x7 | ^- W( n: N9 `Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
. F: y z# I8 O3 Z. S* jpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be5 E) C8 N& p! |" S8 A
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished8 U) C( u8 F3 ]
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".. _ }' i7 a, E0 A6 e
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are3 S2 v% j" A4 [% x
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially1 u; l" l" Q2 z$ d
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
3 X2 j' e& Q! Q1 `( Z! ^* {, _3 U6 nof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these) ?; o" y* L3 y1 n7 `7 Z' W
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those4 z9 S2 ~+ q2 B6 w; R1 B x5 C& V# s
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
9 v% m# F$ s3 ~) V7 _% N8 K* hmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some2 u! O) T9 ? y3 e. {
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before4 y& ^) `; d* p& \0 s5 }. Z
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all4 ]; R0 U7 A" a& L+ A
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise F* C6 M; A. A0 F8 S1 f
apartments are the way to go? No.
/ j; k9 A) `, x- \ g6 b/ ~
6 C3 j3 \0 e* X7 K1 ?. z $ [6 t) g! @; v1 Z Z0 s
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
1 s" J0 `8 g$ K& w' u s: y8 W; ksituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this) N$ S8 [! G6 \( A5 L
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make( E5 [1 J; y, M f
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so2 ]( m5 U6 k8 u* R( y
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
2 o; ~" W9 |, q% ~' Nresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
4 o& s" b) g. P6 | BBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
+ T$ M$ u. V ?( E8 r: |7 S" \* Iunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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