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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
' O9 U2 W6 t" _* X# T4 Oarchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider( |. i) \- T3 L5 z' b8 Z4 P
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"$ z$ |7 t2 ]! \: R: K! M$ L
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
" z* o0 k( P. z* F/ b$ B! q5 jAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,% h2 d2 s5 {& Q% r1 I
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
% u4 T4 V6 |8 d8 X, X: z0 [Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within5 v' S% D% b) x2 `
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among& H. X0 _5 P- |$ _' x
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera" _5 j( e8 g4 { [- ?
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is* K1 R4 x, u+ G0 S' q; M
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are- t1 J5 ?0 R/ |7 B3 b
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and* m0 w. s8 K. s- F d
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
8 L0 {0 b* d9 m# [2 @5 `' Kwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
d% m, m7 S( V( t/ L& cimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
9 D2 `6 d( H9 b6 ~) Zand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
9 n5 Y7 Q$ `' `) ^7 Ghas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment- W4 T5 R' o# K- ]6 q2 z* a
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
" H- j( `( I7 y- Kno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are$ L1 E$ j/ J3 c+ b
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a# y5 m* w$ u' u$ ^: A+ g& S/ T/ E
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government O3 E. S( D% T3 ]; g, a# k
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
) {9 h0 q! X4 p% Ito the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
3 A' d4 Q3 x) ]5 G3 O"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
! r' a3 K1 e0 Y- h/ x6 Ithis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are- I/ O: {# k3 |) V8 l* ^
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 to2 o( t* R- y$ B! H# g! H
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make: O+ G- M' N6 B9 t/ W
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was8 u, K- H" X( H# t
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a O1 ~! S, a A/ q( W
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
( ?" W$ u: y! K3 F' Y3 i4 |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" w& N8 s4 m0 p o/ h2 [$ a
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
/ h8 j. j+ p. R1 adevelopment.
Hutongs; u7 M2 w, v8 R+ [3 |
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
* t. @0 j" ^! \there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
$ k) K* }/ {* b- tin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
3 ^9 d. }0 b; I; M9 O `have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
$ T% K: r% W- X6 A/ fwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
[8 {6 Y. P9 p8 ~) o9 @, kFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date4 z) o$ T9 L9 U( |6 X
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
& t2 \! H# g; o; Uto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
2 I: o' p4 A) f2 A" V4 Y4 d. xsupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically% t7 C4 j/ f+ c( t4 p8 ^. d6 h. W
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to1 [: n# M w" k1 i" R6 p. f) U
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,* X) z, Z \5 p
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
" P$ v1 @" m5 Rbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the3 {1 Z9 e9 }8 s9 I! y! N* I
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be" V6 t9 C; Z) U; U3 a1 J
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
' O* |7 n+ L6 z. ^8 [* fMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
: u7 A; v4 d7 Y5 Npeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
# I9 n) n) i" p. v+ btorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished0 v$ ?8 R3 ?) ~
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".+ Q% _- e! J5 O
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are9 ?6 U8 p7 v, @ c
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
, I& q# r U3 enon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image: }: V8 b' E* s1 o3 s; }" C \
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these& V, Z& @$ t0 \! f
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
( ^& K/ g& q9 E* `+ lpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they) x0 D9 g2 k( ^8 @* J$ Z( O+ F
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some5 G8 q L% v6 q& Y
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
1 n$ s9 H* o q"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
- w6 w3 C7 e. V. \9 e+ Opeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise3 t( M+ A8 o4 @
apartments are the way to go? No.
; l/ N3 |( i8 ]) k( f$ c
, r% D# [! }2 B$ X" ~- w
; G+ u! Q# b) s- T6 I
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the5 p( V$ `) x/ ~3 I3 z: k p# G
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this4 X& ^0 q/ ^. Z
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make$ A, p/ w9 d0 M4 v% [# s, u: H
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
( b0 a# @9 d9 |' bfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
' Y* y% h& J: T" a( g, {" jresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless! h' M& \$ `! e) D
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is7 p" w" Y9 @6 P/ i% d. i+ F
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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