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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, a* {4 ^9 F6 Z o
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider, i) q. M/ S& N+ R1 \6 V
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"2 g W4 b4 Y, _9 {8 w3 o; j, D: r
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
h' q% `, E# y( i6 ?6 l: DAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
2 o( u' N J# I' w3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
% D9 F1 R# Y+ \. X" K2 X6 hManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within0 W+ C* w9 F* H7 `/ ^. y+ Q
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among6 I2 k" |- O8 G; v- y
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera' y4 U. M! O; u! a' a A
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is9 d" e3 l3 H; F1 z
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
) g1 |& t1 J: Edescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
0 |# `8 h/ d/ |3 R& Y- M' Oforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
+ j; W; h" k, \1 U2 c; y% iwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great) `4 {3 r1 i/ M
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,- e# P9 U1 J) ^9 l, p) \
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
8 _/ \4 {0 ?8 {" R) mhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
3 h! n h4 s- _9 l/ lof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
3 M4 {: _7 A4 j6 s- ~* C+ bno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are5 e) y" C u' H1 m2 X5 `" k
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
0 H- ~2 d5 [$ e/ v5 \sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
0 q* J: j: a' O( m! }! Swant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
4 p3 J1 | H0 Y9 Uto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
, F' F( M1 W$ [1 c"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
" G! W i' ~8 M' b+ ?7 J5 q! Jthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are: M, T* ^: T# ]' 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 to
. s, `) s! c. J"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make+ r, {" q; j7 ~9 f3 G& Z; B
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was- H# v' q3 _6 x1 @
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a; Q& `" V- `4 J. ~
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across) f6 n/ ~9 E8 F/ D; {& p
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! x/ Q# H6 f. x; w. d M
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for* g- C7 \ G. u+ j/ b- n" f9 o
development.
Hutongs3 k$ v) ~8 G4 ?' }, ~, k0 u$ n( \
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived6 T( P' a; J; a& E3 x; l
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
; [% B! Q; ~" i+ j8 \in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
% L$ t. K5 @, v2 c4 j* n$ N. ghave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you$ n( f4 S) R4 C6 e$ M4 g" G& a
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.3 A% S2 i8 v7 i( o- d; `! l
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date4 }/ h! g3 z8 L4 o1 Q
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
: `) n9 }1 m- D0 d1 M( H7 yto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses$ H: d n1 I( ~5 m* G+ i
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
( F$ L& m0 Z' a- k" k+ gunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to$ Z0 K1 J; w: G- d' F# N' h; |6 g
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,) q- z8 a+ a0 U0 f0 _0 u( B
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
6 j4 H: V, W5 ^; ~6 w0 ^ p0 ~balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
; k6 K3 i5 D3 Nproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be. J* f3 e; Y& C# a9 G
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
, F: J5 S; ~5 A8 d/ d) {Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
. \$ _9 o. }, u. `people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
7 M, j( r* g% `6 Ftorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
$ l4 n0 b. y8 D [memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
5 J, L- @# l9 _( y0 f1 [0 r# n9 SNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
( D4 A& \9 s1 |" `" `! F7 a/ raligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially- ~5 L% s: J' ?& }
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image+ W% Y+ [7 \. e9 U7 j( C8 R! ^! y
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these8 P) ]( z( D; R) A' R" r
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those; X& }2 w6 r- a" Q0 H$ r
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they# u* C+ ]0 p% }5 X
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
% f( B. ?- T) y L# `( C- Bof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
; j, {: Z2 R' e0 g: _5 z"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
: P% F8 X1 B2 e, l) `/ Xpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise" @1 S' P: O1 o. [6 j( Q
apartments are the way to go? No.4 S1 _# `( A. Q* R- C8 Q
1 y2 a% k6 |0 o% C# D1 `
0 }1 M: U* z. r' i+ ?
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
8 u7 A ?2 P5 Q; N7 qsituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
/ K ^3 l2 ?, V" H) ['progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
6 \ |" q: P& O/ o( Z3 Fno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so; I2 h. T& T4 R _, u
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant _. ^' P/ V& D/ z8 A; d. V9 T5 I
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless3 d8 I) C' X3 _
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is7 A$ t; d3 W# E, p. e6 p/ c; m
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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