A Hutong Discussion

jhf0551

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 architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider 0 f7 r' }) B- P7 f% m) TBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian" . O$ B V# N* b! C6 x9 Ocity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture. 9 [' ^1 N: r2 \; tAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty, $ a7 D. g' z* }' u$ P( w3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of - H6 H- q% v1 {) G1 AManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within : n! S" X/ f' s( Q% u7 D( r" phutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera " S6 ?/ m0 `/ [and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are 1 w& q' a3 O$ Z3 Pdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and forms of culture emerged in hutong.

I was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great 4 e0 X4 S C' Nimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished, and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong has a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment 2 ~+ T9 Z q% Q: W5 D7 n, @; yof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are * [% G7 ]$ u: o, s" ionly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government " j3 F4 l3 I1 C M8 o; F# twant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move 4 x+ w: s2 h. x7 U4 E% z+ tto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is . w0 X* p* w- l3 `( }& w# i7 _# |"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact, this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are ! q- E( j3 c3 ?: y1 M5 nstill 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 "progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make 9 X; h" o2 U; J, e _money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was : ^+ `/ l, [# B& Z. ma beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across 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 : i, j9 k1 B; mimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for development.

Hutongs / n {. A4 x1 ain the old days were residential area where people actually lived 7 x! h% @$ h, f% \there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not 3 L# L. r# G; i, O* k6 khave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs. : ?% G& a" M# m+ q4 t6 @Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date 9 O8 a2 P+ ^5 }" ]- ^& gto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically 5 A) S2 h. _" \unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose, hutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the ! r) I+ N. _: r) V' `3 wproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be ( M2 c4 f4 C9 o R# N( `; O ztorn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress". 9 f/ A1 q! C' e7 _7 O- g+ rNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these " q& j6 r( L; J* a: J" AHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before "modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all Y# I* {7 ]9 qpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise + F# ]% [6 {# Oapartments are the way to go? No. : p. C* ~" B8 y) L; w. o: C" E

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the - Y: f! b+ v% w9 P& I) W1 Msituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this & _7 `- R! N0 P4 m2 n$ {'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so ; g' s% \7 T2 a7 \5 O+ Wfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant r. ~3 Q# ^2 [. ]2 V' X" l# }resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is 2 Q0 ~' E! ~+ ?4 U% o& U2 Nunlikely to happen too. Sad!

桉草

Excuse me. May I use ur discussion in my dissertation about Beijing Conservation?
Thx a lot!!