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A Hutong Discussion

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发表于 2007-4-24 05:08:00 | 显示全部楼层 |阅读模式
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 # P/ A3 f2 a" |) Parchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider 7 |. w4 x; d# p5 rBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian" 8 r3 I4 R' p5 H, }, W2 vcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.! o9 `3 p. z! }# y7 r4 t4 b' d0 Z) y According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,* E1 {. L3 M1 K 3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of. X$ r, d9 Q& Y$ b; E Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within & x( Q) _6 b* _& lhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among- q+ `% j% O; I6 l8 U% M8 h! h( A* L each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera, {2 P. j0 H! I7 R and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is - q: w: F) q7 X7 Y+ e' \harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are ; c2 f& A: b+ H, _. cdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and . H s6 m( Y9 W/ Tforms of culture emerged in hutong.

I 6 A6 G0 y+ F5 U# Vwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great : ^" V7 _! C) Z5 F* {& F% _. @impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished, 3 m. W( p x$ E _and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong3 V+ o( ?8 G2 t has a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment4 e8 b8 \- `( W$ v of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that " _. t* a* }2 {7 E4 _no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are1 j! r( V1 O3 O$ ~# B; X only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a+ U" ]. v" \6 R% o9 h0 q( j& \ sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government # D: @) O' n5 [7 K& Xwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move # ]! X! r9 D- X6 ~# L2 e8 fto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is 5 w. b/ h' f8 V) W4 i8 T"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact, # J0 b E3 k* E; `% r; hthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are 2 |$ [2 m7 f) t' ]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 3 q" x S0 S% `' p2 s* ^2 h"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make% k! g8 P" v$ ~. P/ X) C* ] money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was5 J% R3 I0 h3 D: |. u a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a' U2 R1 y* x9 R/ O u. a8 R( N4 K parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across0 N# K% H- G; d 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 1 a' |* F2 T- t3 Q( ^% simportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for # m7 N3 @1 e. N' E$ k6 Ydevelopment.

Hutongs! ]6 K* J6 W# y, Q in the old days were residential area where people actually lived8 ^$ s: B5 O Z& G there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions& i i; m( v) H3 g( @ in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not. Y, `) ~+ `1 q9 h' ~. H have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you . \% F# Q6 J/ L" C: [will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.# [$ u, o6 E8 B' Y Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date ! P h. ?5 P# F+ p/ P* Hto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used6 i# H8 @0 S' n% z to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses . P% }$ @8 E) l# n u. _support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically 0 H% \6 z0 n0 z% f& L: runfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to " k& V7 Z% W) v; x, j8 W# H3 clive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose, " V( O5 R" o P9 I! ehutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the8 @4 |' F% ^+ u5 X$ D0 S2 X+ Z1 a/ q k balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the r6 ^8 J' P0 mproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be) H* k" m5 A9 R/ D! F renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong 5 k9 [* `0 ?0 k' q# vMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how 5 Y* K: z( z9 W% Y: _7 Qpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be- X0 g6 i, J- |) n& N# a torn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished 6 `! U+ n& V+ L( V% tmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress". 8 R- R( O9 \5 V# o( O- BNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are - _6 ^1 u' f) ]# K/ _aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially: y5 o& g1 E, w- X6 w non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image & q/ e* \/ ~ o2 N% z _of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these 7 a1 }. x2 f% c& S. QHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those$ c& |4 l" @$ e. h/ R people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they 4 E) f% T) h G( Dmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some . v+ a+ ^- O5 a- d" Jof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before) N$ l# H. T2 c" |0 v "modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all ) U: E- C# l" D5 s; ipeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise : d( ?. W, z& Yapartments are the way to go? No., J) z/ L; D" V5 T+ H7 Q# H- o * y, n% I b# S+ y: }( D8 N7 t 0 B6 v# G4 N" ]: q; a( R% r0 Y

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the O/ I7 j' Z$ w! I6 c- }, ^* Vsituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this; V' J, r( H8 u% @' f3 ^. J 'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make9 I J, {2 ~4 k r no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so6 b0 H/ c: F; a8 D# v1 l8 T9 A fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant % {: c; W9 f1 C4 X3 Hresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless 4 k/ g0 W. a5 B# k! TBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is) ?% z7 h2 {& B. Q% G unlikely to happen too. Sad!
发表于 2007-5-22 20:37:00 | 显示全部楼层
Excuse me. May I use ur discussion in my dissertation about Beijing Conservation?
Thx a lot!!
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