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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
4 Q5 a7 |2 I% ^architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider4 d Z6 J' J; K0 F
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"6 p6 k& B$ u! ^+ R: Y2 r' K- U) C
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
1 P* Y, z# ?7 f( N" Y+ OAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,! l4 {# l5 @4 Q6 R
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
/ u/ X$ r4 e5 l$ B) Z& G% DManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
% o8 g) n. B1 f3 j6 f9 rhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
) }7 e( F1 ~* t. Z! beach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
$ E( ~1 j" t: a6 [) y8 land Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is1 T+ t0 n# n2 k5 m
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are9 c7 ]/ b5 O) m1 k& z
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
% q4 J8 j& K1 Z8 d1 gforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I5 p& r" k. P! m: A: b0 Q" i
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
' z$ [4 b9 I9 J- ~impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
8 `! E+ j% y" Q" d) t! P! a" eand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong. P8 c6 M1 H# ^! S5 U! k
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment2 b. _& Z) i9 Z. m5 |, b) C
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that! n: U; {2 p8 V+ u
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
. E3 e; j" a) Monly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
+ Q0 W, Y) B# j" w) K! B1 i' Vsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government& j8 ~# \5 X6 ?) k( R% ]' S* @
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
9 W" e; _8 R2 f- d" Wto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is I o6 `# l `9 T, `3 s( y7 N: J
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,0 T' X+ b2 p( K0 H N. H/ L+ ]
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are. b" T# z% i+ G3 [' m; K- D5 L. W
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! y" ~5 _7 u6 g
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make x( r- n0 Q/ S Q/ I
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was1 m+ T' ]+ N$ x- N6 r! L' ]3 v# M& S
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
1 K9 P* o# n4 F$ e- c, iparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
$ L; s$ b# p, Q6 kthe 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
' P, p8 b) D; z4 G' N/ Rimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
" O+ x, r. B% X7 R" t& w3 M0 udevelopment.
Hutongs* Y! O; q. K* w/ D9 A
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived# c0 a8 N0 q$ U8 l& _
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
* B5 F7 ^; E- Y+ o3 e- B2 B! sin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
4 N7 x6 e+ | Z* y, n7 ahave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
" ?' _' s8 w8 \& h5 Q* lwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
1 O0 |2 y* C+ k9 V% O+ GFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date2 }6 V, _4 B/ T1 }" S7 [2 u4 F$ H( U
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
- w$ R5 G" w1 w- Qto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses( j1 @1 E$ F, T4 Y
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
1 j& N. M: R: g; x# yunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to& `2 C& a" J1 H+ Q" T. O* s
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,& R2 k+ k) v" |5 E
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the) c) \7 |; \* D0 e% Q
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
1 K8 {( x- ~; x! f* c! uproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be; E5 D% M7 g# E2 z+ U4 H# i
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong" c; x4 n2 J) K2 O- |# m6 E
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how* `5 K9 k& r4 T8 R
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
' m- Z V8 F: F9 u% O0 N, l$ o0 U" Etorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
6 ^! B1 s# c5 {9 S+ @7 h9 _memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress"./ N- b: |/ Y6 n' E
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are! G* |& ?* R: @5 E
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially+ L. O* s6 [$ C# k
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
7 H' a8 t6 [, H; f: U6 T8 Y/ pof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these7 v! C' g! v* y8 ?
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those6 A& V2 ^" v1 _. w9 {
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they7 n+ A8 e8 r) A9 s# ^& U
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some6 G4 Z! l1 n: X ]( i! B
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before8 w% }" b: |0 B6 c' B0 b+ q
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all! `" I# O1 Q) i$ T* h
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
5 B0 [, g; n7 o7 ^. i4 Iapartments are the way to go? No.# X5 a9 x9 q) y, b( E
, h7 V6 ]& x9 }: d5 a5 h
* U8 v& |8 Z% q# G% o
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
) [7 T* ~# z2 C3 t% r1 {9 |situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this0 u+ y9 {3 x# u3 d& |
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
6 L* s( n: Z# a8 |: A: K4 e+ eno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
4 u( H) _ M J- Lfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
9 R4 n7 H) O7 Q" J2 P" aresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless9 m' c: c& ^, t- A" D
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is2 `4 i9 E# f2 X3 C q
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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