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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
. ]7 O7 Q# ~, X* |architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider3 P4 W Y9 q) H+ b
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"* E t0 T, j% }% _8 U
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.6 ?- ?1 p3 B" ~. J( h1 F& e8 M' P
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,; j! v9 G5 i7 e; l/ c7 O
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of1 @ T, m: B+ e( O) X, e
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
5 d# x* v" I) v2 Nhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
3 T# a0 U+ k6 h! t3 F7 s% Weach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
# \% a4 z4 ]& J/ Z8 Hand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
4 E2 A. g+ S0 c+ U# [/ hharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are; F4 i( v1 l! |- s6 T5 Q
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and% H# d% S9 f: g/ P& R6 R
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
, m. j# b3 ]" ~. R+ Bwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great- B! N# \! p! u* R
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
a D# o6 i, D( p1 Q7 Gand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong) y$ ?, Q* z$ ~ u2 L! {( ~
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
# ^! G8 s' M. ~$ l6 W% ~of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
( b( ] h2 v+ k {% x2 [; d# Lno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are& I& {6 C: ^0 U; ^
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
4 z, C8 n8 N Fsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
) K8 N7 k! @4 \, T% F0 \5 nwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
, H, h% [ K2 G( X9 nto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is: a1 H; c2 r0 S. r
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,1 N& _# y& u# m7 o9 o \7 {
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
6 \; Y/ b* @4 u |7 [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) g' ~8 q5 n, D
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make# O. p; V+ x0 M
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
7 k4 W4 T- i) p7 N! @4 H: ja beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a$ J1 [. T7 v% h, Z. b
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across+ v# @1 x% U6 e) n) W5 G6 S- U
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
& |: Q+ h& T6 Q; Y# ^. w. D- ~" ximportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
5 w7 U8 x* ?+ udevelopment.
Hutongs" V9 j6 I0 I4 C, d% u1 B( g, I& ?
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
7 G7 A" d' R' e" P$ m6 ~- mthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions( l' S, I w. s/ }" N7 m& m
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not7 B: o! n! U) E! l$ Z0 }, c3 M
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
5 {* M1 S, o$ c2 M' T1 w/ I% gwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.7 Y7 W; F! O K# ?2 Y# l
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date* v* G8 G% M' \0 j! U
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used( O8 i" Y, v, A. X; V
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses. B8 y) T* I& ~) [$ G0 J) h5 I, c
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically5 x1 b2 `+ M8 @, T! R! [
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to- ^) h( o! R+ Q! M5 ]9 K3 N
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
& p5 R a3 I7 N9 j& e6 [5 G4 m/ xhutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the1 m" i( H/ G2 p! {
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the, ? R) H. M' a+ \( E3 |/ X- P
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
* S5 f, y$ }& O$ m- nrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong9 {1 H w6 O( B3 Z8 n+ v4 h' o2 W
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
8 H& u6 g8 A* i5 epeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be! R6 i( K, T( X
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
Y5 E& d2 f5 Ememories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".* m/ r) r# w( k
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are% T7 X( Q' ?8 s2 @7 b6 `# x
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially7 p- {/ c, d: W1 l& {* z
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
& }+ b: e8 r) a) _$ [+ oof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
/ C6 m! L' x5 AHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
. D9 J3 W9 o! V/ e* N) Hpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
0 y3 J. z1 w' Q W+ l2 W7 `3 rmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
5 S/ g% H& P' Q- N! B2 qof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before6 P v6 K2 z {2 |8 u1 _0 a
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all9 [' t$ e. o f2 M1 [0 [9 F$ B+ @
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise3 l7 z0 J k7 ^1 u
apartments are the way to go? No.
, K' ^/ n$ ?1 J A; |/ z
1 ^% u' m$ Z' ^6 h$ n! S ' R* B; Q& D3 B1 n
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
( H) r% w$ G3 T: g, `situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
8 n a% q) ~1 }! P$ u8 O'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make$ C0 E; w' l% j" V% K2 _
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
* F7 {7 b: H& Dfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant4 G$ @0 F! @/ V5 {$ v" h4 ^
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless+ B# e6 r) U# @# M. l; t. p
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is; @ M y, H) }1 N# G
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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