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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
/ T- K6 D, ^+ [1 uarchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
( x7 O0 z% `( {: qBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"! l6 E& `0 E W& ^
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
; Z6 H$ b4 N, R% i5 G4 [1 x( N3 sAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,* Q& A, T0 c, k+ t5 |
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
# o) p+ I4 S( C, |+ F, fManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within! i( K. ?) q; j6 i& ?
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
7 ~3 n8 K9 T$ a. Yeach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera% j$ u' @/ D0 [- ]* `# N$ [
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
/ Z; G# y% Y/ u5 J, `! g' }4 g4 dharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are& I4 B3 |1 R6 m5 y8 n+ R& |* u, m! o+ Z, Y
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
b2 S. ]0 T( ]1 q$ ^( qforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I" D, P2 o9 [+ M- T' J
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
- `: ]- y9 N* i) v S2 ~impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,1 j& _) V) p0 e2 ~# j: `* |# X
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
' _/ t/ B: f3 a/ mhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
( f5 J3 R3 e# N& o$ k$ O+ pof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that+ Q" j8 E$ p' u3 L+ t4 y" t8 \0 |
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are1 {3 \* y) g3 f! i/ r7 ?9 S7 c( @
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
% g: ?4 l9 f/ M# ]8 K8 A) O4 Vsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government/ Z; W, q( U: O' z9 J2 L/ W
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
% B. g0 f9 o* g. m E0 rto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
! `. @; @& b4 f"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
; I. n0 C" C/ w- V/ g" Wthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
1 O2 M! C1 U; N J7 e! f2 mstill 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' T* i# j- ^, X' B. C1 a7 t1 x
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make3 M+ R8 q( y2 c1 r: t# r
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was, i( I& t' {; x" f
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a. f. d2 U3 b9 C
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
. L3 {( y2 H" [; w6 P; m Bthe 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 cultural5 D$ B9 l: w1 }$ O/ W2 [7 Q
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
5 ]8 I6 j0 {. d( L2 j6 h( tdevelopment.
Hutongs
! ~: |0 U D+ Q$ v% Y. kin the old days were residential area where people actually lived+ d) l0 R: O3 O0 B
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
3 ?! w9 ~! X9 }9 [" a3 S1 o1 cin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
* f' P# A. x9 K& U4 ~have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you. L/ S1 k/ O! t8 R. [2 b3 p/ H
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.9 j0 W. J/ F( L/ y7 K. e
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date1 d$ X3 ~3 d% ~; n3 }$ I: u
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used$ M, X0 |3 S& Y' j- k R) m
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses+ D- M7 N- V1 h' g6 g
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
) |( T |2 K6 y; S# Z. }unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to) P6 t M4 m8 ` u7 K; ?
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,' V- [5 H0 L# A o. _2 D- A! J# K" X! y
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
2 N7 E% S2 [8 v' b" lbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the* P- s6 T' Q8 D m
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be" F5 ], a" v8 o% M: R
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong& U* Y+ I2 Z" [ `, M
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
6 V6 S' k- l0 z" r, A, s, cpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
5 ^) G* Q. y: y- z0 jtorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
0 t; l. x! l4 W1 }; Lmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".- ^; {+ i% L D0 y9 v
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are# f t7 |. K6 \/ @. V0 _+ I
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
; ~/ c; d% |; Tnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
7 f$ \/ P$ ]# ?* c+ `of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
6 i2 {$ X9 }8 i8 l( y6 b* mHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
9 h+ n8 \% d# {3 S, k' |# q( |4 epeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
. x- e* f2 X* |0 V$ t- f+ ~may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some `# p" ^: s- O2 v. N8 r: _9 H9 B
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
& P, r4 a3 u9 X: e& I3 m"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
) w+ u/ {* h8 x2 ?% @1 Upeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise0 _3 h9 G: D4 y8 N
apartments are the way to go? No.
- w: J% p/ P# h/ V D ) N! E; y+ W2 ?$ O# e Y& C
" _$ S! m7 `) s8 O; u0 [
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the0 |* @: }9 ]: E* K2 } I
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
0 t& F s2 C {8 k0 B5 x'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
. d, ^9 J; t) x; E; ^" v, _no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so/ o5 J2 _6 A& W, ]( r) K# `
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
7 Y0 q+ s8 D; r- o3 g cresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
; a. _1 M$ L) k9 n* ?- v# qBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is9 m) p2 Q* `+ ^6 Y5 A9 i4 [% X
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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