服务器里的北京 - 老北京网

 找回密码
 注册老北京网
查看: 6422|回复: 1

A Hutong Discussion

[复制链接]
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- I' S0 i! u; j. E0 S architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider : V$ G8 R9 ?* q: CBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian" 0 X0 x/ N" U" [- u. Y# x8 y2 h" kcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture. , u9 e' U2 L8 t9 [According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty, + ? M; E w( b+ i; C3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of/ j9 G4 v/ r* \( ]7 U% X. ` Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within 9 ?0 y4 E8 @. ?/ \% thutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among & ^7 K& ?# Z( M) p& xeach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera 2 b. e5 {9 j0 s4 F7 m6 q9 Mand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is0 S) j6 U% N/ ^/ u- e harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are& \+ D; a7 n4 W7 q3 j descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and1 T% m9 X5 G! e V forms of culture emerged in hutong.

I5 v4 N& M. J" D+ F was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great - x! h% X6 @3 cimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,! `! ^# x" z& R0 u- a and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong, S' G% \6 n/ s: H g! v has a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment4 V$ E( {9 Z' Q0 Z' Y' m of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that$ v- L4 j! e0 t$ B& H. Y no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are 2 h: `7 L/ ?; @ |only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a- f( T* m& t5 K5 B8 H% D# ^6 K* I8 k sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government ) s+ q2 p5 l8 g5 U7 V" pwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move # _; g# `, ^; v6 Q$ \0 A7 Cto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is ; u' ^' Q6 m" ?/ z/ V"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,* M4 N) M* S6 g this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are8 i% J+ w6 ~9 @% G1 k. v# ?! ] 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; ? P$ u2 N# ~% t ~- ~ "progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make $ F, K q; `& |' m) O( e5 Zmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was7 `3 y; O7 p) j9 U& p a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a 0 j- N u) }" b5 B5 {8 ]; b yparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across 0 {) n: r% w& sthe 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 L& C0 A/ K }: g' c+ O! Q9 H importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for $ v7 X: S1 C7 O; F! ]+ m$ Vdevelopment.

Hutongs 1 c1 j; L; P4 i$ o) l' Min the old days were residential area where people actually lived $ h7 t4 c$ C J9 F. Pthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions h) @$ c5 y0 H1 Kin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not0 y9 L* l. V5 Z- t have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you / |( ~) n' d" j/ xwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs. 1 O6 e3 M- l9 E4 QFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date # e6 m, i* V! o/ e$ g2 vto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used! @9 B- S4 o/ m. j# p to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses7 T8 X2 f2 W' ^) v; ~ support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically. N' f f6 j @$ m0 ^8 Y" `* B unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to $ c# C' b/ h5 ^- N# Z6 zlive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose, 8 P/ E+ H6 P* Mhutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the # N' B. K; p: b" b. e# Vbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the1 b1 a' j* N% A# L! W- u B7 G project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be + b Z* A& Q. \renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong! X# V4 v# A5 c9 k Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how # ~. g" g2 U2 rpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be; K4 W: ]1 g7 ? F torn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished/ n0 A& b8 |5 t) s! S7 g" N memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".0 I8 z- t& f% B9 ? Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are % p- r' C k& e5 h z/ |* u+ Galigned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially( u/ L0 [$ ~! s9 S5 p; q non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image 2 Q8 |/ m( l/ ~/ ^7 V! D& mof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these5 ]) W5 s! H) y, i Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those& }- u |3 K/ y7 k' f people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they& r( S. y1 o. F3 M% ^: @" j; y may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some 9 C7 M: I6 }5 G7 Zof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before 4 s2 d$ }, Y4 M v0 o, x Y"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all # |# r" | R g# apeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise- I" e9 J' s% C% S apartments are the way to go? No.) ~0 c4 K& q# B( P4 v7 A 0 N0 a3 @1 Q3 l) \ 0 x4 d7 K% v! z- z6 k- h

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the . w+ y# z5 |! ~! x5 Ysituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this * }' _, N% w5 e8 J! @! m7 j'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make 7 i6 G+ x# d: }no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so # ~8 c' n, a1 V; j) zfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant / D+ U9 _ l; V) h, Uresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless+ A$ u, _2 E9 ]2 u3 K, [ B+ b Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is l1 o& o5 F0 F; Bunlikely 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!!
您需要登录后才可以回帖 登录 | 注册老北京网

本版积分规则

2000.11.1,老北京网自创办之日起,已经运行了 | 老北京网

GMT+8, 2026-1-13 11:50 , Processed in 0.123238 second(s), 17 queries .

道义 良知 责任 担当

CopyRight © 2000-2022 oldbeijing Inc. All Rights Reserved.

返回顶部