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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; \( O6 g i- R6 C7 j
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
$ s5 j' Q9 I: V* q4 [0 pBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
5 g" y' S2 D% [/ ccity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
9 h# P7 z9 v9 A9 X! _! {4 JAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,: u: x# u1 X3 P+ j
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of: t) ?$ O6 I# j ?' Y- ?% W
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
( Z2 T# G+ V& H$ N- j9 n( T% t1 dhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
. a- D. N. D& l0 T1 N0 w0 r2 y0 ?each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
) w% x/ E0 O9 J6 i' t2 Vand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is/ u- t1 F N& R
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
- @( p9 O- p. b+ l& W0 ldescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and) |& ~7 I( ^) k9 O$ I
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I: M a: f1 ^/ W& @
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great3 ~* ^/ s8 J5 b5 p+ ~5 z
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,6 w+ s I5 z& b' X8 P( [' p
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
$ I/ V) S' W7 p( Y" U; Ihas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment1 C- G% [! x3 Q: k+ j: m( d
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
( D. ]3 ~0 B5 C, R# b) Yno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are+ [5 V5 N% `0 M1 O- p, c
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
0 A5 s# w W9 `3 B$ Qsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
! {! r! s8 Q0 R% {want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
! w1 V$ U( j, |! G4 Q5 xto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
. _: c! O# e/ B3 H8 W; i* ~ H"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,3 L. O$ ?6 p' K
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are; [- \$ n* q# c& [ B' n
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
' c0 A6 g' H' _5 W5 E"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make% ^3 e& j4 Q3 X; H
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
, }9 Y$ ~- f4 E- q0 ^5 @a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
7 `1 c5 x$ A5 r9 s. X$ lparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across) Q- r3 d% K0 N4 y) @2 F( X) B
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
4 o$ J; Y9 `: Aimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for6 }& Q3 d+ o. W7 ]3 M( } I7 h
development.
Hutongs) t9 D& Q" ^, ~3 V
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived- t. v3 g2 T& t2 R$ D1 R
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions# y3 L* s/ R* @6 {" V8 l
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
2 i, ?. J5 j: j9 Z2 Chave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you; i; A3 o+ K" t4 u+ V
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.* @2 w0 P6 q: P4 x j Z
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
. B! L8 q' C% q9 gto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
6 {' k4 W) Y: L! H& X3 dto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses/ w: f! _5 {, ~+ m: X# S9 n4 g
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
- D' o/ A( V9 [- _. ]! cunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
" f3 G" D9 q. z# w3 l. B3 [live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,9 s6 `4 o* {8 @( M) U# i* F1 q/ m
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
8 n- ]7 a: ~$ f" Nbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the& |% Q2 s8 g4 N0 j6 O
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be) A8 _$ K9 V/ I& A( s; e E/ A& k7 [
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
& ^+ h5 W2 m$ x( u+ d) T$ MMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how2 l) W3 e5 y2 q: m6 k
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be3 }, r+ j- I# q9 K S2 L8 ?2 R$ p
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
n* q4 Y' K: zmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
. ^6 T4 k( o' l r5 z9 A+ L) VNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are* M/ Z; Q: T9 }7 o. W$ t
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
3 a# D2 ?/ Y0 v+ L- ]; X2 d- {! `2 Xnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
$ E0 F, m6 p! I/ Cof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these4 ], d l2 d8 n
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
6 q* J3 u1 |3 S' {: L, r; Ipeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they5 T1 f! C9 a4 ?" X5 T# m
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some" f2 }1 l+ }4 N- `
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before' _+ r b) e/ G
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all7 r, o0 z# m9 R# Y. ~) a3 q/ G
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
, m' k+ D! p. \( V: ]; vapartments are the way to go? No.
6 c; z& {% c c" d6 o# R ~
% V5 R8 _( F$ m: K 1 g' F4 e. s+ l
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the# W8 v6 L8 S5 P8 E- \
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this, @4 @" v5 m3 O
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make1 @5 j$ \& x+ y# ? x
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
# N; h: j2 c! ~fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant, m0 b F) U! Y5 ]
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
* }) W$ K2 H1 X/ ~ NBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is" @" V b# |& v
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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