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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, its0 `7 h5 G: z5 Q( [( H, z+ Z- T8 r
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider9 c. p0 x9 l, g3 z8 u7 S
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"1 n8 O9 n+ ^. T. k E7 T
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.! k' [7 `4 z. O+ e5 m+ @. |
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,% G9 Y- A3 s9 e% ?
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
0 X0 Z7 Y. ]. s/ ?+ cManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within% O! |% h% L. v& T6 `$ k
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
* `* X+ a; {! A+ Q( u R# t5 |. Beach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera: @7 h- D% [! n* p) ]
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
; x/ S$ ?2 Z. E8 o; aharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
- H% \ ?& [- l/ z1 {1 }descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and2 f4 [; G+ v* d& e) Y$ K. f+ r4 |
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
2 t" W1 A1 k5 o( {! b1 F3 Qwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great/ M: r) b7 U7 {' e# p
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,& s# B9 [6 z( u" `- ~
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong/ Q6 w4 J8 P: X
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
& w+ ?% k1 y, W# l% zof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
{+ d! t# X5 X4 ^5 @5 |% t9 M' bno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
9 y; J" X- u/ V, ] {only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
, R8 f9 X9 t" s* Q s! Zsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
6 L, k, F# B2 K6 G; A/ u+ gwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move) R( e1 ?. T& b0 ^3 q n3 \
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is5 c z1 Z% q: @7 ^
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
) U, G( e4 e$ o6 wthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
4 r& p! Z4 k5 `/ p( vstill 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; B' K) O. C: u- c' Z t9 d
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
W" M' q# N4 Ymoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
* [( E9 v- K, va beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a: M! \1 [* @6 O7 t( j1 i
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across t. T/ n, R, k' T) x
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
* N2 O9 c/ }) w4 z7 Q5 Mimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
E9 M9 b, ?: {% W) l% x. Tdevelopment.
Hutongs, a3 \8 Y* V r( W4 f5 m& E
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
. x8 x- r4 i9 q, t3 vthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions) R) I' C2 i$ f# w: f! H
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not+ u [$ f2 b0 N" {/ K; L
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you6 {5 w4 @; Q ?$ S! R, s, c- |
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs." z% g; t7 y1 r- [0 j
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
$ r. t# q6 D" |& [2 U- k/ R4 nto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used( |, g0 G! [1 ~- [* A1 K
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
+ o! g( L- }. @7 G9 |support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
) [( v3 t: ~0 F# Junfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
# `! Q% W5 f8 Y+ H/ E, M% O! mlive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,4 j% E, A+ u3 w3 j' a
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the. D# V" G5 E ]; W8 x$ n
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the6 u# {2 g) I! A) d5 ?4 w
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
# i) r% v& X. t5 [, o6 erenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong: i9 z( B0 Q6 ?' ^/ g5 n! w& G
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
2 d) ]0 o% P' v5 W7 b6 Epeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be( q) g% \) e( {- u z! L3 C' G, n
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
$ N6 I- z N, \" [memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".2 Q$ @0 m9 _9 r4 ` g; _ G5 {2 U
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
' e3 s( T7 }) ]7 h8 I5 P2 _$ D5 X paligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially9 {+ `. r0 [! F# H2 T: y* ^
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
* Y9 I+ ~9 ?1 Yof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these0 R1 f3 S; i: [' w* b
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those6 b6 ~1 i+ j4 |9 V, g* c k* T, ~: j, R
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they7 G2 G* H5 t$ @
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some7 x& d6 I( C( Z# q0 i
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
# x9 Z o( e* l) E"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
* E# c- a5 C c6 Y5 |, ?: t, Vpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
7 {9 ]% l+ y: Z( J% \) Yapartments are the way to go? No.
/ n2 m! u% ]" s* I# i4 v7 R
, e- y0 a4 M& A3 }+ _ : E% ~3 S- Q0 o) S% ?) `
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
- [0 V. M, ]& [: ~% k1 N" ksituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
; g1 C; V* p/ S( W5 h'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make) \) r6 ^* ~3 _/ J' k
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
- n7 r3 Q4 c# |1 R3 {fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant, Q3 g) i2 Z H% m& I
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
# N( k% Q3 F2 a( D! f3 f! X! rBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
4 ^/ G d# ]( g) F& Y7 @unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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