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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) X K, @. Q$ H2 T
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
9 @6 X! e i: y6 a/ `Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"0 y7 \. D X. b8 h
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
0 Z, P- z9 |/ R% H2 F; C1 DAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,% ]9 ?9 q+ X. f% c! H( C h
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of' `- O" u& G8 t8 s n9 N u
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
: }8 _# H* ^. l- B9 khutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
3 [7 x! u) Y1 _1 o2 _. veach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera2 A8 @, r0 p0 E: S+ E, D
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
; e1 F, I% t* c2 X/ [* Eharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
2 o, E1 T' j( ~+ W* X+ xdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
# l/ n$ Q% Z1 K5 n* Q. _; {3 Z* ?forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
# l5 k( B* C0 ~, qwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great5 I6 x9 D" n( g }, {! }& F
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
{& {* W6 c0 M* }7 qand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong2 v4 ~( x5 B9 V+ \& S
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment8 g$ J) P8 p) K$ F$ V. p# }
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that0 z0 S% G# U2 r1 ~/ q
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are/ G% }8 w9 m& P
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
$ _$ z i5 Z, S5 }2 \sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
% T- W0 i* Q7 e% K! fwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move! q$ d$ L/ I, ^4 Q% B8 A' ]
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is- w! L2 F0 ^6 @% X
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
! k' [+ w( ~. U. @this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are$ e- C8 s! a+ K. _( x" \
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
2 t9 Z+ H! b. `. x"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make2 t6 @* ]4 E0 Z
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was' P6 `3 `+ f `; W( X; v2 D8 O* @
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
) H) S# S; ]* ^& j0 }7 X/ l% Yparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across% ^" x. t9 x& N
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, M8 Z0 i6 F* c7 B3 H
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for) a# a! p* _- h2 h( a2 @$ F& A
development.
Hutongs
0 y2 N; u7 A3 p* l% O0 rin the old days were residential area where people actually lived
' u% Q6 h8 v7 q$ {" lthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions6 u8 M' _4 B; t' u5 C: k
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
7 c, S1 r. u& w. p4 b7 T0 Uhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you/ X9 `6 y8 G3 A. r0 p9 p
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.# I+ }4 Y# n8 ~( J! Z3 \1 R( V4 j
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
* |& a7 e* m, l" xto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
. u" t! h+ s3 f! R$ i% Pto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses$ T2 z8 S; Z0 L! }& E. G
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
" k, p) N( D2 n% K$ Hunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
8 r. h) u1 J+ k2 V# k, ilive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,& _) b: b \ e
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the" @- B7 I( o) w& y9 Z& P" [6 p
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
, a6 {0 B9 l* |8 j( ]" U8 zproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be4 e3 v, i: u) X9 I
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong& R3 L. C0 y& t$ O. L
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
1 Y# B) t9 T& f! {/ Dpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be$ B& A( H2 Z: C! I, k- ]& G
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
) |+ ^% L$ q" n7 E5 cmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".+ D/ g0 n# _4 N
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
4 `: i/ x1 v2 d5 ialigned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
' l5 }+ @' N' k( I! k* X: nnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image7 t( Q% }, A, a
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
: I9 H; I. B# ]Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
L7 I* e' Y- h2 A3 K( ~people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they( I& f2 ^ h. Y1 Q0 ^' y8 W' v& R7 ]
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some* J2 p0 k# Z" ?: Z! t$ x
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
; q+ _/ F. v7 `: ~/ _$ h"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all( |9 }+ k- f9 c
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise4 \% a! C, j4 e: N: Z6 H
apartments are the way to go? No./ E8 E+ b6 O' V+ T& q/ }
2 N* V7 ~9 f5 S3 n, z; b
- p3 `) j* W. P& L
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the& Z1 R A8 V' O" Q; w
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
" g7 I/ w; ]7 M. B& s3 B'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
# z3 G, `$ b a' D% R! a" I' uno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
* n+ a' H( |: G' Z, j; Jfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant, _ i5 f. {/ ?1 _4 F. A/ _; W5 ]
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless. g* r: Y, `8 S: @0 X/ H
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is- r2 G& s2 q$ `
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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