UID5538
帖子
阅读权限80
在线时间 小时
精华
威望
日志
相册
注册时间2006-2-27
最后登录1970-1-1
|
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. N. I, j1 w$ u8 N( b
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
8 R2 ~) x, y1 jBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
$ _7 Q; O$ L4 H7 k$ d, I1 d- Icity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.% ~+ d$ n* i: D7 B! k
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
' k/ J5 v* }4 s7 K3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of4 Q2 I- h2 o; {/ s) A: k
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within( N4 h2 o' {! z2 b. b/ V/ Y% Z
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among5 Y9 ~- B s! s7 }" `
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera8 h% N1 M, z5 c; ]+ }
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
. ] Q# d# V$ R6 c' k% Pharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are- a' f+ A+ N+ k3 ^
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and6 X2 R2 b3 Q6 \
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
* I9 u1 s3 X; y+ [& Cwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
8 e5 {3 `1 J2 Ximpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,6 Q" ]+ M3 Z8 J5 b9 J# w
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong" R, e1 |5 `4 o
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment! y' P4 c( o, M: _+ T0 o8 Y
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that$ m# d# B6 n( H7 G# S9 f0 L& p3 n
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
f" ~0 u! {; X% V* Bonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a" l6 {* y( L$ m# d
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government, x$ Q2 O% ~$ F A) d* m7 T
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move6 g+ W t4 q3 g) N4 T
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is$ E9 w" f0 B5 a# U! v" W
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
3 o/ a/ w8 d: h1 ]% C. W6 sthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
2 g$ ^- ]" s- C, S. |/ ]) ustill 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% n' X6 u$ ]4 e" f9 |
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make8 N& y$ U1 R4 c" m& Y
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was: _$ {3 `$ v I$ l/ x( ~4 c
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
6 X% b8 M; V/ `6 d& P- vparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
- i9 c% y# @$ mthe 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 cultural4 x# T9 @* K5 j" v% c
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for! Y- F/ a3 X( m" \8 d8 @
development.
Hutongs
) H @( Z6 B" L8 l" j# h0 m3 Rin the old days were residential area where people actually lived9 d+ G, V& a A7 q0 r
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions- ^4 r% g2 o7 Q9 Y
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not% Y* Z, K+ y, J( t3 d( F! @
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
. Q3 ?$ l. Z, @/ R9 pwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
8 D5 ?2 {4 E8 a# ~, S. JFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date/ W) I# x" ]/ Z* f4 s$ b5 T, c/ z( N
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used: a: B' B6 I; K2 |! m: w+ C( i
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses& V+ x# e( d0 O
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
7 E! q% i3 b. V# punfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to* X2 J1 B9 ] p/ ~. {8 ?' Z8 T
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,& K" m9 [, @# k. U; t6 U
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the5 B+ }9 ^! V' `8 A: h- |0 ^
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
! b+ ^- E- N0 ^/ i1 X8 ~project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be% c7 X o' p3 T9 b
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
$ f. o) S# q( w5 d9 vMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
# {7 A' R6 I2 X3 qpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be& w! |3 c# Q0 W$ q
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
5 k: u2 V; N2 |0 q) Fmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
# E7 r* A& {4 y" g7 }* i& jNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are8 D( ~2 ?7 ?1 a& D) a3 @
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
. ]7 X; p/ Y/ Fnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
" L! Y( U9 O& W& O( fof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these3 N; C% a* I0 b& U" {3 v" ?
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
" Q/ Q# ^; k# S, S8 }2 Z# n' e3 Fpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they! T+ }4 G* U# O" `* d: t, Y
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
" U @4 ^/ h* I' |- G! |of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before# U3 x/ a$ ^- h+ e5 }
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all% r9 ]. c( ]" ?+ L" D( n% f
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise' B3 ]# `; y8 O( a3 n9 v
apartments are the way to go? No.
4 z O. F& O* y2 M1 Z
# o9 y4 a: u8 y& F/ U0 [% S2 k
* R$ t$ j8 {- O2 N! ?6 i/ D
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the1 c8 E4 p$ c' s& U7 e
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
" C/ D! W; k3 X5 i'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make Z# E4 o' f" h# ]( _
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
7 Z+ j& d/ o& C* d2 p5 Q$ Ffast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant' h4 ]4 w7 U, i! N) j
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless* U3 E. u# s% y: M
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is0 V" T0 H$ l* }( ~) q' F2 a* d5 @
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
|
|