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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 O: I2 n2 Z [" u6 \; x
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
2 a" {* J+ \' U) T9 }3 c4 P* G% bBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
. E1 B0 L( X( H9 ^9 Acity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.! T4 r) ~7 N4 y- T0 o, }# }
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,, r% l+ |8 \0 ?1 C; X1 n/ e
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
* X5 t# a/ E8 xManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
# k% ~ a& T! bhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
+ F" g. H) F* t8 m3 \$ u+ ieach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
% i( n' o j6 }& Jand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
# f/ k* J6 p) v6 ~ t+ E" J, xharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
$ k! F# T6 C: U, H' tdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and- U( f J8 t4 T- ~
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
# U* B: M; b5 ywas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
6 Y0 A s. t' R) U6 t( Z" R! b; Cimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,0 I/ p; S1 l4 M' D% H
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
! T" M/ m8 X- j2 ^- vhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
+ ]( b( j8 L6 I$ b* p; s- @( bof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that: \2 H9 p( |. i& x9 E5 Y' w6 I
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
0 s' D6 B3 J9 @& N5 aonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
# P% T# T7 G4 N% i+ m* j; Z* q& r4 Xsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
, [/ x8 S. l* T' P5 C) b% Zwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
$ ~) y8 i' p' Gto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
! @& q0 y [( R9 n+ A' ]% g: r"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,5 Z" [3 W2 x2 n
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
- @# f! r: `0 t( Hstill 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
! ]" d' E% ^6 S- E# b"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
: i3 V, [4 c- E% i- \9 ]2 w2 s8 bmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was4 X9 B8 j J+ n% A$ \% J; E; d
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
2 y1 c( C, B# h. ]. L6 Nparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across% q! ^! U7 z. N! ?* M+ _6 T2 [, p
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
1 l" M8 U, C: L" A6 aimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for3 p0 n) B' ^4 [( p1 v8 H
development.
Hutongs {: y9 Y7 {' V; e# u4 ^. A
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived- L. W S' D9 W' S" q1 F
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions3 V1 g6 T& J: x: V5 D9 X8 g
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
' u/ r' h: S) f0 I: K4 T1 R6 Khave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you7 A% w1 @; _ X, w! Z
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
# o5 j8 _1 G' u; qFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date/ W2 Z3 t' Z O) c
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used, c7 D8 d1 j, H
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
# ?8 z0 V E4 Gsupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically2 M7 I$ M" N S7 N% w
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to4 d% [4 T& M9 `* H
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
( C; n% w. f3 |/ ^& Y6 M; E) [hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the" v% Z: _# C* |) f; r; b" ^# D
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the3 O; K' u5 ^% z4 d6 }
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
! }- A% G3 @, } e2 J# Xrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
6 t$ Q# \9 f5 ~4 @1 ?0 kMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how4 M# Z2 D- H, [+ [
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be) D2 _5 `9 e# F
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
5 a% N8 M- u0 d/ [memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
9 K1 m$ d, l$ c3 Q, bNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are6 N x: E" ^; G: T* m. ^6 i( V
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
- ^# @2 d0 {, n! t4 O2 \/ C. @- r7 Xnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
- @' `) S, j7 `3 r4 `of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these, M2 a3 D6 R! m) L. {; V0 p; R
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those1 ], M0 _( i" M
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they4 \; R& M* e% c0 K9 T6 V2 U
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some5 ^* q9 ^- W7 |$ J, i
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before8 X& `# s9 g$ v, o; L
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
, P. n i& R/ P. T: Speople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
3 M* {; v' g) R6 T9 }, a. Mapartments are the way to go? No.1 }% P+ S \# A2 p% @- S! s# [
* ^+ c6 u u% k3 c) P 3 n2 h$ H' o+ C( e8 w
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
) a4 P* p+ W) x% A9 usituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
/ ^# h# e2 B0 a- M'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
( Z0 B P% ~/ v' Ono money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so) m* A4 d: m7 p- F) |
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
+ W% R/ i! F3 Z/ Cresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless* {- X" }, Q, D8 C
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
; v) v4 v! T5 _" nunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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