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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, F D, X4 }$ \2 V
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
4 f8 [8 {+ z1 }" ?Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
6 x- [; L* }2 i+ E+ N& c9 z' A- Ocity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.% k( t; p/ c) O/ z$ a2 j* W; w* [
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
E/ d9 G, y. u! U$ k/ S3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
3 Q% T) ?% y5 d2 U% R* [Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
% R" ~/ s: c b9 M: m6 W( }8 r4 Ghutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
& j% M5 o& W. Z& ^) A/ @each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera7 w! ~0 z& t$ e
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
6 T# V. a. }) Q& fharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
! W! g2 z( D* G! p* t6 `descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
- P! y7 z* J. b0 _9 N3 g' Pforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I: S. k( F; O9 C) A' r" {' u% ]
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great+ @. h: x. ?1 R6 p
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished, t1 A2 K7 ^' T
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
' b" `1 l) a a% Z+ v# ]! Ehas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment/ X( b+ \( R9 z5 l9 P9 }% ?$ m6 f+ g
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that) U1 z$ b$ e9 ~; Z
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
$ }0 n% L' L! Honly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
" H# k* E- d8 Esort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
, i" |4 {) [# q7 r S% Owant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move# {; D3 ^4 R5 {( g7 x2 o
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is; f9 H( ]2 f( e, y$ H
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
! z6 Z3 a- a6 d* S/ }- r4 Athis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
; J" T( ~& Q/ o+ G, t6 l# H( ]2 Mstill living in compact apartment cells, Olympic Games will still be held in Beijing if four-combinations still stand.
Kimchee:
I think it's ashame how historical sights are destroyed due to
; x5 w+ I8 H8 n( @, t0 V& U"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
) n5 L3 m7 ]8 T$ H9 {2 xmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was# P9 s; W- E$ R- B D0 _- L6 P
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a7 i9 U5 s6 V4 a- Q; W1 b. `
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across8 O! L. z# f. {9 P
the street is still there, but I thought it was a crime to do this.
Ashura:
While I do agree and support the perservation of properties of cultural
% D/ ^% B& N4 @" \) r9 Q$ timportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for- f! F) }" N7 s7 ]* _0 j( j
development.
Hutongs6 z8 U( Y2 K0 `0 m8 p; B( b
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
+ d2 V! p' h @$ b+ nthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions) J+ Q* u8 B& ~( T4 U( o$ ]9 u/ c4 H
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not2 y7 d* @$ y+ t. H I. D$ f
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you+ j5 L' n& ~& c3 Q1 N% X
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.0 x! s- N, F9 y7 i, i
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date/ f! K& Y0 ]0 [3 n n4 H
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used& t/ p2 X4 x F3 q
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
$ e* E' _( @( L" p/ N) e) Jsupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
c- V% x! M l2 p' ]. B, gunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to6 s- H1 e, t7 R$ a, g9 z
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,3 E+ l) t; Z7 J1 T/ [6 l6 d
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the" E+ B+ y1 B: n6 Z, h
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
& a# `: @2 Q0 s/ @1 B7 Eproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
" ^5 z- q( k ~) {renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong9 {! l5 G$ W+ i- e) e! m
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
7 H. Z, R3 Z y: u4 c9 h) ^2 epeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
/ U- x4 F: u: h5 q) g( n- etorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
* Y# i- ^) d! G g- Nmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
$ f$ j$ w8 |& x; o! iNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
6 i) R! ?6 U t) N6 P! Ualigned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
6 V5 _4 B9 A$ _5 V |) Mnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image8 E( i2 m, I; B
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
) [# U+ \# E: E- M/ O GHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those6 ^4 A+ g1 L. k' D$ [' ^
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they0 G5 p+ n, V0 @) Q. `
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some8 M; ]2 o+ _2 q
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
( s3 j/ ~# C$ J) ?4 ]/ u2 I"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
% _* @' r2 b% G* ]8 y* o6 ipeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise4 A) r6 q r3 z0 r' {
apartments are the way to go? No." I4 a3 k+ o: p- X/ r: W
, j+ D$ l8 R! X& e) l* ^4 b/ S+ {
! [' _4 B; A* u" |+ m& `
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
5 f% R8 J. _& W7 y# _6 ^* D# y8 Wsituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
a' F) S0 }# Z/ ]! I0 f'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make8 b2 i# q) j# T7 U2 Q& Y
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so$ A. J1 ~; c8 l8 W, v: t/ |5 _
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
2 u3 q# d- m) w. U, Y" qresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless4 m' s* K& F0 y& d) J
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
9 x' C, Q4 [1 D, I: [6 v5 W+ Gunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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