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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, ~* V; Y4 n3 u# s
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
3 ~" Q3 p( s9 P/ \# A4 HBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
/ b) ~) m! |+ Q0 Q Z. J4 Gcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.; ]* j6 T# W- Z- J4 U4 e' C* ]- ?
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,9 G. `( J9 E+ |3 r
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
" a, R) T- R RManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within5 C2 \& e) l% u# I: s% e; K/ s
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among4 x3 T, \4 V S: P) w) D5 \
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
" o8 y# q3 K# V, g# N* L" Iand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is; r3 X# c$ s2 Z0 k7 h. s( y6 O
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
) `9 B* C& a, b9 E/ F% gdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
$ H; P7 h4 h4 j& J- Fforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I1 X! f% F% v f' O" k! ]8 N
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
$ X) v8 Y; O* b) @6 t* x, \impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
8 ^, ]2 L# h# N2 g: |and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
% J: N: ]& g8 B" ^0 V+ fhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment# X, o2 q6 S9 \' @ u& i Z
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
3 N1 T4 s; f6 R7 W- hno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are# y1 n) u* G0 y; T: F3 ]4 X6 G; M
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
% ~4 q; r- z/ E4 a; M! [" Wsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government4 k8 E4 z& [# X; V) o* _2 Y
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
! {6 u/ m) k8 |) ato the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
' Q$ u+ F3 j! _"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,& @3 n* H. S6 Q! N5 r8 Y/ H0 x
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
* M# D6 I% S# E# C6 g- @+ Jstill 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
- k9 ]1 v% o2 e. B# ]' I Z, l"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make1 v k8 y' i: W% w
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
8 n" P' ~' }7 \5 B& Q' `: }2 wa beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
@* q; |1 d2 M& l& ^6 mparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
7 D. x. y4 j7 ]$ m) ythe 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- u( T9 ~- |4 p
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for7 |- U# V+ f; L
development.
Hutongs% L7 c( |6 y4 p( t# S, q7 m( P2 e3 h
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
- p+ |, Z" _+ K6 cthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
* N. Q& U$ ?" S9 _$ yin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
0 x. M0 D' }+ w. t6 Ahave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you/ {, C1 W( I9 g3 {$ q9 P
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.# Q; y7 T, |# z) U C) B( ^$ @
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date8 s6 S; C5 [5 g: B1 Z" i
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used3 n$ `+ r- R1 D& j. Q
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses6 t7 a* M- [1 i6 D" s7 O5 F' R; H
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically" S/ ]- y8 c) N0 U4 G) M: i$ M
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
1 a# O& w$ I ?+ v+ [live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,! l9 R( \, {6 ^8 f3 [' Y$ c
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
$ R: T& r( p4 a8 z7 C8 pbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the' K0 \, ~- Y, E, e; k
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
H. t1 r- O/ k" `renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong2 b- e( D9 c. A5 d6 @
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
- { L9 Q+ @1 X5 P0 f/ \people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be) u9 L2 N* V: u0 f* d! H" | I5 h
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
' d: p: V2 A3 S- jmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".& A/ v+ R& K" \# t
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are5 f; m: W0 _# W9 O- m! W
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
9 S% P$ m5 g: T- [non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
* U' s- Q: c( u- V/ U/ C& `& cof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these6 x* r7 O, {! L$ v' W; u/ T
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those4 ]# F3 Z6 D; I: H+ z1 J" h
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
. l* f1 U% h* y% D( Mmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some9 p7 w+ E) r$ W1 y' `# g
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before2 e8 a" M3 d |% C" U
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all& i& V2 Y. R8 u) _
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise" x. x% i3 Q' G$ O& r( L Q% [ V
apartments are the way to go? No.0 i. p1 K$ y5 f" M- Q
, B/ x1 z4 y; M: p2 ?2 I
' {- Y) z. y4 _6 t0 L1 F7 J/ C3 e
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
/ t7 s$ B) ?1 Psituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
4 r: N# ~# }. W) W4 a2 _'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make) f" a, R8 j% R# [& g
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so1 n& V& A8 K, ~. p! J- f4 t3 z; I
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant, t" Y& J; d& W1 { W+ M; b
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
! e/ d$ J2 u5 o) B) Y! SBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is6 B7 q f3 [5 I
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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