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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
* {9 U) [/ W- barchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
/ \* ?- o& [# I: a# E x, rBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
5 N) k' B1 h0 N( x- Jcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.4 g& [/ V5 y9 Z3 g _) F& E
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
. R1 K, \* P9 T3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
( n0 W4 E% N% k" |Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
0 V: |" L, u+ x! P: O) o% j, _0 ]hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among* B, w L7 [' v0 N9 S3 ]' j
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera4 F0 }& L( o' j- f
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
' j8 v! `& p6 K. x8 _3 j; m0 _9 P! _harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
& O. e% m( j, Y& Z0 {' f B! ~* Rdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and# \/ U- ?* {- X
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
# p% D6 D& w; J- |2 Bwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
u- K1 X! q( Kimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,& g0 H% N% O3 N) d* L/ p
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong/ z$ a6 `7 a( W2 ?- |) @
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
; e& f- `0 D5 ]$ uof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that" ~# J6 }* ~5 W; K' Z
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are8 C, R7 W; y: a5 D6 ^
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
( Q' Z" ]* K3 U. Csort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
: l5 T$ E; }6 d5 ?want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
' l) T0 t* ` c5 j. pto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is u" u7 C x* j) G# e9 J6 L/ A! g2 N
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
& o7 H$ B" G9 Z9 K: l6 lthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
, t) Y6 K; y$ q7 q, j4 B6 b9 ?4 Gstill 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
7 j, Q4 u$ V9 f, H"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make; a0 [( Y/ w W9 i, c
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was' E* [$ v! ]% m/ K! a5 Y
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a* ]4 @, j9 \; Y' U5 b4 z/ N7 A
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
; Q X4 S" S* }: R: Zthe 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* [3 U9 @- h9 r4 E6 A; q/ `
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for* @4 Y: y ]$ C: P: X
development.
Hutongs* ?; M) b) N" V( b; c
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
- I. }5 U$ A. Mthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions6 p9 t. ]5 k, h2 o
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not4 E& F8 r, Y0 I1 r
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you# a- X0 Y9 X0 r, T+ s4 P g Y: r9 I' x
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
d; @+ W2 x3 \# H+ Z4 C7 {' \Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date: _/ {$ M+ a/ u+ g7 F- O6 X
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used5 G4 K* c0 A; y V& W7 E& a
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
+ O6 Y& w1 {+ Esupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically7 h+ L4 I' X8 w& [, d# p6 C
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
9 Y5 X" L- `# p% k. |+ y; Ulive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,4 e" \" X+ Y! ~9 g3 g0 a9 M
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
- u3 b- q0 h8 y' J4 G% Kbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
2 p0 |, j- T9 F3 _" tproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
, j! A+ E2 s0 M) |- K. S. I0 Y. Urenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
- f# f% T) t6 H" AMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
$ x: j/ m i: a$ G. Upeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
( i. L2 f! d' i! Gtorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished: i# k5 r6 D8 o# y
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".' m+ x0 v* e6 a4 R
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
7 ~$ G B9 C# ~! R j! W) P% ealigned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
1 w& w% W* q. j6 \; w* `non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
& Q! }0 K8 z. s6 @$ i/ V2 B, Bof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
& l7 W+ L) \) L0 n o: c! ^* _, Z5 Q7 LHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
0 m' z6 [# F: S' s% kpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they: v* [6 D/ I F% Q' R' C
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some% ^! f% e, e6 D8 q- G% s- A
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
* ^2 B3 m2 p5 O3 T9 Q4 ^"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all& ?0 x5 [# O# f0 X
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise' f' ]) L* V1 h) V- u, n
apartments are the way to go? No.
' i. U3 v/ r3 x; f# \ & T( L5 x* A" R: r. O1 F" L
1 D4 @" R; D- U! P5 k& U; o
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
* @3 G0 Q0 |8 o3 @situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
2 [# P" u L6 \; t- c'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
8 a4 m2 g, u j+ pno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so6 ]( g% k; I2 [" n
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
% Z3 l+ p3 _# [2 Q nresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless) p) g. g; L! e# `& Z
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
% m& V+ i v* `unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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