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* F2 W1 d# |1 o) A! n- b# Z$ o g
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
8 K8 C5 l5 r ?4 G4 C2 OBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
+ X7 B& q f1 @( h, l; h- T* ?city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
) F6 s$ m8 w8 W+ e, I: YAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
7 \9 o: v& }- I `$ P3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of. I/ w, V! y: G+ @1 r- v2 I
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within# Y+ |1 i! r. a" a+ r1 [
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among4 b: a: x& d1 R+ p
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera c/ z( m+ z1 v9 F
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is5 Z9 F6 g1 e7 u _% |
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are0 {5 J" a* r" x3 z( y# u6 I% E
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
5 c$ {, T: X- t- x( Qforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I) r# x3 @- y; ~! `
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
* K& d* o W, c9 h* |2 c' D" Jimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
, j$ V& z' |/ O0 `9 Land we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
z8 g! N$ t' c# F1 Q$ Rhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment+ Y6 }, g- `/ G7 O5 w
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
6 r! u7 A/ a5 C1 y2 V2 H0 W. R) L2 K& }no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
" `2 O! A5 d: M! wonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
" {, I+ A& [6 P5 Vsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government$ s( h, j& Z) w( Q/ }1 Q
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move# n, Z( f i7 G* C- M; D
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is, _) }2 u; L0 {. ]& K- {) D* b
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,3 g3 }/ ~0 S8 }1 A: h
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are+ m8 H a+ i6 w
still 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$ K1 \; r o' e8 l: q0 H; N3 ?3 t2 C9 j
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make' x: {9 [6 |1 g, ?, q
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
$ i1 Q/ Z$ ?% a8 S, }a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a3 {& h/ h: M; P2 K0 G9 `: r6 u
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
" R% `7 F0 |+ V9 C+ e N! Bthe 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' }, P( f: q9 z* z6 j: ?+ X. {
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
' ^, {7 I6 f! ?9 mdevelopment.
Hutongs# D3 p6 w- c6 k( f# J1 n
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
: Z+ O* _& f6 u8 Q; K9 r8 V8 ?there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
3 P$ h7 G( {: v! {in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not# N7 V6 K1 h. K1 t
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you9 v$ K9 q4 B- L9 m! ^# M
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.8 ~8 b. _# P2 w) ]+ t
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date: p: v1 ~1 C3 _! m# X, e
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used/ E4 g9 ^+ I' `1 I- Y
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
3 I4 g8 v- [9 U# W5 Esupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically5 n1 V- W' ]5 E6 N0 d6 l
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to4 P3 S/ v# y% i' g; [' d
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
. {/ X% H, M8 J3 vhutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
* e0 U J) f8 Zbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the: ^* k8 k$ r1 O: D4 ~2 m
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be) b( e/ s! }# j V+ r
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong$ ~ M U! W" R
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
7 g) [) b0 h' n, e$ G1 opeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be; C& i( i) M. |
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
: z7 [4 G- {* J7 ^2 a. d" I( ^, [memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
6 e A0 l/ ^' U: {5 @( ?Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are4 N- l' e0 R. c" w6 u7 V L. I
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
8 x4 @1 m( }4 E: o" [" V4 u z9 n9 {non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image- E% E; o# Y; W6 T
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
0 _. l) ^3 M; C0 o# O$ rHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
7 Y- J+ ~9 u$ d7 R+ D3 Rpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they1 D" o3 j0 D. T0 U( g
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some: W8 W9 P. W2 F9 w- h' z9 ?3 [
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before3 }7 \" u5 h& V
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
W" D: k. S4 q" f- C7 }: P0 Qpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
5 }. M5 a, I0 c3 S1 Papartments are the way to go? No.
s* n. M: [* ]& {( A5 i 4 M( P* g+ r) C2 i' W, P
4 ~5 z8 \# {) @# |' V8 f6 K6 o: R+ A
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the& `' L% X8 C/ j7 z2 _3 }# K1 u8 o
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this6 F& i. Q. I2 D! a% V
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make8 [4 A7 r! Y2 M n7 @5 ^
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
) _+ E( R9 i+ dfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant' P/ u! g' P& n* Z! z0 T! z* w8 d
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless6 h' q4 d$ e" l6 m- G
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is( {6 m( q) t: @9 A
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
|
|