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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, its4 p' M" n1 o' \6 B0 g8 F9 k- X( \ P
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider* e" ^+ q( a& p1 O3 _) N
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"$ s3 ~: Q( d" {+ p
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
" l* r9 O: L' P$ j* p$ A3 H( }According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,) r/ H- U/ a( d P7 j
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of8 |' `- D f4 a, @. a
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
0 P: d" m: d$ \: Phutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
# z1 g, Z4 R" [& i& I' {each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
, n- |7 u D' qand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
' I7 P% e, _! Z' X* H, y% r# Wharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
f: w# ^7 z1 F: m2 l, n" t& \descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and. Z0 f# l2 | @' w
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I; P- _: X9 p6 ]- W+ I; n6 i
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great( n' m3 g$ [- A! w' y" M
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
- B; O" S* ?; Sand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong2 i8 w6 A; i# X2 M @
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
, x8 C6 f0 ^1 p7 L9 m1 t! }4 Dof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
$ J; V! ~4 X2 m1 I# qno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are' v6 l r- V8 A* r; X; b4 ?+ a
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
# t0 r1 Y( m! Q% v- Wsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
. {0 g2 A: s9 V& Q9 |want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
" R- L4 T4 `+ p: }& L! Gto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is3 \/ x0 e5 D& {0 D \# W( [
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,' b @7 S0 B/ B# v+ Q4 S
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are: L* v1 m( t: M% K/ y2 f
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
i7 g8 `+ |) h/ K2 q6 n; ^"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make( x8 r3 y+ y' A5 l3 F" H3 O
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was3 p' p$ P3 D2 ?- D1 J
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a+ t, T# N x: _
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
7 E; C, p( X+ L7 D5 l4 L6 Ithe 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! ^/ |6 e0 y7 X7 C' o
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for( L) X$ N0 `4 {9 C, t/ r
development.
Hutongs. Q- `+ C4 W( F* b; N; Q
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
' }, J* j f/ T @# H; O5 k" Pthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions6 |; v5 [8 w9 @6 ?4 r/ u [
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
5 ^9 L3 M8 A V$ S/ b; zhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you! X5 p$ c) g( \1 F
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.. h7 O) n9 E% C' V; e
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
& t+ A* O0 a! V- }8 Gto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used4 X' S3 ]9 g8 N: T) e& p8 u( i0 g: c5 v
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
; z8 n' G" j5 H, B5 vsupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically$ U' G' L: ~; U+ }0 t# U
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
4 Q7 S N. M. p( ]: Z* Y2 J( C( G. R* Llive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
! n' `+ [+ d: ^; }0 n8 _- r/ hhutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
; ]- l" E+ [5 tbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
8 l/ e8 G& h5 c7 ?project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be9 u3 x% [! m. ~5 s5 C
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
( B. D8 v6 {! f2 mMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
. y6 X% d" j3 ]people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be W- h* d% Z2 f4 m" S
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished2 v I' x7 z. T, ]' f' b
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
4 O0 J1 C! F0 a* @2 j1 W. D- F9 u; _& ^Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
2 G# ]- {( c" N% j5 Oaligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
5 l; E( w, `: Z( E# u5 Snon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image# ^1 k. x, C/ F0 J" }
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these; E1 D' k# Q" L7 @4 q5 \" s
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
6 _1 }6 o8 ^' S8 npeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they, J* D; k% C0 L. y# i4 }) E# T
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
% T1 V6 Z) Y1 h( X7 {0 Dof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before+ g9 k% t; t9 g d
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all" }' J! c/ L* L
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
G# ]7 s0 E9 l% C+ rapartments are the way to go? No.% z3 w R* N# k. Q! { w! o) f
% W6 h) j! \- f7 o' O/ R
7 |" V. O( e: V( M
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
2 T: }2 u* n/ O0 f& O3 Ysituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this2 h" ?8 b5 Z2 E
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make6 [: q, ]+ Z! `0 k" a( X
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so# _: U9 v/ v' q! z e9 N
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
* T; [; q: S1 @* |: p7 ~1 ]/ iresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless/ P& {9 @- t: `- N
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is3 X9 m. T* L5 {1 J% Y
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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