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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
5 A) v* a' O$ y; e: u7 carchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
9 y% x( U8 P% `& X# H/ b* sBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
% v( M/ W0 R( Kcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
; H# s( k7 [1 f% n0 f, xAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,0 j) D' }$ p2 m; x
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
6 d% ~9 C9 \/ R- y8 lManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within0 \' e1 `. ^! a" n" s" x
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
$ X- r: E) n3 V% d, y) weach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
+ j5 l$ P5 K( y D& sand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
# \8 k1 P5 o" I# D7 {- Fharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are/ i5 P% R7 A6 K
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and+ j; x2 \# H, I! f# y# i3 P
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
2 K6 P$ w6 ]9 Kwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great# J. X5 e& U3 U0 L7 [& B0 ]- x) z( |# ]
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,8 [1 W1 {7 u. H. K0 \7 q
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong* j3 k2 Q7 p( Z0 P# `/ E" M% p/ @
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
7 x" L( @+ X& r, l' vof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that( H* U2 K, F! n2 ^/ [3 V
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are5 P, e$ s7 W* k" ` z2 [: Z6 |
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a3 N& s% J, w" {" m
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
e* t9 K& }( ]4 b+ o* v* Gwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
) {! Y8 w" r7 J7 K: d6 e- l Eto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
) ^* g) j u& z"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
( X! N0 y- v9 i1 ~this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are5 f4 f, @, a1 [8 q4 d
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
: X: W! v3 ?$ Y& i$ x# [, k) |"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
0 o3 F1 c6 j# l- a+ X. O* v+ O" {money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
- v! L& r* J$ f5 Q: {a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a& V2 G# v" _& o4 d: C t
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
3 a! C9 D) q# ^5 g7 ?( Athe 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
1 n5 k/ Y. o' G8 t, Q) mimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
5 l. I9 a1 U5 i! d( t, c; Vdevelopment.
Hutongs
: u0 Y1 ^ T: z" l; Oin the old days were residential area where people actually lived
$ B" W5 r& J! N* ~6 `8 w: {; gthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions0 o( o7 b1 P/ A* g
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not4 [( @ m3 j& I" T2 t' ]6 f
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you) }0 E$ t9 Z: U: x9 Z# ?; X+ p( E
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
) X. P( W& Y) K9 x3 O, y' o' B( CFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
* n) Z& z4 L& a. hto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used7 A" |5 M+ K0 H+ @0 D, g
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
0 C: J' a% j& n5 h9 dsupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
8 G, q- s& W; s+ r% Qunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
) t; h& q* J# K5 M0 T1 [: V, k& ilive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,# Q& e; I7 @' Y- c% ~4 E
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
( y* ~/ ]4 Z- h9 Qbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
3 x) b! ~& a% o; f* mproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be/ z- d/ {# y# \( k
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong/ Y H' ?4 @8 O8 z
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how0 Q3 B- ]9 s; L' X' l2 q3 p( P4 A
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be3 f3 j$ r4 x* f
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished% C6 ^ M9 J" c
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
g# i7 m0 q- g- U! Q/ iNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
* b$ @+ a4 X3 W8 J. {aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially7 O A5 A+ g: r; _- h6 M: p
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
- u+ X2 G$ H! ~of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these* q# a9 A' A- o1 Z( s
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those5 s: P7 J7 X9 ]* [) |5 z# D. y
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
& s6 t$ V2 o# l* Q8 D& D Bmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some. r7 C/ h# p A& i
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before r9 g; [) Y: ]( ~; P4 e; u
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
# E( V: u" f: i4 Npeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
* k; q' M# N% c; f/ }, ?% i8 napartments are the way to go? No.
+ c5 G9 Y& o7 d k% A1 f; U" v: r: U . x0 F4 k3 M$ u T, s
" a9 N1 C" e+ T- `# V
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
2 \: j# M0 s' R0 `2 W t( ksituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this; m4 e) d- V/ x
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
4 a2 b) _! y' M8 J/ y p, g7 tno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so3 G8 A6 N* p9 p
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
$ e2 M) A4 `8 t3 Cresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
: K4 F3 v. s5 t0 U3 j* X tBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
7 m1 Y5 a2 B6 ~" Aunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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