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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
% A: r; d' @/ g( U0 ^5 W* C$ q5 narchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider$ ^/ E8 M9 j! n. E" I5 J0 q) T
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian". f; a# \2 w$ D( }" j% d. C
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.5 C$ M" x. d# C9 Z3 k6 D& o. k
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,$ |+ d7 k" E/ i1 _; e
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
( |# H6 P _7 T$ K: iManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within. m2 w, C1 c5 ^8 s! D2 a
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among* u+ X/ {5 ]: l/ D+ {
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
7 R% j$ `/ B, S# f0 G8 C* G: `and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is+ y, @8 J1 F: n! w$ G
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
! o% ~* q* I% } F$ N: O4 mdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and/ ?! k8 I4 u# x% @) E- _9 Y, j
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
, c1 {2 W ]4 Dwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great) N" D& u4 c: c
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
2 S- u5 J/ H4 q, _* aand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
1 A; G, i/ h' c+ chas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
2 g4 Q$ f5 l) a6 {. Cof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that# A# Z+ m6 f4 Q9 S
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are1 M& q9 ?6 x# Y/ M) w1 Y' K6 k1 u
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a* m3 B) |6 G+ k! R# r
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government9 @4 Z# u* H- \7 Z$ ]
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move7 `$ f w8 {' p- J
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is8 B$ Z( Z% }7 W9 \+ ]" \
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,0 l4 }2 v3 C, y8 i l8 N) k
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
8 I1 B$ y0 f( N( J! j9 u) Z" w1 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
& v9 f5 A% Y" `; s- ]"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make$ W4 n( l B# q; B
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
. n- T' a5 X w7 @$ u, Ba beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
" B) B4 ~: u+ x; S; V. `6 k4 C! Fparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across( S1 m+ c9 y% a# C
the 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' Q+ l( i3 y0 w
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
* [- F) Q7 e2 p4 u. ^0 J2 bdevelopment.
Hutongs' S0 h% u5 |: P; E7 E, E
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived4 H' V) M8 K0 _: r5 W) Y
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions5 K% n" E+ ]( s, ]6 C
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not; q# Y+ \* o# H; ?8 F
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you. ^$ M# I) d5 i8 g$ k+ p) T
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.# W$ f: n' p$ k% |. F$ n2 c
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date% y3 g) P+ r3 u0 ^
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used2 W0 A6 p! O0 v
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
9 ^ ?2 l7 ^/ ^) v: {support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically1 n/ W+ s2 G' Q+ p
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to2 R- ^( h& N* U& F4 Q
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,7 v. K( T: u3 N) a# O2 C- P
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
* W# M& {7 F) x* abalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
1 T6 z: r+ Z3 y2 rproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be6 a' V, W- T7 \ e0 Y' A6 i
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
% N! T5 {9 C% l) p" pMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how# t6 Q4 Z. \) a) v
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
' S! i8 e, u* V& W7 \torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished4 Z( C5 K. f# T0 O# e' B/ n
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".) q' n, v2 ^$ s" c
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
- Z9 i. c+ K1 N% p: G% U" ealigned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
& a) B C ~2 h1 u$ t5 Y3 _: o8 ^4 Dnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image2 ~" C- j8 j* M' e: k# {2 H/ V4 u
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these7 ^4 B/ m, l+ z( ~6 v, C- b6 T
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
; F1 u( b' g. O# wpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
+ B- F( v) S) _* g& i. qmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
' H+ n2 j+ P) Bof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before8 W0 z' @' d+ M9 p5 P6 O$ f [
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
7 B5 C( L- Z. |: T5 H4 Lpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise! B7 n7 m8 ?, W! _8 ^" K6 y
apartments are the way to go? No.( W" N4 k; F/ _# Y* c7 Q3 Y
+ X( l3 x2 L! _% Q! ]
0 J. j6 ~& B0 [( b; |2 P8 H* F# t
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the5 L+ v; ]( n# w5 L. R; H$ h' U
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this1 h* n: {& V# [/ W3 h$ d: y
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
0 X- N! q3 h2 g, G& f/ b: a( kno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
+ k; z$ B3 M3 ]# X6 z5 Bfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant9 E' ^2 J4 _: M: T
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless% ^" z( N2 P. e# T
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
4 ?9 r0 B7 K7 z) P& R8 l8 M* p. yunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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