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A Hutong Discussion

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发表于 2007-4-24 05:08:00 | 显示全部楼层 |阅读模式
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 $ T/ q+ R" O. \) o) F$ [architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider ( c q7 I$ ]; E1 P: Y- A+ I3 RBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian" g" t% Y' [8 F' v9 W% O8 W" z city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.- r. J' u$ }9 M5 C4 j4 Y& b According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty, ' c/ I3 Q: P* Y( v% Q: _1 |3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of / k* `; Z x& a1 ^Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within 4 C3 D# d0 s9 }3 l2 I2 y3 yhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among + y, }& F. |2 I; ~- U* ceach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera ' h1 q* m. j" ?and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is n4 G" d3 |5 b harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are4 V- n+ [& A( @( ^7 J7 [) F descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and! ]' {( b5 _0 [$ r1 D forms of culture emerged in hutong.

I ) \. k4 D2 \4 h: @ K5 ^was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great 4 E/ I) f! M: O6 Dimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished, 6 d2 f& v/ l3 m% t' hand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong/ h9 k4 M$ n; g. q. ]5 B' o has a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment ' x4 Q, K. r" hof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that- L- d& n( y3 L5 O3 B* R no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are ! u# H1 |& }) [, Z9 t4 v4 A9 X3 Tonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a6 ]: G/ u8 f1 e0 @ sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government: h+ O8 w! I( _; r" U want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move% S" b) V. W" e6 @4 d" Z to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is0 D' w7 j( _$ k- g# }! V! K "modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,! f% A. Y5 u% O4 f" i7 x this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are: ]' y' c9 d+ }; m9 m 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% G9 ^4 A7 e/ Q "progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make% m8 f4 I$ d( f! d: a money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was 4 H7 k( g" l; La beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a" K( |) D4 W; a- W! L6 M% J1 p% ] parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across% [3 S% @+ t4 a 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: U: y$ m( N# O M& M' B importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for # s5 P, Q* }% K% ^4 Z2 a& m/ F- | zdevelopment.

Hutongs 8 j. J' }7 L6 { fin the old days were residential area where people actually lived : `" g, H6 y* w' [, V" N/ c T! uthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions 0 R) m3 t$ D, G: y1 j( B8 q8 }in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not $ ^3 q! m8 d z9 d7 `# A# ~1 d! Phave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you 0 M- M/ d" f$ x, \/ F+ bwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs. + _ U$ s N- M X7 J1 F P3 kFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date. g5 }4 V$ t6 F: x to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used * p7 y& `( Z0 U" S3 Q7 o' j9 Cto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses7 p: O) v6 d7 S' I- g2 \ | support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically # `8 T, x2 s* s4 m8 l5 E bunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to ! z' C& }2 c" n# klive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose, 4 I" D* \/ V4 @# J% u7 R, dhutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the 9 r N, \9 ^" Q% J* n! C8 Dbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the; K8 m% P2 A6 C; ] project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be ( z! S# k# L0 r' K: x6 orenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong - Z) X3 x+ R( O, m+ b8 l4 c3 bMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how 1 B1 L/ M h0 S j4 n$ kpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be8 T2 o% W0 b5 p torn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished / @* c4 T3 E2 j. e. Qmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress". V, `- T, A7 k" l/ Q0 HNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are , U) f8 l5 m) P3 b% \aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially; z6 Q) S0 @$ G' e* w8 O non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image8 {* ^ t# X" {7 v of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these # s6 M4 z% V2 O: V5 oHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those ( h) P+ q8 Z; K9 Rpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they7 } Z( P. U- M" A may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some % ^6 G- ?: a8 [! Lof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before/ G- D# z& _. ~ u' q "modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all * e1 P d4 {) @: z4 _0 ^! ^1 ~4 Wpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise3 E. l7 V) |# a$ ^ apartments are the way to go? No.1 H5 \5 a' E1 Z2 G. e : `# G7 Y# C6 T% W7 Q/ P , j/ c2 w2 q2 t O/ a

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the : [9 q3 x1 }4 I# O! h% ]$ v5 N Csituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this & N! i X; ^# O5 q'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make 6 j/ ^, S) l8 t6 F5 i v* a# z5 _no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so, C2 ~" w+ V% T/ F- x" z4 U5 ` fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant" _# {3 @ y# F5 W8 i- n1 g0 y" X# X resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless % V g1 A3 z2 d3 V) ?Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is& Z2 Z& V* U0 Q! D5 K# c0 z unlikely to happen too. Sad!
发表于 2007-5-22 20:37:00 | 显示全部楼层
Excuse me. May I use ur discussion in my dissertation about Beijing Conservation?
Thx a lot!!
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