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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/ M; K( E* _* D8 x
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
: Z ~9 ^0 C( o6 N; YBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
; [0 f5 `+ _ i0 Y, G) dcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.- e9 R8 q: q- J) N3 y1 e3 @
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
, U: X7 H- ~0 H8 i$ A# ~3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
' _# N4 A% F b6 R# mManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within9 }1 I! `( `' p; Y4 R
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among3 x7 J( |$ ], G3 b! _- f
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera0 L. B5 n; e* \* q* P4 K
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
" h+ q `# C5 X/ ]2 q* wharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
$ Y$ G6 H, v0 l7 b I- o+ Vdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and( \6 a1 P; T* n7 M: w
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I- s9 f3 G" V& D/ ^/ R" @# l# u) X
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
x6 T3 x# t/ I6 V0 E2 _+ dimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
0 g H* M! c8 K- M H! aand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
/ j# P' ^9 ]* m* k* w! n% Xhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment3 X8 J! d# V x% P8 y% L3 m9 l
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
6 H# Q2 }: V5 o" v3 h! eno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are" i( s+ a" z% K8 z
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
0 I2 Y7 P5 n8 r! zsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government2 F) f1 E. w2 w# a) A
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move( g( ~2 }) C# ^( q8 ?+ {
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is9 R" q0 @9 t* q/ Y
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,# L8 }! D5 e+ r7 r* V+ W/ R
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are; [* {; R4 A9 G) \0 ^
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, n& l1 n* n0 ^$ U1 \
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make( M& w$ Y0 w6 s7 X
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
) ]" d3 n$ q- _( q4 Aa beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a; p, N) w3 ] C5 b; f( {, @
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
% c$ X+ H7 X& e6 Q$ }2 v( gthe 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$ u4 g0 o9 ]; z1 m5 W
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
, p) _9 X8 I( M3 o* t# o# udevelopment.
Hutongs
3 ` t) @+ f2 Din the old days were residential area where people actually lived4 ? ^' N. z0 b- _
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
( O+ q1 M8 O E5 C8 `$ R4 @in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
) J; z; `. ` N6 w& v( fhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
& |+ O |, X B) ]. awill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.7 k% W0 X" m5 s2 Q( I. `
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date" b+ Q" \3 C% [- q7 j+ U# [
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used2 W( j' Q8 w! @
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses: t. t& ^: y0 W$ Z9 Y/ W
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically( T1 O7 B& J5 k5 t
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to! {$ q/ [. e3 \' b) v% n
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,' |+ Y# I1 S1 i6 y, H! q
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
3 o4 c) B- e) B; v# V# [balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
5 U' o" ^1 T) ~& |$ A7 F- Qproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
/ _3 x8 x2 u7 Erenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
, w; N# i6 t$ E( ^' y4 UMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
( c: c9 k. j& S- ]5 v) ppeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
& ~% l4 l- T" R; k7 L/ }% L7 mtorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished3 a( [$ a! ~" O# {& x
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
: Q+ C+ @) X* O8 Z: m5 ?9 a; oNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
+ A. o) S' _, o4 N- Laligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
; h4 m9 N1 L/ jnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image. P8 G3 t3 i) c& Q5 p& W# p
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these8 _6 b- x) T& z/ Q& {
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those, `8 _$ [* K" r
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they$ b8 l6 E+ {; F8 j9 f9 H5 o
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
8 v$ m4 f8 z: @% Aof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
, `) N1 n) [; O6 I' s"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all$ X/ W% [& w! t* B3 R
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
- k9 K7 }+ b0 o8 e3 p7 W tapartments are the way to go? No.$ c0 M) G9 m6 C5 D' d6 X6 `
/ b! R3 ~ w4 B4 S. G
" q i, [# _$ G! L
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the* m, k9 A% r7 @ D
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
1 u7 W3 [$ z4 M1 c'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
1 o5 C' c" P! l+ wno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
; q6 y) s. B! w, i0 S% d# Mfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
3 S3 |% f; y3 a5 V7 [! |5 _$ Cresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
) E( }% u P" i @% k a* {Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is2 N& S& _1 [3 }8 S: X! j8 [
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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