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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 6 V; s6 p. w8 F$ s/ larchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider % t8 g: t4 N% Z2 r0 QBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"& w3 M- ~! e0 a4 Z+ F city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.. y4 `* h# s$ ~* v7 P According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,9 v9 J+ c# O( R: @ 3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of : M* M0 t+ ]* |9 `/ UManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within6 z) _& l2 {4 N! u hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among # i' g. C; c) P5 K# weach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera) {! h+ `7 v. Y+ o* N! {' @ and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is& t) w Q( n6 H$ R% G0 Q- t harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are ! _1 y* @9 g# t, y* Adescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and 5 F* l5 U. e. p) `7 [4 aforms of culture emerged in hutong.

I . u( d$ |2 W {5 Z- x- ?was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great 0 g3 \7 G1 j2 E" ~impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished, . G9 X7 q/ H4 u- Vand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong3 `* k" O4 t2 E! d8 I4 A$ D' | has a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment ) ~' |* T# |# Q7 r8 B9 t4 u) g# cof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that & ^+ Y! D3 w) r2 Jno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are 9 G5 d6 P, E" a: ~$ bonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a ' j4 w' @, c7 ?" |3 f1 Hsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government 5 g* T( y4 P! F" R" |want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move & Z' ?1 S: E8 i% r- bto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is; E) o: S( K7 I" ]5 P) \ E8 g6 N "modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact, " I2 k5 z" C! A4 d" @this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are6 H% e2 h4 N" u4 I 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 to5 a( U2 O! [! u2 E9 ~ "progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make* ?4 s. |( w* z. I3 f money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was! ?0 Y# D& s W. C1 U* b. Q a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a 9 \3 J- Q0 L ^" t! C) T% tparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across5 J! C3 i, t1 q: v: G$ B1 O. j8 v4 b+ c! l 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 ) f& R1 g: v6 Z1 m! cimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for - R2 t1 N8 s, N2 H) adevelopment.

Hutongs 0 z# {" r$ W2 K1 vin the old days were residential area where people actually lived* e9 W# F' v1 P. d o; a there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions ( O& ^, |7 Q1 ~( {( Xin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not " n0 {: k; r) b+ C$ K6 C+ ohave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you8 C: o% i% q7 j4 t8 W$ u will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs. 9 y: u2 C, Z* n0 ?- Z e2 B9 r1 c) eFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date $ n2 \/ k0 @4 a0 J* k/ \to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used " J) ?0 A: I0 S A# |5 Rto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses/ a& c3 _. H3 A) V support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically $ U* |( G0 {. B- c$ c# Ounfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to* N. u) [2 P$ ~ live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,: w' i; Z7 m8 |( M, G' l4 @7 g hutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the& i( @9 _5 s( d( N0 Z* Z balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the- Y6 y/ z" ~0 l2 M! i project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be, E( L8 S9 U0 |9 i& C renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong0 i2 G2 U" @6 N) ]" J5 P1 ? Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how, P O( ]' I7 L people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be ( h! L- V( W! O' ptorn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished$ ]5 J x0 U' @, m, q8 f0 I+ T memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress". 2 q) ?; y- |9 F, `% |( r& bNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are * p# V4 x- n. aaligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially/ w$ S% b' s% l8 f9 M* X6 R: Z4 k non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image+ O: a) E. y8 D% p: j" ^ of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these# {8 V0 {6 _4 C6 P" A) E, X# \ Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those 7 E4 b" g2 o& b" ]people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they& J m' b$ p* H8 u may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some 8 A( j0 R* R% X$ g7 ?5 @of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before' T3 S! K z# N ^' _ "modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all - I/ ^/ l: z4 D7 `& c4 lpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise & s7 y* Y, e, z- x) [; eapartments are the way to go? No. . f% q" v7 @8 ]' C1 t 9 F7 d/ V: t' W" j* |# R. W - T8 C7 } u! C. g( b7 q' D

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the 9 a, y) S& E: X. c" x* e) f, [situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this " E( K- p) d* G7 q'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make 4 k6 u- |9 b" d' E O2 tno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so + S6 i" L3 q7 s! G1 e( lfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant- t) f1 `( w) K2 b' \ resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless ) f; L: u0 S/ |1 k6 r# g: {" mBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is $ [& T/ n% J; J, |: w; m7 Munlikely 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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