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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 . g% w9 L: t: narchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider8 c/ l! v7 b. D/ a0 m G4 a6 Z Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"( u/ ~$ R! ~3 b& l1 M `4 `& y city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture. 3 c* u k3 A1 T7 `According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,( U: o- |- B Q0 ? 3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of 0 T+ V3 g: M/ YManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within & |7 ]8 _& O! [% x: l+ I3 Ohutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among# X% A6 E ^/ X each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera% }5 ^3 a- i7 _) A( x' t and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is E r) B l6 S, b) ~, Q' nharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are 6 ]( Z& E4 p. K. d1 w2 ldescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and $ j8 N* A: V. {, l( i8 v' L" nforms of culture emerged in hutong.

I0 R* R& K4 Q/ F2 b4 x5 n was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great ; r3 {, L3 J# iimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,; s- _/ n2 O" B: T5 _ and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong s2 L2 G2 X7 j9 Z' `3 _1 }( S1 Q; N has a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment - v/ A4 N! l) ]! z% P0 zof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that) s/ h9 A9 s# \+ U4 L# w/ N. K% s no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are0 `( O m* K6 h% ~ only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a % U3 O* N8 M7 m" P! z9 m; R( Dsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government6 s6 P7 p+ C1 V. F* A& W& K' L" Y want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move( B& s7 L2 X4 l/ A# d- C to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is & I% s" B/ @7 r! Q& A H"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact, 9 F5 p$ L F ^4 h2 I$ q. O) Uthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are ( l7 t4 |1 L! |* ?& I6 N7 z$ 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 to2 p% U! Y2 h% r6 F# I& a "progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make/ n$ [/ Y' `2 x" d money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was $ [& J9 O* a# V3 ca beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a; J7 W- d& z# D, v, J parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across% e4 E# R& x1 m# g5 j 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. V0 L& j: I$ }$ B/ ximportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for ( f' F. R% {" u9 _+ Y6 W. xdevelopment.

Hutongs( i( J" ?, f( d" K( B in the old days were residential area where people actually lived8 w. C& T4 }, x# Q9 C& d there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions 9 t# ?- o1 ?' k% Iin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not 8 ^3 {- n, m9 \0 Whave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you& n j6 @8 f, t0 f will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs./ Y$ J. Y q7 t, Z! T8 }! A Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date ) D& u1 k2 V; B% _( Y* Dto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used # P( T6 ^! B4 eto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses . u& _) j5 _. O' ^support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically) U2 Y$ a Y$ z8 v3 f( o; X6 T unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to' g" I8 o3 w0 }/ t live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,4 e& U" Q7 H0 `( \" u7 C hutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the1 x3 h3 U, |/ F5 M9 L0 j balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the 5 F4 J5 E( w8 r" N" e2 h9 q, |7 Jproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be ; b2 I; J) C6 @9 Q p5 ]# n2 d: zrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong + O- H, o6 k* x1 P9 \1 c: z7 _8 LMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how W$ y5 S( b$ |) r! a+ [, w people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be& I6 M8 {- J B* x+ k4 v! b! Y torn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished ! M) S9 o7 O9 s8 Y0 v/ g8 rmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".# t, Z s7 G$ B' R" A Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are. \) E* _* h0 R* t1 D* ~" { aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially 2 H( }& [; ~# x! T) _% s" hnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image2 p a$ a+ z# d/ s4 x7 B of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these 9 ?, D+ Y& S* \3 m$ R& p# VHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those , I7 O3 w# z6 ?* B5 n) s. ^people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they ) E3 K$ X+ h% ]' W' _: xmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some 9 D' i' \- e# Q3 ~of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before 3 v" O9 [: J3 _: R, g$ U/ J"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all+ ]2 R* R0 b( t+ [* l* S5 f people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise. M. |2 T4 |) l0 P! Z apartments are the way to go? No. 9 P* B) q# ]! w: W8 l, N ' p' n r/ ~8 {2 \) e1 P9 v: e * ^8 R' a0 P+ o' S0 N8 G

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the / _, b2 L8 u( O; vsituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this . U4 b# Y. u# k7 p'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make. W+ X" o4 z: z/ I3 Z/ ` no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so* f. L( _1 R Y. d8 d1 d% S fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant6 `1 u" n6 q; S! K0 R/ Z! [& S resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless4 p/ X3 @7 v% Y Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is 7 _, R" s4 s) Nunlikely 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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