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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
. X3 @1 }: t" [/ M$ w6 ^architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider2 m, \4 ~( @! f% y, @' d% D
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
3 F/ i3 J7 L; e4 M, n* Tcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.0 n, _8 i q2 m. R' s1 {6 z L
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,2 s4 Q Q& C2 E# ~! S
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of* O8 Z: u3 ~ q3 e9 A
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within. C# E/ ?; x& |( O
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among3 l4 [- u K* K( i5 A! ~
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera* \$ A( M0 g1 r% Q5 D
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is! _/ a5 x& i L/ q
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are6 B/ z: P7 R2 K- G- V; Y; T8 |5 w& M
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
6 R! r+ u t4 E! h7 w7 fforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I- c( \: L8 m# C
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
+ u- v E6 z+ H) F' X9 D& y& iimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,$ d+ K G( S4 c, Q0 l6 Y5 O8 U7 ~" ]5 r. B
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong' ~, {/ x b; b `6 ~9 N7 U5 U; m
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment% J$ [+ ^9 U, r
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that' N% e3 l+ u& \/ m' Q( N6 V
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are2 C& b3 ^$ P' A N$ c' P S
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
" [8 e8 |2 g7 ~& bsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
3 g4 H& f2 ~, ?7 e6 {: Z, v, {! |: h0 Vwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move, F8 a2 y; z2 I
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
; H. V- m l( Y% m7 s, p* M: w"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
: F, x$ Q! K9 ]. `9 Jthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are9 B. B2 c" v6 x* B2 A, N& V
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
/ m9 j8 ~0 {( Q. ["progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make+ r8 ?+ ^% b% p; M
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
: M- z' Y! @1 n1 k$ r/ Qa beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
/ P6 Z; y3 B4 w6 D! t; R3 L! wparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across% B$ r4 `/ j6 ?. D0 P
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" X+ b7 |& N$ g. C' i0 z! }& @
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
) M( F4 F: \( e: C! udevelopment.
Hutongs
: g- d# t' ?) l4 A7 P7 Lin the old days were residential area where people actually lived
$ Z$ B! O, c' w/ h2 I" bthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions8 B' O8 R/ [+ c3 _
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not, \7 q# e1 W5 }
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
# n% F1 r9 M6 ~# I& twill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.# f+ l e9 r5 }7 `" R- w/ J
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
u2 p1 \6 l z/ R$ Tto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
9 K3 h+ E+ M1 ^2 o. G L# X4 t* Tto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses! E, o3 H/ g: N. }) Z
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically. V) J: ]3 w3 i! Q' ~; k' o7 s
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to/ ?# t4 X, U! Z9 ~: r$ D
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,- m. ?2 F- ]- d" ~5 w
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
2 j! o5 q0 F) r% s; \: vbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the" m# z. h$ Z6 o/ E, P
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
& d& R. {& j9 n4 o9 ^( Lrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
, e* o% q* Z& Q. L5 tMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how6 u2 Q( J) `7 p* S: D, l
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
* `1 Q5 N% a; x+ _, k, V, \torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
" m5 g' c9 r# s' Lmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
: o: r6 F4 P, M: t+ q% [, E% r$ oNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
$ C" @- {: t! Yaligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
; Y4 \" Z, C& B6 L" V0 vnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
6 w9 j. X! E8 zof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these, x9 V M: E' u9 \! a
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those o+ |3 e- X% _3 X: Z7 G
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they7 I( r" j4 \+ g1 F' v% I, z
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
* K; f, n$ W* G0 L3 |. S7 v) e9 Oof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before$ M" R% a, d/ T* q
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all0 T' [) Y f/ Y( ~- f) p
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise+ }5 v- L0 q4 b
apartments are the way to go? No.
8 r8 k& o" l' F% @ - ?* ^1 n8 Y- j r; {, D
- H9 e2 t+ u: }. m
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the* O: p; \4 [- ~ ^; H
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this; b9 ?# Q2 l) h; C& o
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
$ O% i+ U4 X+ }, f7 t3 mno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so; s! G, t) m# Z% `2 f% G6 G
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
`4 L% }1 \' U$ ?# t; I; ^/ Oresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless8 U" @! x0 Z; W0 C
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
9 p" \) r% X9 i1 \# {! Aunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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