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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; k: C4 w5 k" @, Z% e# S
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider- j' J+ z0 n: ]+ z* X" P" p
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
9 ^7 ~+ p4 i6 c. ]9 p9 r1 {city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture." K0 p x- |! D: S3 L
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,# R$ ~. c- D2 M1 `2 y! u5 O
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of) C( A* }3 I8 H" e
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within6 u9 d; i( k9 o0 Q4 J6 N
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among+ }) N' N& Z' P% `8 V+ a2 l
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera: S7 h; y7 C- b' W; x" w
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is* b1 }8 o/ L8 t# O5 X9 x- n
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are* d* o( k2 l0 T4 w/ `
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
7 ?9 S. D$ P) O- m: I- Lforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
! H, n. T6 h7 bwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
+ `& g/ k' p: t2 z9 d) E) @$ J& wimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,; |) P4 o" R6 F' U5 l$ ]/ s
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong1 }: G: Y M9 v6 b# J! m+ }
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment# l% X3 Q) x2 {. _* {) U6 \
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that2 L* l2 o. ^8 E, n
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
1 |4 ?1 N- u; }7 U+ Aonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
+ _. r% i! T% O: j( w/ F [2 Qsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government2 `% h+ `. v* D2 x8 a8 y1 J8 f
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
7 Q4 h p) `+ g8 dto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is2 ^+ x3 @$ X9 t2 b$ ]1 y
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,# a& k, l7 Z" D6 l! i4 w {- [
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
; O; p9 N( c2 S4 f4 G l* Istill 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
) E; r; O& G- }6 {"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make% m$ {. O1 ? I% \( v/ I
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
" _2 P5 ]' F1 V9 v" oa beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
* V% l+ f9 ^4 y7 mparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
+ J' u& g7 d& P! t4 P- Zthe 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 cultural3 b! N, `% b' [3 G) h5 K
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for6 O9 K1 r0 v0 L! o/ L% ], I( k
development.
Hutongs# N; C# A5 E( D$ m
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
% U2 h, [- ?6 I/ S9 r8 C4 O, Mthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions8 K9 p; E" l4 B
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not) Z- q8 f$ D0 f" R& c. B
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
. c( ]8 B1 \4 |4 s" lwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.8 @: G4 y7 n, F. f% D
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date2 n, L! i! T, { s
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
; p1 z+ H) L1 b) T" h! fto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
' M1 ~ \1 P! b! _: G6 T" lsupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
" j" `* q4 N0 d8 X/ k- p/ V5 uunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
- r2 K) n; p$ J/ u5 p* klive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,/ l7 H, a1 ^3 f$ H
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the2 q% P& i' B& S+ k9 |9 y4 g/ B
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
9 v9 T! J# Z. Bproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be& N" ^( t* e" T0 `" p% R
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
0 N+ X2 d! x' J0 k {Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how8 k5 @6 [. v. e; ?, r" h% R: N
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
( i9 W' u: y0 p5 e8 `2 ytorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
4 g# @' g, l- s2 l4 C: mmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
% n7 V0 I4 t, iNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
7 i" Q* R+ x) c$ y$ S. s( o5 t# Saligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially7 v' v- F5 s/ i) c4 d L7 c
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image: V6 R) F( F1 ?' a
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these4 ^8 Y/ ^) R: e+ u
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those; [6 o4 W: B* J1 r) E! |- m$ z9 v
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they$ P0 X! T; ~- |/ l+ h' g- {
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some" x/ U% K% n0 B4 k& Y( D! D
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before% W! n. o! k" e
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
8 U3 K) ]' C/ ypeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
$ _7 q. k7 y" K# Tapartments are the way to go? No.; g) l [: a- E- ^ ^2 ]
3 f3 v0 `- ~) ~3 j/ p
. Q2 T, t3 v4 O9 [0 h8 h
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
2 f( `$ r4 s9 J; j+ t6 Zsituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
8 y* C( V( Z7 j( i" S+ ]8 u: m'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make6 p+ j, l2 g8 W* F
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
1 t. m) A$ ?, Rfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant. T$ ?/ {+ A) g( P6 j
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
A: s) e5 g8 \) wBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is' U: q7 g& m' `; X! ?8 Y0 s
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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