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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( v/ Q/ b7 B6 h s8 {& y
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
; J! D; l+ Z; A; E6 T: T! eBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
+ A" r4 a' E; u; g. W+ d) xcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.+ a9 |; D& @' I! y- b8 X" Q+ u
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,3 H1 q( L: W7 I4 H- u( A- [( B
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
# Y. `+ W( K# G$ t8 s& JManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within9 G' [$ o' M$ ^4 i1 q K2 J
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
# _& ]" r! s$ Z) p0 M5 ?each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
6 r7 i2 Q: b0 h5 p- zand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is9 a: z8 u5 ]9 t: R# y( K: A& ^* P& y0 F0 m
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are! [) w$ b6 @* o! ]7 a9 i: T; H
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and% B3 F3 I& ?% o9 {% ~
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
5 p5 g# J1 D5 Y9 ]- Y# E9 d* mwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great) a' X: U& ]" D+ X6 g/ R8 w6 ~
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
& d6 b8 K+ N7 N: v7 E5 s" V$ ^and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong% p4 U# R8 e! g. P9 V; h5 y
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment# T' ? ]! T: x5 ]8 `: {
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that) e2 Y- a4 J. X2 a. i) S: a% H
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
4 e) a' F( h$ C( jonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a6 n# \" D( K6 h9 k
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government6 ~& ]3 m" I' x! p; B( Z2 W* g
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
3 p. G. ?) T% ~6 R, W' Mto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is$ l, V K4 F! P- {; [. ]/ a
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
) F6 J/ o" [- I, b! c; e# P9 L* r( Ythis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are! V5 P8 x" S3 y. }( u* a0 A- L
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& W( p# n; i( w2 I9 B- u& i
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
; F+ w. I4 n' D( Pmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was. C6 s# s3 u# @% }) p; q
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
7 X+ N/ @- y2 R- o! f4 sparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
/ _% A! K+ i' o! T8 [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
( A$ f: _# R) |! Qimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for2 d: @" X4 C/ S3 u
development.
Hutongs& L/ i/ x# `8 B; U5 M
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
9 _+ d, e6 g& i6 [1 H* F1 Cthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions `+ Q4 S- B- J7 L U7 d7 n6 Q
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not+ U. B, Y: t. X% b
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
! o9 D& R. T( k5 o! z6 ?; o5 \" `will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
# M$ _4 f# w! a5 ^, F$ W( {Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date, L9 H9 n9 Z$ A
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
- ?6 v$ Z8 ~9 S1 |! C. |; lto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
" M* O/ p1 F. S" ~# H7 @support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically! `. v" \! {8 |4 V; Y. U0 w
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
; N" w1 o+ W: Y$ M7 X1 ` W# I$ |" n( y% klive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,' G7 m8 k6 v; K5 V: I8 u# i
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
6 @ A4 t/ U# |/ z8 |& ~, ]0 hbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the; w5 x# l8 v6 Z; a4 d Q# I
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
1 Q Z) Z- O( c) e7 h, krenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong" y9 ?' U, `, a, E9 e a
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how7 k$ F& g. H# G: Y. q8 a
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be/ V+ ~' l6 _- l) S+ b* c, w# N
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
! u" r9 H4 B$ ?" Fmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress"./ `5 _% B: x# V+ l4 H; x: v+ T: F
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
) f2 l6 o9 x4 | r2 M* C% naligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
$ \' k8 p7 v& J: f7 [non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
) V( D2 Z/ D; V7 T" Xof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
' v) R/ k$ i& M3 t$ w+ ]3 ^- GHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
" ~- G! C ~+ e0 I# v: y/ d7 Gpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
2 `. I+ G+ E& T- v! K6 ?3 o7 ~ R, @may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some% F0 p$ ]2 s4 N) A" Q
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before! @+ H! Z: k! a' P. z2 _
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
8 O: q, I3 ^2 z& t5 S: ^people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise0 q4 K" G6 Y* L
apartments are the way to go? No.
; w" a: n4 L' m0 c, L5 b" i 4 d7 F" f# J7 q6 `6 B, `" g
( M5 M# L6 F" v+ h! j' c
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
5 w# p1 R ^0 L* U; O x7 y Hsituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
% P, e9 r# N" b/ ^" c'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
- D0 K; M3 u7 ono money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
9 q3 |: z* U; J9 g7 y# N8 kfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant2 N0 H+ A: O9 ~: |
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless. S( a: {( V) M/ R
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
( x0 [4 {' `! ~unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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