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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, n) Y2 z3 b7 c; Y( ?! L' ?# o% O
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider* Q4 ^* ~: h: L e! k3 @' M* o' |
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"' T* p- h- T7 s5 B+ ^
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.3 O: B3 l" V9 g* [
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
; W4 v6 \: m- s- k7 p, o3 O' v, ]3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of: n r( T5 |4 J
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
& n' B; Q2 q3 X" L! H2 qhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among# ]$ E# P" u; X1 ?. z- |, z
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
4 {- ]$ D5 [# `/ L- nand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
9 d3 \+ \/ U2 ~3 ` rharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are; G6 H; F' x6 @! J; c C
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
/ r$ U% z% F, \6 t% |forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I4 a# i% p* c# b8 w
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
6 @" q6 _9 T2 i; Q) g: ]* Zimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
$ ?. b, R8 h! J& Q, h9 r+ {0 ^4 sand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong5 t& m/ K% q# Q) g0 S) n6 {; h
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
) v' n, S4 ?0 Q0 H2 o" [of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
- a" u% t& S# I$ \& X4 rno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are# f* ]( t$ i' M, D' i
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a& V1 q% P4 ]5 d
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
0 n5 w. W. i& A! D# \2 {2 qwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
, d* K$ e3 ~6 Q; j* W1 N! E C8 \ Kto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
' P% I1 _* Z9 D8 @% H! G) U"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,$ U0 d. L# ^9 j' o; M
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are5 f0 V/ d. I+ ?5 ]$ P4 _. [
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
, V5 e$ |* t8 R, }: F; B"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
) D; P) w: l0 b/ Y0 B! mmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was* B* ]: t+ ?) S6 b6 D& l: S# s
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
2 }% k0 N, n2 f. t( E0 F6 mparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
/ \5 t' r7 }% u4 I; }" uthe 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/ m) `# Y4 [4 z2 K
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
+ ?7 H5 P l1 edevelopment.
Hutongs
3 H( x3 l# _, J. ^5 O6 \. min the old days were residential area where people actually lived* z+ K, G3 ^6 i3 j
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions4 B( f" k l+ o" e; u
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not, t3 d% v) U1 L3 f
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
* w5 D$ o V2 r- b( }will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
2 ^' q g3 w- M" f/ u; L0 ?6 xFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
\# X2 @ ?9 Gto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used+ R# a8 j4 z1 `5 }; s
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
& w) Q1 m$ K6 D9 {support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
) y* b- }! T2 q7 K6 B+ O* lunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to* r/ ^- R3 `3 m; R5 y$ E
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,% Y$ f" E6 a0 m. h+ b# U0 \1 R6 p* T
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the* y- ]/ U* I2 S0 h$ B; }5 W/ ^7 Y
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the1 x0 s) ^ d8 h: ]
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
* ?% S% ~6 O- y7 ?2 Xrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong* s, v+ E8 L9 @
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
+ Y3 p) ^2 n7 E7 _9 Q" b+ Lpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be" p! o9 h- K* `: P o7 |1 m8 h1 B
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
) i* d$ m$ e4 F3 f, o. Y) Zmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
& B7 k5 ~( V* a; ]3 rNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are8 T2 J- D1 Z+ o
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
, R2 P k% Z& b; {! \non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image+ m/ C" A: ^" }7 d
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
S4 f2 t2 p, ?: y, M9 mHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
' O3 Y. @4 ]) y% s$ Wpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they8 t0 f( |# k8 A- i
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some V, z1 O9 |. b4 U# ?
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before: a9 u: ~8 e) S4 A" F( J- \
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all: E# o+ M/ f6 p0 F2 S
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise' K* z8 K; _5 p6 ]/ R
apartments are the way to go? No.0 W9 ?2 G6 a D' o, f4 r( v
! e+ z" z. t: J k( c
% }5 U4 W8 ?! }* g
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the- G) `& p3 }2 O$ k l( D- h3 S2 v
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
7 M2 n! \: ~7 r( T; M'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make3 g, p9 O. c* n; M' a* n
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so" x; H( o+ c% C
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
8 i7 R5 e4 S. ]$ z; B2 S% Gresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless6 M. F' y) r( R7 k7 r9 U
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is" R! y0 R. W8 L7 s4 j4 v+ l
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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