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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
) p; V# n9 L7 n. j, Harchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
3 L3 y5 W$ r. j- vBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
! `5 k( b( I2 Ncity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture." c; |, J8 x$ `4 _( c9 x
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
( \3 W" j9 L& U5 i3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
2 P9 `. t5 F# f0 i; f1 d+ E- yManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
: O ?5 H6 N& t9 Ehutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
2 y2 r3 T& P7 d3 beach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
9 y% `" Z- i& t1 z; m' n, Y0 Tand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
- o, Z- c6 Q: Q: Z4 m& d, j4 O3 Dharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are5 U; a& k' b2 ]9 q! [
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and$ W7 {( M, E* F( i: W$ w
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I) c5 D+ e# x7 T0 h$ z: a, @9 S# c
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great) D$ e, w) }) {/ h! ^- y
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
/ @1 [. K( p# mand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
; F' H3 `! Q3 b& e2 N" @. x: Vhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
! D R: k/ p) D5 r% |' {' V# Nof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
7 s* K2 ?% u% d/ C: r- Fno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
' U6 x- d1 _; Y: n( [+ q# Conly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
' \7 I: m8 s3 d0 i; c- n7 xsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government9 h( d7 v" |& N& M
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move9 A% a f8 W" Y. `. x$ J
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is5 [; A0 [; k& N* J5 [$ U. l" p
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,* i" F& a) p2 M, O/ i; ]
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
& x2 G- l# }: j. Tstill 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' }( R4 d5 F2 j; J$ v( I
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
) t+ g7 K( j# [! N8 Tmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was& X8 S% o5 u8 x8 p$ q4 [/ W X
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a0 K% [' c$ a% Y
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
s1 `) h0 g4 m2 W: v: Dthe 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
6 C8 U( z6 ~3 ?importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
; f7 Z" R* C# B$ xdevelopment.
Hutongs
! T/ {, }0 i) b) U! `; ^8 min the old days were residential area where people actually lived
& b: G+ w! y3 q8 F, Xthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
( z2 ], C, ?6 S- rin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not, Y* X4 ?, g( r
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you! `: }* w2 `/ e0 X5 f
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.4 F. n6 ]4 ~5 C, c
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
+ ~% _4 r6 i# I" a2 i0 Hto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
1 ~! v: m, p8 d* I; p ?4 ~to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses9 U7 @# I* r6 y. h( _
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically* {" a4 K# z8 x9 z
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to5 i* `$ n F. N( r4 ?4 j
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
7 x- P3 |0 b: g$ T# V: K- }7 }hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the7 \2 m$ m+ k9 B' C( e
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the; J: B& K. C# }+ P) ]4 j6 Z
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be, L B+ j# P0 ~5 K- m; @
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong1 F& \8 Y4 W0 L
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
) \% x' f. @% o4 Q! h- S1 d0 speople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
8 z* V6 i; J( e3 j' |" E& R* Z* ^torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
3 S, a3 H6 n. g/ Q- ]memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
: W ]$ _$ f) w5 k- ~% w& nNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
9 d1 }& l$ y N v) p! Haligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially |( t L l8 j- t, ?+ B$ { b$ X
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
; v' ]$ j- Y" s3 K. Fof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these" V, a8 y7 w: }& f: x9 [; N$ ]
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
- h8 `- D0 R3 f4 F0 Jpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they9 ~! t, P9 r4 Z' {1 C# N' `
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
. J6 y: L# q/ |. ^& Fof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
/ m. ]( e' k+ |% _"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all: j* u6 V, W D3 R/ n- x
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
+ ~, k* K8 K9 j* K+ T# S$ Qapartments are the way to go? No.
0 X+ C6 C- W) ^: l
- _, ]. r- \% I+ ^
) q1 ~& W) b+ ]% N" S
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the8 t* D0 P. i7 L
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
4 E1 |8 @0 T2 r/ e% I% N0 D% g'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
% {+ u- E! r3 [% D9 {! Gno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
/ ^" j8 Q8 ^* V* X0 ofast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant) |( s( R( L5 I$ ]( f4 [% O$ [
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless M4 k" [: t: }' t
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is4 Y5 E. `" O/ e; w l
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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