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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
J# c" e$ i8 Larchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider/ {/ G+ S6 k- G+ \) F) H' t4 _
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
6 `$ U/ w5 R+ D8 i- Jcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
; Z" P4 |7 c$ V& a* S5 U$ MAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
7 _1 }$ q0 H! I2 N* o+ }( B% B8 Z2 {3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of, m# K1 h: y2 g5 ^( ^
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
8 e6 ^. E" B" P% j5 s J8 O" dhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among0 @1 V6 `. @0 ? }8 `
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
, w! i$ t6 ^4 Gand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is5 s- }, Q' P9 |" p2 G T z
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are7 i5 a% R; D) y. e* J
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
' t) m4 {0 R" q& V6 S: q* d! f4 q$ `5 rforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
" T' V3 S3 ~- D( _was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great# e. z- W# K0 V( f; i7 f
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
* d8 M) {7 U$ P, r# k% kand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
8 I8 O% c/ N* O! ]+ x( jhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
8 U( t' l, p# Wof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that" _- s) l0 H4 ?: t+ C6 B8 v! ?
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
8 [4 q0 K9 l/ Ponly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a5 y2 R5 `7 [2 j/ J1 s3 h: l
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
* F* j* ^% T0 H8 Y4 |( E7 Z7 Ewant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
% b6 k ?0 F; Sto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is/ H4 j4 ?3 @' _
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
- G& [8 F9 H0 o9 ithis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are0 l. M) s0 G4 g
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
) h6 q; g5 t( i* `6 q) E2 H"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
4 X5 `( B; j0 n- T- G% xmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
+ o; s& } \' p' xa beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a1 E, I# `( o8 A" W- f0 [
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
* i% H9 O* Q- y8 wthe 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
4 U4 ~4 n4 V/ t6 k6 v* ~9 Yimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for0 g$ @( K4 \1 l6 {; J5 x8 i
development.
Hutongs7 j0 q+ a3 a, u- I% L; [
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
0 r4 b% O! |0 N. @2 }there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions9 @, s# w6 R, h
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
0 h: ~7 c( G4 v6 T2 D9 h3 ghave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you6 H& |" M* V7 t ]
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.0 c+ T' Y0 C$ F+ @! ^6 ?
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
- K9 o" N$ O# W# d( d3 i! Z _to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
+ ]# ~3 E; w( m* ?$ N, ito hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
0 y. L& K9 T$ Esupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
# i3 ] }7 K5 u' ^" L2 j0 [6 Dunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to4 F% k" g5 g( ~- f) z* M
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
' R+ [+ \5 A8 X% F9 J& u/ Nhutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
$ a+ O( x1 }; C7 Ubalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the r- \1 M& Z) N- R; ?3 T2 M
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be, @- ?1 {& w* [& f4 O6 I
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong) j8 L M. ]- d J6 L
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how" T& J3 j# I/ T* u" ~0 Z
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be9 x) c L# E$ j3 U3 N' X
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished+ {3 v2 c5 o& Y6 f. z# }
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".9 v n" G# a" X0 e5 a! Q
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
! Q- Q' V3 _: Ealigned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
7 J! i1 w( H5 h) b. N6 S" _* mnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
# X, K( E$ E4 X2 Aof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these4 n: I+ |- E( [) i
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those$ a: ?! n* a" b5 I' [+ W
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
+ |2 h$ B( b" r$ y* Y8 Jmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some' H4 q p% M3 d% x
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
d$ A6 V2 S: I5 B: o6 L"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
: R# i# {1 h) npeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
! s8 D0 W" c2 Y v) Iapartments are the way to go? No.! ]2 ^$ U6 `( j4 z
; S( V) ]& T: E9 {; w . P a2 u9 p* t
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the w, ~& U& l! j/ P- [( v6 j' r" W
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this1 T; y5 b6 z3 q9 F6 C
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
8 \- r1 j' k5 [5 @9 n* a9 a5 w7 sno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so$ \ v( g# f z
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
7 d( U' L; t0 v" x, d- q5 {resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless3 E3 p$ T: t9 F4 i, r
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
/ B$ z( D! X0 [5 Qunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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