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A Hutong Discussion

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发表于 2007-4-24 05:08:00 | 显示全部楼层 |阅读模式
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$ i" }9 P* W" L2 o. d4 p architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider 0 r1 M, _# y0 Y7 D8 d- Y' a" rBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"& l- o/ B% k4 X; o& g' s3 U' D: f, R city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.- _* F) |# d- Z1 X4 }, a/ d According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty, " Z( A$ x0 f6 a2 v. ?3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of# G9 k# _6 H( d# w, V9 g Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within& Q. C/ K5 k) J* w9 F& i hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among / T' R' b8 t( Z+ V0 z; D5 Reach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera ) G1 g5 P- _. o0 N, Xand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is & t* F' ]" k2 S7 X$ Uharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are9 m0 v* g" k( Y& D1 k descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and) t9 }/ ^# `( S7 J0 { forms of culture emerged in hutong.

I. U C8 e3 O2 b; v was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great 0 K+ O4 l V1 J2 Fimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,- k1 c6 H2 u, d) I7 B and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong : B3 A, ]& U7 l Qhas a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment |- e, p% N8 `* v7 Z; B+ wof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that 6 T c' T% `) G8 j: lno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are 6 T6 J1 b$ P) j: ]8 d& R. conly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a; l9 ~$ ]+ `, a' L sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government9 J! w- G2 q {: P' i; \ want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move: C4 q9 v, J* z" N( s6 k to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is # y' A H7 E ~( j2 g5 m) N"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,; o- C- F+ j: M W this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are. g/ p7 j" }0 |, B% U# m 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 to7 Q. i$ w9 Z) B K. O "progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make( P3 e; x3 R7 B' U+ { money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was2 u* N( Q8 ~+ b1 @/ l. e; X a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a ; P% w* O2 y2 @; d4 u9 uparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across 2 D& a7 ^- D: ?, 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 cultural' t0 [( O4 _3 k) d, n importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for) @1 E) z( I' A# y- d development.

Hutongs4 ~% c, Z; q* |4 z in the old days were residential area where people actually lived" X7 H! h/ Q6 u V# ^- G9 ~0 S there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions6 l+ _+ ]- t( x! i4 V/ a; c in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not + T" @0 X$ L6 {have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you , Q! W0 B |) s4 g I5 u5 _will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs./ f8 p# m! k9 f' c6 y Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date/ d2 L- ?/ n& D0 h2 X to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used- ?, ?: q( {6 Q& g% G4 o/ P to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses1 _' b6 l9 Z. C0 h support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically8 {5 w0 \8 ? Y' g3 G( l" v unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to0 M0 a" t$ K0 `7 ]. |0 r7 N1 A% z% | live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose, ' L* _% i3 ]$ O, ehutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the7 |. Y C, }$ [0 @' k2 i balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the 2 w0 I! r: p, F" F) T8 y0 W6 mproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be 6 s0 j. A V: V5 xrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong # A' H' E0 ]( @Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how4 Q v% {6 F. k; } people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be% g* K' d% Z: S. H! K; ? torn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished 3 ]2 t8 l( l' Wmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress"., h4 D0 Z9 ^9 X0 A6 m; J' y# T: u Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are + d% J+ _# @% _( R. J" z0 Caligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially% h8 s% L: p2 U& [: g0 S' z0 ~ non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image " P6 H/ }' N. W, X! o1 |9 gof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these 1 ?/ a n# p- L5 yHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those ( T7 ~$ Y. _8 ~8 j' n) R/ Lpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they + m0 V) Q5 a0 _may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some 7 y2 v3 }/ j2 Eof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before * M+ | `/ z n, t7 v( G"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all3 |8 L* z7 F, ]; K% n1 p, M people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise + q* Z0 I% Y7 E& ?6 A7 }7 T- _; `apartments are the way to go? No.! j! X& H. A: F) `6 ^( d, T& X ( j0 U. k+ T' U. [ % F) r, X V# {) a

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the & B$ c/ J% L, t8 p$ Ssituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this6 q/ G- l8 `0 _$ G" C. [ 'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make+ s( h! `: |- |' C5 f% E; w no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so 5 P! h- y' p4 N8 hfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant- T! P7 G) M# K! k `& `/ [ resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless' @$ G$ F2 A$ r2 Q Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is # A, }7 l! ]% D7 Zunlikely to happen too. Sad!
发表于 2007-5-22 20:37:00 | 显示全部楼层
Excuse me. May I use ur discussion in my dissertation about Beijing Conservation?
Thx a lot!!
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