服务器里的北京 - 老北京网

 找回密码
 注册老北京网
查看: 6635|回复: 1

A Hutong Discussion

[复制链接]
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% F! V3 M, i/ Warchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider & m7 r l" e+ L$ DBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian" 5 v1 i9 Y% ~ e% H) c; k, Bcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.3 y( Y/ V! Q; L According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty, ) W8 a, A6 ~3 e" B6 T$ h9 c" z3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of & }2 k' E: J' Q; ^Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within8 i- M/ k7 d y8 i& R hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among) B; S* e+ }' M$ h each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera & ?: M7 g( i2 w' B% dand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is% m5 R" X2 L/ v% h+ X3 ] harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are ' c {( H7 x/ F- n% k1 l7 `descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and 1 \0 H; e$ U5 f2 U4 K% k0 V9 H7 pforms of culture emerged in hutong.

I& P: G; a9 S/ \7 F, X) _ was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great: \4 a' `" ?3 s- m8 | impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,1 H, \0 t( d5 t' T and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong9 ?$ e! L, n, Q! h has a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment, S+ b; e( q4 f# p. U w w of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that ( r. @, d: ^+ |' Y) k6 n% Lno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are5 ^$ ?% ^, [: t0 T) p: @4 V only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a 3 L ]& Y8 G% b" W' ksort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government ) X$ X) l9 y9 Qwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move . e4 E. }" s3 kto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is/ S% ]# i6 Y" b7 X4 s( O "modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,. X) t5 O# A* T: L; K& H9 q this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are + P9 X) F" ^/ N, k# `$ T" Bstill 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 {- r, N$ N$ \' A8 q "progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make4 g9 H$ o) y i3 D4 I: t& U3 e! @0 j G money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was/ K3 k$ b; S9 O a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a ; ^+ G( F& J+ G' Wparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across . P. U6 D2 C7 C7 q3 h _9 Lthe 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$ V$ v% R, |0 A$ k* x' s importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for% v; M8 r, C7 Z$ u* s* A development.

Hutongs, a% J; U+ W8 y0 C, S* q in the old days were residential area where people actually lived! Y; F% n1 D; B there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions 8 A0 a" a+ d) L$ Q! o7 v/ ~, Sin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not " y6 n1 o( {* n Khave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you " }4 O8 q7 K3 V# Wwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.- j; S3 h9 U- x* b5 i0 f Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date 3 j* F1 V2 D: V) N6 b$ ^to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used 6 ]1 p6 s& {7 @to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses6 v% i0 a6 f' b/ c1 B6 @ support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically 2 p2 [* \; _; k8 X0 xunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to; {% H8 o# p% S# \ z+ d. }+ g" h7 | live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,7 n7 W0 o6 ^4 h/ `& P w+ t hutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the 5 X3 j0 M, m/ _balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the 3 M/ @) k! L: T$ Hproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be % Z; l0 @6 k& Zrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong # P7 z: P( {- W6 C# Y5 W+ XMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how, e8 h, u" q' f Q/ V G" ^ people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be - {) w# L$ o% f/ L7 X$ ntorn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished7 _; e5 h l) y; f9 `7 K memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".1 n" }; I9 K6 U2 D* o0 S Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are1 }$ {. m' k, s( |: j aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially- Y2 ^7 E% r' B x8 _4 f non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image ! o, J/ p# \* a# xof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these$ E/ }% A( i2 X2 d7 u4 t3 V Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those 6 U3 _% ^6 a9 A3 K- O% Ipeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they$ L) W. H- m5 |' ` may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some 6 i) x" W" N6 Z! cof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before/ {- P' v; K- \ "modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all 3 o. o( y* w' f/ k" T! H( t+ Tpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise # |3 ]# ?1 \: n( R. h9 U, ?apartments are the way to go? No. / }2 L; z: t$ a ; q# R- A: t# j4 t+ h 8 s: s" i& n% B6 h

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the " K: x+ [, v5 k* C4 D' p+ u% Gsituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this }0 T/ _/ @# Q; U+ g 'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make( w8 w# D, S. ?# c: o6 }+ o no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so+ l2 [% ^. m& t3 f' U fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant* h+ U" y# }2 S' k X0 Z C resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless * I. h3 z: {" }; [" }0 \- Q+ aBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is ( p5 B9 q$ U" l& d9 a5 C( U ]unlikely 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!!
您需要登录后才可以回帖 登录 | 注册老北京网

本版积分规则

2000.11.1,老北京网自创办之日起,已经运行了 | 老北京网

GMT+8, 2026-2-3 03:36 , Processed in 0.121102 second(s), 17 queries .

道义 良知 责任 担当

CopyRight © 2000-2022 oldbeijing Inc. All Rights Reserved.

返回顶部