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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, its2 e/ ]/ X! { Z/ ^3 e, [/ g0 b
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
$ r& S7 m; G, r2 \4 aBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
. k @% S' t- v- Z; Z( |: i( b7 bcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
P& W4 D) d5 x8 ?! E/ M& eAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,/ E5 K& P: A. B4 J9 [$ A' C g
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
$ e! I6 f0 E+ @; kManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within4 i. u) p/ N) {( k
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among7 U+ A% n( ?4 a: e( G( u, N
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
" i2 f; J# u }& W _% s; j% K0 _and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
8 v# F1 q2 q2 a4 {- ?harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are) I1 e0 N; m; e" ~; J: p
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and8 m5 Z u+ B) |# U6 m E
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
* T$ X" l9 w7 s! H: B- ]2 Mwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great' O$ i9 C( N6 v1 D, e7 x/ N/ G
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
$ y( s3 u0 X* w# y! dand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong1 y7 Y% g) n% n. [, }. A
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
9 e! c8 V8 ~. z W5 cof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that/ e" |0 c" a+ \1 `
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are' z! P" A8 ]' l0 H# j
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
+ B, ]2 q& M. Hsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government1 O( s+ n1 Q4 ]! k! z
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move+ R- C, T0 P( H2 b4 X
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
( F0 l: e9 B* O6 q0 J4 t/ z5 u"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
- R, P: c- S5 u$ \* {+ Nthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
5 x9 P; X1 h$ R5 Sstill 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
- f; b5 C5 X6 U' i2 k"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
. s# q# x7 u. L& Q7 }* n$ o) D/ umoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
: X& c- H, l0 F1 G; l/ Qa beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
" i7 s, @ H4 r! T" _; c; cparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across* l, v6 H3 A; }! h6 I" g
the 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
. i$ Y- c" ]7 A% a1 _importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
* |: p" {' r4 pdevelopment.
Hutongs
+ Z1 H5 J: W2 G- min the old days were residential area where people actually lived
! A+ B8 d. T* l {1 ethere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions0 |1 k1 g' F! F
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
% |! f# m5 y! T! c& I& ohave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you1 M4 U7 ]! n t! @+ K z
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.& \- v) a5 g# q
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
- {0 v6 A6 w* u6 w( ^* Rto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
5 j) h. j) X7 X% L( X0 R5 [to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
' R: H' d* v* ]. M5 A5 Ksupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically( Q/ H0 K% r$ p5 y1 t& N
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
9 R b0 _% m( {! E( M- dlive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,) U: [' A6 z7 E( j
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the8 k& f) v: I# _) f
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
8 i4 L8 ?+ G/ Z7 dproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
$ ^# o. Q3 L" v! R5 K8 vrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
$ g5 J; x2 I2 }Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how+ Y9 n. M0 o* C1 c, p4 O
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
: p0 s+ a! c0 s! K3 @) }/ k! L, Z& Htorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
8 w# d2 l' B0 B3 hmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".& l2 Z; @4 M# E( ~ M$ M C8 [
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
" g: n/ q& f+ q8 Saligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
/ Y6 a! l3 u' P6 `' M0 f2 \+ dnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
4 ~# v& [& q( t+ z7 a+ iof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
4 m; s8 X5 c$ u; h& @& B0 @/ xHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
) W* g5 n [+ n8 l) epeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
. X$ b7 ~* I& `$ e1 Z) t3 hmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some* V/ {7 ~: \4 R# Z+ ?1 Y
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
5 ?1 e& d( `( s. N* a8 F/ P"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all4 g1 [1 R$ |* Z! y
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
$ ]* \: i. z) b& R, W3 Aapartments are the way to go? No.( [2 d8 V6 ^- D
0 Q- U' I6 F. f) ~4 `% U8 S
; @9 I% O$ d: l# S, p9 A) U
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the, U2 s% i# T9 p( i [! {3 J
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this s+ @4 g! n- o
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
+ I+ L+ ^6 v& @2 h2 eno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so; z" m" G- H, l8 D
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
; b# {- [4 ?' G5 s j+ ^resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless2 e8 r0 N/ O! t: X7 L- `
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is+ f* q; I4 W1 Y* b
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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