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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, its4 q2 z4 ~( W9 D
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider' R( R+ w$ b+ S" I( t, t
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"6 [) D9 {6 ^2 m! f X% ~
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
; {8 z& |( @4 u* r- P; UAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
1 u3 c" f: Z& g0 f3 Y' F# j3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of* r" ~% @9 u- c- [0 y4 B
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within x: @" D# k; `2 a
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among/ Q3 ~( s, ?/ o) k/ W6 Q
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera+ d5 i d# F! Y3 I3 Y
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
/ D) R6 n8 t* f [harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
5 X, L" l) O! N$ c' i- E( Zdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
4 `4 j0 x' J+ P6 [. \1 ]forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
! b$ s* d+ B0 N+ y+ Q4 e0 w, S1 [9 mwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great4 s8 t- z* R7 X: N" Z
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
6 z5 x1 p" O2 F* c6 Land we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
' h$ g- a; n" _5 {( C! M5 T1 chas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
0 z, ]2 b" o2 xof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
, P9 | T* f* |6 P$ {) hno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
& x, G3 y n2 B$ F& Ronly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
, {9 c' E" B6 i4 B) ^2 dsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government( J+ v3 N# ?* P5 Q- ]5 o
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
- j1 f3 m/ i0 mto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
* N7 r& R/ O9 d1 ?3 D6 m4 v2 `"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
% l+ [6 I0 ^0 ~5 v$ @6 pthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are- F% c( s+ Z- ?: `) b
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
' w3 ?9 T3 a% b"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
+ f# E% S/ f; J$ o4 u/ B( Emoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
' h+ W7 H# t! t# O% Ia beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
8 e; n0 L+ x' Yparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
e+ Y6 N3 l9 p9 `: [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
; ^7 K+ C5 q) l8 R2 ~importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
! Y4 k$ N' I: R1 Z4 Ndevelopment.
Hutongs' o! H+ K4 ` L; P2 {2 A
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
6 v) @3 ?& C5 g! l$ ^8 N9 {0 Athere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
& ?9 J- E% S- d6 a# ?in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
) V6 \" u! o( v; r fhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
( U2 @% l& Y3 g' g# owill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
]; r- P- K! WFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date9 X+ V5 }6 {5 a" Q
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used1 @) e, B+ Y( a- y& c+ s+ z8 u6 d
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses7 u1 X( ]6 t) Z* J+ Y* y
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
* v3 h7 T) z# o4 Xunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to# i* k/ q l' S7 j8 G4 C/ P1 y5 R
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,1 p% s6 x( |* C2 \; e, |
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
* F' x H* p6 L* h4 I8 _balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the {7 n2 j% @! t! ]
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be1 `: u# i4 b+ y& ^8 D/ n" x1 @1 O
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
( |( i" s7 O+ I! s% G% LMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how5 |5 N G7 A; v4 ^
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
2 b9 e: E! v9 g' D; J& o. _torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
% p! `, {6 ~2 w4 E! n1 Z8 |& D9 ?memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
B8 ]& ]* S# x+ ^! H# \Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are! ]/ j* Y- A* t# X! I
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially8 ]: i1 ]2 a" l. {' H7 }# L" ^. F
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
4 l8 h1 r5 v. S+ k) x4 F4 xof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these1 O& T( Y3 v$ E4 H2 ^
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
8 J3 \0 p w, B! Dpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they* s; z8 U9 k+ E: n$ _& ]$ V- d9 U
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
& |, F1 @/ q4 y3 x4 k$ r' g! d$ ~of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before4 Y3 g/ S! p0 {9 G8 Z6 H/ p
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all; [, Y0 c; v( ?) Z4 |0 V; T
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
+ X8 |; Y; K+ c8 l0 N6 d- Papartments are the way to go? No.) V$ L( |! g' y7 r
( ]8 z! d: X5 W2 Q+ E' f
: r' X, d) C# c# S3 \
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the7 q# E$ N$ z8 B* n9 w7 }
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this' R; C9 f! u8 t4 L" g4 |
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make0 h7 Q& [1 Q% z' ~0 i4 b& T( @
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
# _& L% a5 q1 t6 z6 L1 [fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant# d# Z, D% A) y; `2 c5 I5 Q; N4 i1 I
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless4 K+ H6 C' w) a% ?7 G
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is4 S' ^, ]% ]# T) j9 [1 S
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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