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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* p( r. F- }. o+ p! `: R# n
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider, c" P; D5 }$ Y& t9 C7 t* a B
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"& D! F) |8 ~- b5 d/ J% A
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.8 G% v: D8 o% Q3 M/ i& e3 L
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,1 ^, _$ t. [3 L- S: [0 }( p% f
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
+ e- b/ v. j# nManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within0 D) G8 X2 [$ x+ C
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among; s: @& F: Z: i) P3 m/ O( y. [
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
! @# V: T! l8 B& h% v% ~! ]2 Kand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
" ^8 Q6 `0 C# S+ j: l1 j, b4 oharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are t# o5 R- N9 a; W/ f
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and. L9 X* Y# v* z8 Z
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
8 I% l0 b2 U0 pwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great2 M" a8 [* }9 l
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,- t$ e! W* G2 {" A& [
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong; O4 K9 s4 U! D) P- O1 M4 y. ]2 U
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
7 X7 @5 N4 ?* u+ H& Aof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
1 w7 Z8 h/ y% s g) ano hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
+ e) |7 C3 {: ?only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a2 c2 M" v& T. M1 [0 L1 S+ b
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government" j7 |% t* f1 a
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
- ~: `' C1 k! q1 r$ w# Cto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
4 Z. Y' d9 O$ s, X( D; i" n& ~"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
- S1 k$ T8 B6 g" E3 Q0 xthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
( I' V' i; m" j* `/ D$ o. Y; Xstill 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
5 M& u4 m _1 W k8 \"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
8 z1 B5 L" _8 }9 z+ p- cmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
7 s( X0 Z7 C+ ]4 |a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a& e. k3 t2 @5 q& N/ r
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across; g0 l$ v9 B/ ^* }- h$ F; v7 I
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
! ]& a4 N" Z( S3 a/ o/ bimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for( A' [5 d5 m' n" S. q
development.
Hutongs' E+ w" v7 ?4 K2 L1 w8 o; _
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
+ N. d* g& k0 \4 k% S4 G& z/ fthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions r5 m0 D7 W4 }; `9 H2 Z/ d
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
! |% v9 p/ c4 L, x% i1 Y( j: Qhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
% X- |& F# r b5 n" a4 _will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
) H; O# H: Y. C! ZFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
! n1 H8 s8 N% p' ?& lto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
- t4 ]3 u) Q4 |to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses( s/ E6 P% u: \; R/ S# x6 C" A: ]
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
% _0 n* {& t7 \5 Z' y6 ~6 punfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
; D/ A, F, `9 @ `: R9 j, Alive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
4 j) z3 j6 l& ^( J, Y0 Dhutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the, M" p; O+ F. d2 H+ d
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the6 d- k- \" ]7 O% y: [
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
U8 @. J6 [ X- Brenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
2 K% W* m* Q' J; Y5 K/ YMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how } h9 p/ A8 b& J
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
) C' C( k9 Y+ u# h9 s+ Ptorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished( b! [1 E1 I+ K$ P
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
$ E* s* E" S5 e e: ?) o3 o& T1 bNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are( L/ A+ \) @9 ~
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
9 x8 k4 V+ b! m5 xnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image. a" @' w, O6 X; p" r/ S( E5 r+ T
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these% o. h! J% k! E8 M1 R! Z
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those9 x: P+ v% [8 z0 z4 l
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
3 ?4 \, y l7 T) v$ L" jmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
' m9 i5 d x! G, jof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
. \) g# \+ U" }: I Z* L"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all3 u7 f+ T& M6 U5 s: T' j
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise* ? O, t2 H& l! X& s4 F
apartments are the way to go? No.
' p [7 u3 g4 B
0 p8 S" X- S* i3 a, G& Z
) V% j+ c9 `0 Z* `
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the& v% t6 J+ j9 @& ?
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
( x$ I6 I7 h$ r. ` }, x'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make3 F; P1 o$ x a+ W8 I' D3 B! z5 d
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so5 `* p. a, Z- w- w6 Z
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant+ `( G& S. K4 ] o
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless/ J9 K# e5 n1 ~3 e! X8 o- r
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
5 m1 f& @$ w5 B# O8 J6 z* f6 gunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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