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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- I. {/ s/ u$ t4 ?+ F/ b
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider/ p o* L7 ?) u+ j# `
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
% K! T8 j3 Y" C! k' ucity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.9 Q* P/ ^$ J/ K: v Q' F6 d
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,6 {7 u6 h: h: q: N; F6 J: B# q% \7 Z, x
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of/ X& X( }, ~" Z+ Q7 @2 G
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within, K9 M& q, u- M0 K9 f8 {1 h
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
u6 H/ @, w. e1 K" X+ R9 leach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera, j( ]2 A( f1 u& V# R8 x
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is' H( n# @' [- p. J) I! {
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are" M5 J9 | x5 ?: t1 e* C
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
4 v x7 G1 \& A0 h8 Lforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I7 D, F9 }2 f8 R9 A1 [
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
$ ^! B* |' N+ c9 Q" g1 d. Mimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
+ H) i/ n; X/ D' H, _+ V/ gand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong: ]% X1 I( s+ H: B3 J/ ?/ }/ g7 [+ g( \
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
) W+ Y+ Y" E- q0 [/ E4 A S' s: Yof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
$ r+ ?0 V+ O% T2 t) b' z2 W: m7 T* nno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are6 U" d& G) Z# _
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a* q* p5 D' Z- A4 s# T9 M* Y2 u& i
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
/ B6 m& l1 \1 H# Ewant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move( E- e7 j/ \5 O$ H% D
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
; {6 P9 u6 s: z1 f* }/ ^"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,2 \6 x% ]: k. w ]7 V! \
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are* S* Z' N5 F5 V* U) n+ `
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
8 V+ B! |& z* }$ P( l+ Z% R' M0 p0 Y"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
7 ]" `0 l6 R* u3 b" a( Ymoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
+ `* U& s- P1 q9 J- D( ja beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
) o3 u9 @' p3 |. n: }. ]# Cparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
; e% x* [# R- S# Othe 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/ i9 { K) Z4 ~% ?
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
1 H& Q5 U0 K4 ~ ]( P- @1 E9 Kdevelopment.
Hutongs( e8 p- I, Z1 F( s, W
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
5 u8 u% j1 z& n9 }8 y8 f/ gthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions+ N2 O, [1 x2 f0 P
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
0 x% [8 d A3 r: g- f+ w, qhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
" v# @7 m/ v# L @( w% \# _will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.! s7 z# r( V+ H% C5 ]
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date% J, f. n9 K9 P$ ^
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used0 Q6 N1 ]6 _0 ]' N0 F
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses/ Q% x7 N* [9 N6 j9 M; I. e. l
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically) r1 X- @+ E5 v0 {/ `
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
1 m! a, |, S) t0 U6 [" Alive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,: j6 ]: u3 y9 b; W
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the- _8 G; v3 o7 P; T* P0 v1 m1 U3 k
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the4 _1 n A2 q1 ?0 M. S* q, X2 m
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be/ _$ R0 T( u6 b2 s; w* ~1 V
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong8 E" W) o9 \- H' R1 R6 W
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how& G! b3 P# i9 v* k
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
5 `2 L" ?. ^ |8 p1 R5 ftorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished/ M$ i _, ?, X
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".- O1 J0 B8 H; C: `
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are/ \ N# i5 }8 U# i
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially4 Y4 M) I J% ?" ~( l! P; E" m
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
9 T' P0 K# _, L3 s B) p4 n) v; Sof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these) F3 B2 Z7 K& B' V: w p& I5 Y% B
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those0 s1 B3 M5 D H, }8 _+ j
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
6 \: W: A# E" K$ emay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
, l. [1 z; u) e8 d2 I( Fof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before, B. Q# v& a z2 u/ J. s$ |& c& ~4 Y
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
* u6 G6 t @, h2 P; Fpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise' o; ?1 l% ~/ \, |# L, S
apartments are the way to go? No.
$ u9 `5 L% Y/ ~5 E5 n+ | " a% L" S2 ^0 q$ G: B: ?3 O |6 v
- |7 k) H, U5 ?0 Q& H& b* d
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the. N5 S- v6 @; V- Z1 P* D0 Z. q
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
! n9 f, W$ [8 P: o, m! u9 e6 b'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
/ d6 d {0 g: j2 X: N+ ]- Yno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
; b5 C# d% k4 M8 u& u/ mfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant& R% `$ D3 C4 k0 v0 D" \
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless' Y! U/ b+ `* h9 v0 [0 T
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is% [: Y" b; e- e" l# O) m0 e H
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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