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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: a" N2 x7 S8 e: E; r
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
4 o( [: Y. Q) G8 U: l) a# ABeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian" r6 ^) b+ ~6 D6 A+ N1 k, E5 j
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.1 G: C" r' x" U( k
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,2 K: v& T- B3 r/ V" A
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of9 o% w$ C- u' ?- Z1 ^* i
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
8 P- i" F; X" V4 mhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
( u9 O: E0 f% F! U5 G$ B& f7 N% Teach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera) E- Q+ j) T- b- c- V2 r' O1 z
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is5 e/ P; E' k# F* b$ a% _# Y, g/ t4 Q
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
& w7 l3 w0 W2 w1 b) F' E# ?$ [descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and! J$ }2 w" p; e }/ s
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
' k& V; @5 w1 nwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
' R3 _; l+ V$ T8 ?" Uimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
8 \8 [) e/ F! r# F5 v0 Yand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
# c) ]7 x9 K) n& c6 w5 J7 |; s( Chas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment k* s% K6 [2 _- U/ A
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that! x- i- i9 ]& F) k
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are- m B* h% @8 I) v
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a" r/ n: Z) W6 b. d
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
6 j& X9 O( Q/ ^& S' a* C5 r; |want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
/ \" Y. |9 d' [- ~to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
( Y) ]6 \- M7 W) m9 h8 U+ s"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,5 `6 Q, R j3 l
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are/ E8 s4 b1 t; u1 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
9 D j0 L% X0 f* G6 A, x O) U" k"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
* q% G; w m6 i" e0 dmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
6 e& N6 z& I: P5 c6 La beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
. y. R3 t7 ^7 \ V; oparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across7 V1 }$ N9 f3 b
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
1 j- c- g6 ?( ]" W3 qimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for$ a' u7 H% \8 _% j: ^3 ?* D
development.
Hutongs
3 ^$ E( O X! l9 win the old days were residential area where people actually lived& y% U% ~8 r1 k
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
% \" j$ q( t) _0 u6 D& Q win hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not$ |5 A0 }1 d3 X) p
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
* n0 q( t( U7 K2 @4 L' ~will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
1 c! N i: y9 `; q1 l: jFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date& B) ~$ P, z- X( o
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
& }* d% |# ^+ D- K- N5 vto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
$ d$ k) Q6 I: V" i! p y/ @7 J+ ksupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically! b; m5 Q: O$ p& U8 j
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
2 T+ M, W3 \5 g' Tlive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
1 L; R" n/ Q6 K' V; @. k( Rhutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
* @# c3 [( v% V. @* H2 @( @balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the1 ]+ K- J/ I% p `3 p$ h. i' w
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be* a$ W q9 a' ?' \9 { M& u/ g1 \
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong, C; m- Z& t2 r6 S# I9 k
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
6 d( c5 l+ Z, f) d7 H# y. fpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be3 ]1 D1 U% v8 H
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished+ q* g3 W; t- ]# A3 w& ?
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
; ^3 {! Z" `, I; W0 JNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
/ |. j! |2 e& Raligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
2 F* q# B" r! T, h h$ Jnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image( l4 O% N, E) |8 J2 w3 z. b. p: J/ i
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
1 |7 Q4 J5 |1 j/ o1 D; XHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those/ h7 E" m! C) r) R
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
! ~* A3 d5 d. F' [/ [! bmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
4 |9 F4 d C. j( x) zof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before1 o3 h! ?! h7 O* [, s% y
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
`. U; v& \4 qpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
; Z0 I. t3 d) m! q# B9 @0 I9 }apartments are the way to go? No.) u+ c o% f& g: L+ ?( }) L4 r
- u- H" a1 _" Z& q) j
' k7 I1 O! ?- o
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the y4 Y! m4 G1 l, T
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
' j: Y1 U: c0 w W'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make# q8 k$ p" ?2 |( f$ n
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
$ ] \, z3 |. ~/ Ffast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
; O0 c( ?# l p/ Z) Xresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
) H- I$ w1 X0 [) c& [Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is* `5 Q' Y) x, U( }6 {. |& w
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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