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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+ ?: y c& Z% c2 S2 K/ u
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
( y L+ _) N1 Q& xBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"# a. D( y6 b# o5 b( d& i
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.4 v5 Z0 G3 j) l6 q; N4 C$ p$ x
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
) Y" L; C: _- M; w1 k3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of/ T+ t5 M- w5 C$ {' D$ N
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
# s5 [0 R9 e8 M& s# j) J g/ o+ b: ^hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among) T; N0 I& B) C( W
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
+ K! }% J0 j2 Aand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
. H; a# ^" b6 h" e! h& `harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
6 }$ }4 T5 I2 U: F, @! Sdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
! s, k% I8 P/ Vforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
3 P# ?0 B, w/ g; [# j8 |, Lwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great' E8 ], h" D/ c$ T' e
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished," C7 z) r9 c! B9 o! @% R" q7 c6 t l( D2 \
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong. F2 ~4 v1 f. {: g# B
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment- R, d4 G/ _7 s1 t
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
$ q+ T7 F& B" A3 dno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are5 g E- t4 {3 u. [
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a- A6 ~: m0 B- o$ y6 `; [
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government) |4 E, h. _2 @& U! D* ^
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move n6 L A4 k7 F% o# E ], U1 U
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
2 V2 b: p5 J/ t, @/ u: }) G"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
) o# z) W$ a9 Cthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are, M! P" F5 [1 ]0 A+ y/ M
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 J9 d# f5 H( q4 T+ O" U"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make P. A+ F: E. K0 c I; ^3 O
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was5 M4 L9 K' z7 U1 o) M
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a' b( O# z; A: t( m
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
5 |1 Z6 w9 z3 Mthe 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
0 i- @! H6 I) f, D* p& l3 l( ]( mimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
9 V" S1 o" G% x$ S3 `' G7 C Ldevelopment.
Hutongs c) T3 t o. A" }- ^
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived& I- k1 d k+ H6 ]/ E" P
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions- ]5 }/ ?. f$ ?2 \$ a. ]9 R7 S
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not2 B3 e! S G. N7 M1 |3 z
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you# f+ n1 h! P# ^' p* Z
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.% D9 _6 Z% c! R8 z* ?0 S
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date) f% o+ x8 W$ C+ q
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used% Z- f/ _* ?1 Q I3 m
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses! C! e$ k! ^ c/ Y* ~( F
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically# Q3 F* {3 ~- }6 @/ K: o! S
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to$ L; g5 B- G( f! l7 t' S
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,' Y9 L, f6 L. I2 j' c
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
, k& j$ r* C3 g* u3 abalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the8 z8 `; q0 r X C
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
8 r. l- P+ t5 m% j/ orenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
( q) Z4 T& O- OMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how; A# {, J w" Q, x# f3 ?) K/ O
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be( }% c+ M s' P7 f _ p
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
4 n7 U+ [1 Q5 o5 J$ O+ e7 Nmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".1 v1 h @6 M @4 i
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
6 O7 _- ~: r$ L: Oaligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
% {: r& H6 y! j& p6 I9 u0 o( ^! _non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image) P- @3 b, U N5 u5 z
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these! [( [; ~( |% H. p/ b
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those. Y% }7 N& v' E7 p- Y+ |
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
- _5 I) U( Z; Ymay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some6 u# A$ R! P/ J: t- T$ b) A
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before2 |- O }( T2 ]' E4 m
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
8 ]$ o" a; J) D3 _& I5 npeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise/ t; N8 m+ H; K4 V) H/ r
apartments are the way to go? No.
8 L0 M- e# C1 ^2 K0 z9 k 7 E8 w) @! u# F" S) a6 u' e
o' `* o! [! Y6 T/ _2 S
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the7 k- w, \2 l5 {+ Q3 K4 [) v- g: w0 d* S I
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this8 ]' O5 B5 y5 V+ }* e" I' h
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make" e1 E5 w% V0 v6 u9 w
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
1 y; h# B4 ^# ~- zfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
: p7 V i4 h& M4 q5 |resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
8 S2 ]- c- p7 ?% X; bBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
1 `1 w6 F) Z2 s$ u; [unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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