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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& U3 Q+ `7 I4 b" y2 m
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider! D, a' W( R! B, W5 H
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
- c, @ S3 u, d- r7 Bcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.( R1 a& J7 a& ?' M2 Q$ q* f8 [% D' q
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
5 {- K/ h& F/ S$ `5 l3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
( B# S! a* E; lManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
: [' V1 c0 I- y* b% i* L6 Rhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among) M! ?0 U F2 b" H8 u7 r$ X/ W
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera5 M8 x# q8 r A; k+ w
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
, H9 a" U2 w9 \/ B, F- Hharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
3 m$ _. `& T0 r+ ?$ H, b2 N+ r4 pdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and" x% I4 l. N+ |: \+ u- \& O
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
. H$ U% z9 m0 ]$ }was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
6 X2 z w$ C. W" N+ o' q4 N: K' V6 c ^impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,/ c1 y/ l" w: [6 O5 I) k, V. _" e
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong) c( N1 R8 Z0 h- ~$ y( [+ D4 p
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
! \! a. P b0 J' o. [# Q9 `* M- \of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
9 j1 f/ ^; w8 x2 Z$ Wno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
6 m7 f H. i1 R. ~* D: Honly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a, L: s# v& F- N( M* n% ^8 L% [
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government& i$ j4 A x5 r3 X' d% z) s
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
, A% X7 H- c* L# @/ Z" k D8 rto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is8 k& B i+ i) y5 K) d% Y* I
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
# {. B; u% c6 ~1 K& I% k/ m uthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are9 Y z' z+ ^) g) i
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' Q. ~: |- \! O' j
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
/ d# L- p7 l' `" U* Y8 Imoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
- n" s' x, g- Y( L% Ka beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a0 \- z' p$ R+ |1 x) G T, J$ I- n
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across8 |& U& L: q4 d0 L. f
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
/ @* k4 T% m; S. H3 i- E3 f' mimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for; t1 F7 Q& F) \, s- x
development.
Hutongs
+ F/ \$ S1 D" N$ m8 k8 X1 Din the old days were residential area where people actually lived
4 U8 ]/ G' g( z4 A6 ?there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
) M2 e; u" Z) m2 y4 E* }) Ein hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not2 g* A( U2 n. Y0 K6 l8 w
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you- b$ n7 |/ U0 [1 k8 E- Y0 z
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
6 n& ]1 q! K+ t2 P8 i3 ^( s! JFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
5 ~8 r2 u' F9 q0 z/ ]to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used$ g# _ ?/ z3 {5 J) v0 R& b# @2 `
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
2 Y; G' z2 h) w$ Lsupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically! k% f" c" Q: T9 a) a2 G' W4 X
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to( s; f; R+ J) |; ^. v7 M
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,1 W. F/ G- z, m- ^: Y6 F& K
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
/ D" B0 F& I$ S9 }" ^balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
6 F0 Z# M. {9 ^0 f1 \: y" n0 {4 Iproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
8 i }+ U% X% s3 n( t. `1 ]renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
6 ~; [2 |6 F. I$ y& K% T$ ^Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
, H0 U1 w6 Q! _6 jpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be5 |" x. t; x+ C, Y' D" n, _
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
3 n) C- _9 t4 e! Y1 z. y" Ememories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".; z4 N/ s3 w. V" R
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are& D% O1 G8 r% e: \+ ^, a
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially N9 f" y$ q! s0 D" R6 E: X# W* g
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image5 T" A! i2 n. a3 C
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these: Z. I' r: _( M3 n
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those4 G) h9 Z- C* l/ J# y" E+ D
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they* ]+ \3 G5 z$ y
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
; p9 g. }- T' X& G$ x; b% Eof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before" ?: w/ _5 i2 ^6 y
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all2 m! o1 y* u3 B% [" H9 e
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
7 O% a0 E% H6 j$ u8 G) Rapartments are the way to go? No.
, e+ w1 Z, l! U! g " K# R$ H& m# o. N
( x) u# j0 j3 o) K/ u. U
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the6 [4 U2 @; P Z: K
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
9 |" S( T$ O6 _) N4 I! \( {'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make" o: a% b3 U3 j7 ^& A7 a
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so y8 y" z; {! r& i- O- p
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
. N3 g" ^- e2 |" v& C1 Z' {- Z* jresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
9 X# X. R. L4 m/ k! K w; H' S2 BBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is$ X2 H; ~( d8 C U) P0 W! G: v
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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