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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/ ?$ q# C0 X; U1 p' o! Y" x
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
' Z: k. N/ i- v8 M0 y) gBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
0 M9 b6 B* A2 s, }& A+ \3 Q8 Kcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.6 @$ }& b- n7 G7 Z% T: A# E E
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
. I) b( g. O% O, Y2 T$ l3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of X0 ^% U2 H4 b+ R6 t2 j
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within9 n5 n+ Q6 J9 Q& G5 a! z; I% R8 }! _8 g
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
, @2 ^: y4 O( P1 z3 e* Yeach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
9 {, S& w3 X. q6 ~9 G. j& }( Jand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is- y/ N7 _5 l/ M9 o' }
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
* d$ j4 v0 ~4 L' qdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and: Z# f/ P j+ w
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
! o. \2 M' d; d% B/ _was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great8 r# S+ S: y3 N' _. L# v8 t
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
" H) g a& S4 \" |- Uand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
! _, @. p: N- O4 F1 R$ {) D0 lhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment, s5 S# E. f- n% s0 N0 w
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
6 P/ d/ D+ f7 y( u) ?) m9 l3 Dno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are) \/ X" d' F+ b# Y j
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a8 l, q8 E) _8 F% M/ u
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government- S" Z. L$ g7 K, I1 v
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move. }8 `2 N2 d( R
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
7 A! A/ R% G! l9 W- h: z( d M0 W"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,: L: w) _ l! ?/ h$ Y- i5 E
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are/ F4 s% ]9 o( Z/ O3 b, ^* j
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
# W. o) o' f- H/ N9 ?" r"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
1 ^; u, G% O. r& e! k. C. imoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
& U3 J+ P- P( Ya beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a& z1 S! q G! n- v: b
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
( i( N0 T# ^0 `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 cultural0 k, k3 V3 r! Z: M# w$ Y C
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
/ N! H+ d3 Y/ }7 r3 V# Fdevelopment.
Hutongs
; Z2 L% V: p$ L( [in the old days were residential area where people actually lived& ]3 g2 t/ @+ b. u5 z
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
- Z1 U( Q! c( }1 ^; z" Nin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
" y2 s) f2 o1 o% L( zhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you& |, z; o! x3 P- K2 V5 G, V1 |
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.; c& E6 A# g1 u& C7 H
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
5 r5 U2 J5 l0 }- P6 ^to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used6 W# P6 {8 P5 V
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
2 d5 E9 j! f9 A' ~( b& Y& Ysupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
Q! d1 w# [/ h5 B4 P5 _unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to# n+ _* C8 e& w, S- g$ c% A
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,0 O: M7 }4 O0 R. F# d1 h+ l
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
: Q7 H! y9 V6 w4 i6 X7 Y/ z7 wbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
$ f$ @+ D% R6 R3 r2 B2 f2 v1 t y) X% sproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
! `3 J7 z$ Z" `) T( K6 [: Prenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
$ ?2 ]* ~9 l1 a2 J& qMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how. o" p0 v, N; y9 |6 G
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be2 N' r, U7 ~8 F. x# j; |/ z
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
! g, }" f# q) z. P8 _memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
( k7 w* E, o' F! I9 PNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
8 Y2 V6 s8 E) U+ |, O2 ?aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
. a/ K. f5 y" c, |6 B9 C; Bnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
8 p, d7 i& `# K. M( d% P% q9 kof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
- }! e3 j1 a! B( _- O8 M6 dHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those+ O4 x9 D( |- \7 B/ a; ?
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
1 @- q/ [" [' [$ F: w3 T) Dmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
" P! {- B, Q" c% Y6 P+ Lof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
* W$ S; w, N7 g1 i: p m"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all, v8 O4 S2 p5 @8 V7 [$ G
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
/ a2 ^- H0 w9 Vapartments are the way to go? No.
9 u# ]( a: ]( Z1 P# q
, x$ q- @* j+ v+ A3 \% h/ s
6 G0 G; x" G! m( c1 e' N
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the' C/ c1 f/ `. n+ V) z L
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
) M* T4 a* I+ n) ]/ a" n6 q'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
4 L7 i9 q* Y0 `/ Y6 j7 ~, Ono money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
! T5 m* m8 ]+ a. g* G1 `6 ^fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
( X* Z* q/ L& ^, W, _: | |resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless3 f# E+ V* E4 \. O% q. f
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
: ]/ ~) v+ l" x. wunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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