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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
k' Z& P2 d0 ]+ }9 tarchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider7 G6 I$ X$ H8 n% X
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian" z9 Z1 f+ x& s! p0 M
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.8 J h0 q; m. t" o
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
; A0 [9 F. t3 P! P( T H) n6 g8 T3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
% R& h2 {. N1 C- w: OManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within. R) |5 T2 J1 _
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among4 K. P. G! r& d8 w* R& ?" I
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera$ r$ i# C1 ~( R9 E9 {( ]6 q
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is. @. W, e; f- F' V: v8 k
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
0 r6 b( {- L6 U9 `6 N$ G: Jdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
9 U* _3 _/ L6 ^$ R, ]$ X4 r; s; U# Nforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I& B; Z- E6 G6 ~3 a& z! P
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
# ~" p! ` E: e$ T: j) Gimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished, Y7 O4 q+ y" H
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong( T4 l- e. M. y X0 A3 Z& x5 D
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment) j# Z+ |* m# @) o) l
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
- G+ i/ C7 Y% s* lno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
6 c& q- B; i! o1 }& M- k* yonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a5 b8 h6 h! u% A& o2 W: R
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
5 D t- I5 c- e( t; @1 iwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
/ D$ L& g9 I& sto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is' a* x# a1 J7 s3 Z
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,' ]3 y& v. x5 W+ J, D+ _+ J! ^
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
6 p. R2 l6 s* ]1 ?) _ x5 ?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; y6 A8 c: Q5 r" S$ r+ r" S
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
+ Z, E9 Q# P1 o6 F8 L( Mmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was5 h1 e- `. z' K
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
7 I/ g, i0 o- Xparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
. |' ~$ E- P: {* qthe 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" K$ Y7 B. @0 x' g" H
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
4 \8 y# S) Q2 {3 q' @8 e9 X) ydevelopment.
Hutongs5 Y; z1 j9 B4 {- B/ q8 F" ]
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived0 i/ a2 \5 i. ?: U+ ~, x- i
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
2 q' I: ]- k9 j6 o7 O2 B/ f: Iin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not3 X7 R5 j: `: t9 k$ O" ]
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you. ?% w: x# n$ S3 U9 i
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.5 S& V8 J; S$ X4 {% y
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date, T" ]9 Z9 Y' K0 W
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used5 B7 l2 W8 O- J! E9 u
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
- B# _4 f9 d* v: Isupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically, I6 z, q& a1 ?/ s! ]4 N
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
- l+ L" l! {! |& Mlive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,6 u' H+ b+ {! D
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
" K' u; l5 ^$ Q5 n r/ {9 ^balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the% H c# f" q4 V8 q8 I0 |
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
! |1 n) H0 I1 ]6 q9 o" Yrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
( S3 K; j* P, ?- l! C' V: wMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how" q; W8 F& `7 R M9 [* C
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be0 m/ Q$ B: E& b' p9 r7 A
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
9 N6 R/ ]) }9 e$ Ememories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
1 z: b2 ]: r$ A& A$ S% H7 `: GNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
+ k; X6 ~. i: Saligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
^4 X: c- W2 h+ O ?) a& F; C9 anon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
$ I4 Q: F, C j p6 i; wof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these6 I: {5 g/ v2 i) l
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those, u- S3 L+ h; h$ ~) t/ K
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
. u/ u) T# r+ H1 b( ]may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
7 G( i' V! Q- S! A$ D* M# eof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before1 X$ B0 t' _5 o9 E+ O! E1 ^
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all3 H' x+ h- D! m% i6 N) g
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise L: d/ K. L: }: r9 x
apartments are the way to go? No.7 z( s& o& Z R, N" Y: ^- Z" ~
; a8 g# A+ S* [* L
/ U( H) S6 E4 V) L7 {
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the2 i M0 [( t ]. ~2 Z
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this8 S$ _6 Q7 ?. k6 i F( q3 D" D
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
. r1 X8 b4 C3 k4 Gno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
" M! w8 Y& B; a0 Y5 W2 y# q, u) F. w% rfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant9 q: t' z+ E1 n- Z
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
1 Z f( _" X2 z1 a O1 ]Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
; \ X* g. j3 T. Munlikely to happen too. Sad!
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