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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
; t' ^+ W! K$ e1 c" F& larchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider0 |+ {! W) v. g+ }- x
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
7 O4 M1 j: `, w* u6 n* M. Bcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.! c( F4 k6 H, c g
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
5 g0 f4 _; b/ {, f8 X3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of0 q R; e1 Y9 x& y3 g
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
8 \/ f# t$ Y! s; L& I7 E& R' yhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among4 l* [! `7 ?) U) z% _! ]6 d
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera2 C: J8 z9 j3 |, J
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is$ b- v+ y2 E; n. y
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
$ {; i; z1 ?% l& j; c& {' o9 Udescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
, v ~5 H ?$ g2 y( \forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I* m2 h, H! ]* ]8 L7 t
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
+ w `* t3 R Eimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
- h# M3 U4 h# U5 s( U- ?and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong) ]! u1 ^6 G: M# s& J1 n7 u
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment. X- j; s, H0 `; U
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that, D, @5 j8 }6 N. @" q `2 v' |
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are \8 L7 A: O) b {4 Q$ m4 p ^
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
0 k2 N3 i! @, a6 T: d: e6 X+ fsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government- y) K' @' O/ w' x
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
( A6 Z R: \0 ~7 v/ Vto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
2 s( J$ H' L7 x! q"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
( C' t- ?6 c0 l+ y6 q! h- w8 ?this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are' j/ H8 s8 L5 ]$ [
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
/ t3 L% ?( Y3 ?6 ?: ]" Z/ n4 a"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
1 T. ^. g) g' e( y& o1 _0 ymoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
9 _* {6 ^) v! D- fa beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
0 H' \1 v/ V! L8 n6 z" ] Fparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
5 B3 w3 E- E) [8 b0 k0 Wthe 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
c" Y* g o: U S/ bimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
+ X$ F5 V; V) \, z1 T+ y. ?development.
Hutongs) {1 x+ @% r N6 _& q4 M% `. E
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived7 c* l& ^2 Q" j# r% M
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
) S' S _" }' i1 t3 o+ `, @% @in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
; G. @; l) ?( j7 O, Chave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you7 j5 a5 w3 T' d' _
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
" z( n1 ?; I. H4 |Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
) v& M+ p$ C; Pto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
1 n" O% A. j; I) b( Kto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
: e% u0 l, K( y- \* w& z$ V# Usupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
_- z3 S- u) u" Y" k0 Y6 n9 Eunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to( i6 r# Z" D& O' X1 k6 K2 _
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
& [3 j) L: R$ C' R* v/ Qhutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the V8 l& Y' u( C$ F1 ~' n9 {
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the0 w5 O$ q3 F$ o5 @: } f2 _' @
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
1 S% R' c( F i0 S1 Grenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong: \+ I. d# X0 s! u! L M# M
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
( z9 g0 X) c; V' E9 ppeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
; k/ M9 \0 E0 z1 G& ?. X$ ]torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished0 d) e% {2 ]5 q5 I4 W* {1 }5 u
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".; R0 V5 Y' [) `. R4 d2 e7 x( B; O
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are7 h3 Y% E F, |
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
+ Q2 x# u5 s* {0 t9 Cnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
! q4 |2 g, r4 X6 H% b8 Kof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
' t8 V' Q, m" M; tHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
+ X) x2 d# c5 W; w/ u! Y; z+ S' ^% t( ypeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they4 ~) O+ |8 l1 \* y/ h) a
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some1 O+ X' T9 \+ A) Z/ x$ L @+ l
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before- y; t2 Q4 y( F/ x0 ~- ^) s
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all% E+ m/ R" @; F, ^
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
% E5 `6 g& o# T3 C) r# m& I; Papartments are the way to go? No.& _6 f# t1 h0 o2 W; K9 }! \
9 o5 ~) r' g# ]- x4 G8 s" t9 L
F/ D1 C# e% L$ V
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
/ [% r! X, o8 @& g/ V& N. |situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
) O! v- ], O; ?5 L'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
& T- K* i# n7 ?9 [& Y& H: vno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
* D# k" s* r$ v- Kfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant8 a2 R) O/ @. {; }/ T
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless+ I1 ~: R7 x: v& h
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is2 |, d5 _) n* q2 e% P- x
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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