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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
5 g3 D1 @# g- j l \! b" zarchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
7 x/ k$ [' a$ Q! ^6 zBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"5 x4 L* p; P8 N* l- h3 R- X% `0 p
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
p! p9 k/ m3 P0 F2 V' X- ^# PAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
- s8 C& g; a6 P/ A3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
; n; _% l# H( _5 lManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within* i) Q Z6 `/ t d. g& S0 |
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among0 S$ m# n h& i8 h6 ]- _& J
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera& z B5 Q, A" w+ O9 f* B2 E' c
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
* V+ ]8 z" s5 J" k Eharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are* |# ?& e- k6 I* x8 K* V% r! b& b
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and. {' ]$ v5 @3 `0 [. S
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I, \4 b0 Z. v) O) _2 w+ d
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great# ?3 l" \7 p7 D* @+ E" d
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,( t# r7 }5 d1 l3 R g) I
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong2 I l3 X. j& t# j
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
1 v( t2 P3 D7 |of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that* d1 Z1 x+ W/ @) d f
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
$ N/ a' ?2 _$ }0 z; fonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a& p5 U% R4 k; _/ ~! v8 }
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
8 k' c6 T' n" y7 M+ iwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move1 k+ s( T+ o# G" t
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is6 [# A Y4 y# [2 p( h4 c8 n
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
1 n5 E% t* y# Nthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are' D% s6 O% P, ]
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# e" k; P5 F1 R) r' X: f; K4 m
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make$ u% ?/ [( H. b% U; T7 v4 h }
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was8 ?5 G" W7 @, A9 G1 \: w% b6 j
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a, K- O0 g7 _% C8 \- ]/ i3 c
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
; V( u4 ]8 T/ Cthe 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- z9 k% u' ? z2 Q l
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for0 N: f Q, x5 i! }+ _
development.
Hutongs5 I. `$ f- a! r5 x7 [- W1 {
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived" E9 }. w4 r6 z- r: o
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
- Z S. }% ~! e# D7 `in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
& Y" I- M, `. z2 H9 v9 V4 A" dhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you* i |9 d- K% `5 u( m% z" u6 a! K% J
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.% @7 s* u% W" T, @, \5 j0 X6 @
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date% m# X( a0 n5 h, b
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
g C6 m& ]' D' }to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses- j) i2 m, e7 B/ e" p
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
1 f- b3 o D5 s W. xunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to1 W1 L2 f' M- X, ?; \
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
) ]1 f) f, ]# F6 whutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the0 z8 y6 t. C4 a
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the; \- ~3 |8 F e9 K% _" A
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
# {' b+ }: H& ]: F0 N3 m, `renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
. M. w- X. D" w7 r3 p- BMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how" X l! i" O- L4 r* @
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be. S7 A% X. }0 |
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished* a' w1 r0 s3 \, s! b+ Z* R
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
* f) X* b9 _4 E* F6 ?# H* _% b, XNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
7 I2 x: [$ E* y0 galigned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially9 p$ `+ r, t. |/ B. }& T% [- M3 b
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
s, o/ E" B4 j* Xof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these/ @3 `2 ?" F6 r) O( Z7 t
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those* t) ]8 T6 }+ V- q3 F w% M8 O
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they p9 C4 s' K7 i4 y4 u. B
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some: A. d! r5 W1 U' K5 B3 n; |; U
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
8 ~9 ]" y: f2 X! }"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all, q3 ~9 q, G* R y/ U3 C" s
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise8 H+ L! R7 _& @. a
apartments are the way to go? No.
& m K V+ _8 h; Q$ E. c* y" f ' G1 v- B& T/ W! l1 n. m: S
" h/ P$ E8 x( }* K. T* L+ ]; v+ X
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the( \/ _8 V2 N6 }& f: m: k+ c3 ^
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
, X" ~$ e; V; l# q! C7 E! U$ y8 }'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make' t, f# w# ~3 {' b1 ~% J8 z( V
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
, _& s8 x6 e' r" T9 Vfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
( M; {* F; F# V$ H5 d# ?resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
- I' [2 {3 J7 x" O( d0 ?+ V+ n# qBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is# `3 _4 N+ `4 j; g' D' D/ ?# Z" r* p9 {& b
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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