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A Hutong Discussion

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发表于 2007-4-24 05:08:00 | 显示全部楼层 |阅读模式
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; ]4 P; N: d' e: J. i architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider/ T# V" J- M$ \ w& W. G6 i Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"+ _0 l$ m( t R4 @6 G6 T& m* H; s city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture. 4 G) y) R# M* s5 dAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,: H ?5 \2 V3 N* T9 K; u) F 3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of n* ?6 p( W8 x/ L- Z8 SManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within! z* b6 N+ o0 x$ A2 j3 V hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among % o. x, z/ H& z0 P: Feach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera8 y9 q5 V" D/ O- ] and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is4 A' v4 ? Y8 O+ M* e' ^ harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are& R( H* W Y, I4 D d descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and 2 [- S8 z% p7 G8 e8 D6 K) R' Z& L, jforms of culture emerged in hutong.

I ; M$ L; Y4 g3 ^was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great7 u, g G. W2 O/ ?4 P6 x$ N impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished, , h$ y* E7 _2 p$ cand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong, P% Y7 P9 G- _9 u has a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment* e/ w9 P* I3 a4 i N of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that : Q5 s/ g1 @( Z/ L( Z2 u8 mno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are . S! a T; R% v; Donly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a* X! d5 G! B. E) l3 O' q9 C sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government+ s" W: o# w; C: e want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move 0 I/ Q. S' I0 i8 ~6 T* p% Lto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is - a" O1 U8 x! y2 |+ A/ z6 _"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,3 _/ B4 t' O3 C+ P6 e a/ F this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are ; U+ Z; @* v( k" g+ g9 k. Wstill 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* u. `6 t, ?& v+ ] "progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make: |% @1 S5 E. _ M6 G( d' ~ money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was / r" d; u5 d& O: D' S2 ca beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a" y3 y$ g4 q' O* f+ D) ` parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across * @* z1 P2 M; J0 \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 E4 B) d, X3 D) i: f% X7 { importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for6 u& Q8 k1 O+ Z2 |3 ]# T development.

Hutongs+ G5 {! z o, {: m3 v' z" |( ^ in the old days were residential area where people actually lived; v6 f; p! \1 A there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions5 X+ {' X( ^4 R: ~$ \ in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not% j$ r0 j/ ~. T& C have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you7 {# n! ?# s, \' C V* c will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs., O6 H8 E3 p9 g Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date + ^+ F' w h+ u% y+ {8 Zto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used- ?( {) z. ?/ _/ J" K to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses 5 ]7 f" L# X( |support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically & V$ S* T5 O6 `unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to- [3 P1 ~2 H' _5 d' X4 J live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,! X2 t" `8 Z* N$ I5 m( M" N hutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the 7 a% b( d W! c& D: bbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the " s5 H! q/ t1 ^) B0 n/ e) |& Dproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be. o4 _% W" o" M renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong : ]6 F' m: ?, X5 L8 C; Q' nMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how+ w! p" ~. f6 K& ^0 E2 d2 } people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be ' j- s3 C( R( g B3 r' ?torn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished" F* a& w- ~$ ?) @ memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".1 s* D% T. ^: P' w: } Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are ) Q2 b6 q9 z \! w ?aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially# F5 [, ^/ L' z non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image$ @ a) o: b A of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these; E/ t J$ R( b Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those - T& m7 Y* r% _. I b: B5 W- ypeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they ' U! F$ o) f' r8 M/ Wmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some 8 G9 U. _* l: p yof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before" S, R2 l9 G4 M; O, J3 _ "modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all$ n7 P$ ]) o2 @* t people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise/ I% G- @7 R9 r* M) U% } apartments are the way to go? No.9 c) d5 C8 l1 C5 Q7 m2 q 8 U* s0 |$ i" J9 O* C+ q3 i; ~: k( b ) j5 u" Z) R* C6 u- q* |

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the2 e! d) j6 G& I- o5 N situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this + A! `4 B- ]% q8 e* Z; y' d'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make3 B8 Y4 y4 g$ Q& c1 N. U8 c% h8 d no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so& m" \; ~) q& v fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant 8 T- M9 E, {$ D- H5 lresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless ; \# ~+ n$ U' G6 A6 Q/ `" g yBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is. A$ |3 K5 X: t" N unlikely to happen too. Sad!
发表于 2007-5-22 20:37:00 | 显示全部楼层
Excuse me. May I use ur discussion in my dissertation about Beijing Conservation?
Thx a lot!!
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