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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
6 ~ \# ?- Q* y% T7 m/ O6 u! warchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
: ~: I- K6 F+ }Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
0 K) ^% E1 R( v: A: u' [- A8 Rcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.& I) C k9 {$ X9 b5 L1 ?( y
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,+ b3 o6 D/ T7 g- r$ M
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of z! T$ t) j* q
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within+ a- u$ h1 e3 S) P" W, j
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
$ J9 g# x" D9 C/ V: I- veach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
' Z1 u7 I) `! Y( x+ V/ M( Vand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is" t6 B: j) n) F1 }
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are d& O0 b# e* ]& O) w$ z( d4 Y& m
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and! H$ ` \) v/ a" }6 X
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I2 r) I# y& ~9 y& t( `6 D9 O
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
- Y) U& k1 W$ Vimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished," R5 ]1 v' x) n
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
$ | Z7 @+ O& E5 Whas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
9 f! m, r& ]) p) a- fof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
. d; j" S* F, `- p( nno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are& O$ ]' p$ K' z
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
) e2 R( g; W: T3 p- ~. Wsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
) i( {# V4 a0 m# ?want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
9 o" h1 i+ W% |3 j4 j5 cto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is- \, ^( } ~+ ]2 m" j
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
5 e8 n+ v- l( U# ^; @7 _1 R- G6 \5 T9 gthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
+ @. C3 r* d0 L/ zstill 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 to8 E( R# J$ P* c0 E' f* m
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
% [) d/ ^7 u8 z8 W& V- T0 \, O: Bmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
) N0 X$ r( [4 H+ _/ K$ ?a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
' |* `% A( R7 ~5 Qparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across* d1 N! d/ `# N6 L
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 cultural4 l6 Y7 c, w$ w6 |- z4 t
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for" n9 G m* g! u) q) x: t, C
development.
Hutongs! [# \1 N j1 G+ K2 v7 \
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
0 l8 j* e3 n; U$ k$ y1 K* X2 qthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions7 T& O1 s; w% J e
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not+ |: ^) A/ q8 G) F# p1 s& g. Z
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
& {/ E: s4 |( B2 h: Z* Xwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
% k/ m2 x; {) D: ~ W/ {. JFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
- ~1 O! L: @; A+ w" Fto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
% M) U$ }" u. H0 A3 Bto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
7 M/ b4 ]7 G$ M' z: ? esupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically6 B, R6 [: t- B' S3 _
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to+ ?* K1 u O! w7 Y' G+ f2 G
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,0 ]9 J: \: B' F' z+ C
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the' p, @- D& \( U! J0 T
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
. Z1 ]. L z8 q o$ c" Wproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be' n5 q5 _. f* d( a( I5 r# A o
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
4 F6 V" R* t9 TMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
) ^& y( @$ i7 N* P% z. P( F( upeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be+ r( T1 \- k% w" u2 k" p% K
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished4 z ~* Y, B: ^! x7 G
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".& }8 e7 D. Y& y& B4 x3 H/ u
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are. @3 W& W) B# u$ H" Z7 w' s7 t3 S
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
- M8 G# f# T# E: `" qnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image6 p* D V" l; `8 Q" J7 Y0 E
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
, i% l, q1 f7 hHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those* Q8 V9 T' N, j2 v8 U) M
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
* [6 X( ]* K" P6 z1 emay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
1 M8 K- O; K% jof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before+ E& g; e7 X) V. ?
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
* U& N5 }$ F) n$ h7 I8 \" t2 zpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise9 C9 C- g! s( D' z8 t
apartments are the way to go? No.) [4 D$ _4 C! u m5 \ V6 C
8 h8 z$ X6 H0 q0 \ . N! G* @) O5 `
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
" z: o; R2 J! E8 {& b3 Z7 L: o" ^situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this$ }( s+ {/ v! u X
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
# V/ V: t$ \3 Q8 x, F- ~no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
\. t( Y5 M8 H( W: Qfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
" W/ o% f7 T% h6 kresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
1 a5 \8 u7 K4 b4 u' y$ p* kBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is1 j- B% L; n' I+ ]* J( {- o
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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