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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! X% r) b! H& q) h% [
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider/ s9 C: s- @, T+ p$ {% s. O
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
8 R8 `4 O( `! L# k# c* Mcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
3 s( [" g8 I" y8 r- mAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty," Z, M1 ]3 d: o6 n
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
- w5 B! M( ?7 L- h9 ~Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within @6 c. T- \( l4 i% L( @: n
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
2 P9 C3 m( j- u0 Y9 Deach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera, Y; M' s: M* S1 s% w
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
7 V D! q" y8 s5 b5 \: Hharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are1 o5 R' O3 [; g# T9 W
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
+ j: a7 e4 t+ q( ^ e6 z1 _forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
; p( `; H' ?! O% E( G5 C$ Swas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
4 i8 w4 @2 \2 L- ?: m, dimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
& Q9 L# q. i' Q# e& a" h. \" x7 tand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
9 T2 [! }7 _3 {4 V X o5 Dhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
# W9 u! d5 X/ L3 U5 Pof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
9 S" T6 m W o9 J* h- T* Eno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are. H) C1 M3 h: ~+ }/ L; \) I
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a! V8 Y. f* J8 c2 t4 n4 _/ d
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
8 g& F9 S# F5 Y, P9 D9 C( L0 u! ywant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move( X) P; C/ _6 Z5 I5 x4 \2 e( B
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
% {" n8 F( ?/ N& G. ["modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
- F, d* Q. s4 u5 V1 E( s/ _$ zthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
! T. H. C6 q2 I( j3 f# m" 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 to
' O2 v5 ?0 Q" D1 ]"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make4 ?, O/ [! }1 o4 k% S
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was: j1 O9 Z4 P5 ?
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a% `4 u7 w2 `6 F' U3 O! G# t5 \
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
1 o6 r6 q/ t: c. \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% z6 ?1 @9 Y8 @' m9 a
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
9 L' F( o' o4 w1 \* a1 F+ adevelopment.
Hutongs" P/ G! ]0 `3 ]* W1 k( }
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
! F" v& m# O+ V. l1 W" r0 Ythere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions0 O. v2 f) ]$ l/ R; d3 V
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
' B' ~: J, g( Y: H: g& @have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you! P5 T6 b3 H+ E* k
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.( P7 H( c2 {! t* h4 H9 l3 X4 O
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
2 I f) K3 f7 ~to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used# [5 T7 @( _1 e, l- W% H# V4 c2 x1 x# F! w
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses# ~3 u+ U% @; v" F2 K8 K& j
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
) J+ u5 j3 \+ U. qunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
" U: I8 u2 S, s$ ]# h( C. B, y- W9 l. Wlive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,# b& f6 u# J( _. j/ t) I) Y- p- Y# w
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the; f; T4 e! |6 S1 S# v# w4 j
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
; J" I; y: O+ f( u6 Zproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be; Y, X$ h: k1 w& K- { `6 |
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
, O! ]$ ~3 D% g1 kMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
1 v+ V8 o2 d# Ppeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be. [3 L- ^) u# S1 ?
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished/ e' }* q# G) O% T5 [
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".( I( Q7 b2 z% J# [5 G/ i
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are7 Q) A! n" }. w( S8 s5 b7 k
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
5 @6 f o8 m, `, K# f: X& knon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
3 ^# f3 x: y- Y' Nof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these5 A! k- \3 j$ P
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
1 C! K9 Q4 t( i e N' npeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
. _- d6 r& f9 v, ~! Y5 x- k! b# Umay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some, Z5 g/ H3 H6 X- B. _9 B
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
% p+ Q0 Z3 l2 h0 Y& q- ?* W"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
4 Y% |# L2 G2 ppeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
+ `: V$ T0 L4 P g8 Vapartments are the way to go? No.
3 x5 P0 U* n# L. N 2 \% V- p5 M7 Y% B% J- j5 \ U
% c, q: g/ W5 {: e2 [% t l
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
% s2 X; {/ ]! ~8 _! x" n1 s' `situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this) y7 ^2 _8 i9 C" m# E: Z
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
1 W( j) q5 [: @6 e1 q8 kno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
4 k9 D( A$ O( J. O6 Jfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant5 W. L8 @* u% J* d' A+ R" g5 G% D
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
- H u9 p- x' r0 p* H# d' aBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is0 E+ M9 ~! F) l, ]* w" o' i
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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