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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
9 V4 [+ D/ G% D( N4 H; c% ]architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
* z/ J; N$ \5 H" nBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
$ g+ H! z" Y+ x! n) {3 Z9 F1 K+ a3 jcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture." [" {# f. [4 _8 \% k, t5 D) H" b
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
) q3 W8 ]+ x' F+ p n; E! E! r3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
4 [& ^- ~6 n1 a& wManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
! X$ @4 N! w1 f& R! {& A3 n, ]9 _3 yhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among7 k3 h& Y9 d/ v" E3 G: r' v; c: r
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera- E) p. V$ Q S+ x0 ?( G8 F
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
# G2 u( a# o. b8 d8 c% A+ a5 pharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are R, C6 b; p9 V' V& X. b
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
. x& w' h& }; T3 bforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I% I3 C3 L9 d0 b/ `9 J' f: M+ \
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great9 q0 [$ L7 Z; l2 G1 N) Y& N" Y! R; v
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished," D D! H/ E. y0 ~" `, q" G
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong/ ~# s& T) u& I
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
" [7 D6 b2 g7 G- B G% `2 Uof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
% I$ v. D+ ^: |8 C% J, }no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
; N) a3 @7 x1 f& e1 s6 h4 ponly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a/ S* Q* M! {( a2 h! G5 a
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
9 J: K1 o: c8 R: ywant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
+ i. m) \, i2 [- \) Y, i' ~7 dto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is; E- f% |2 M8 l
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
3 a* |% L1 u$ w9 T3 athis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are3 J* n7 f( I: `" J! |! x
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% n- g5 `) w* K+ v- {0 ^, |
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make# j# p9 b" {7 ]$ a" n! [& Q
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
; |$ K2 p+ X# W3 x* `a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a# _3 x/ ]+ R3 Y% s! q8 W/ _7 S. x7 o
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
L- {$ L; F9 C- j6 s, vthe 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
# y5 |5 }$ f$ u L0 i1 V/ m: pimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for9 T. Q' c& k" E( C, `
development.
Hutongs# P* Z4 i8 t' A# z/ w
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
7 Y2 @5 u& d% c$ I5 j8 U7 Ythere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions0 s9 D; @) N0 Z, n
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not" F, o& l3 I9 V5 g
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
3 A: T2 w) f- E) A; {) Zwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.7 h* \3 j3 ?* E# E
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
$ ^: M3 c1 p2 x3 l% Mto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used: \# @5 S* z/ x1 V! W6 Q1 o- U$ S
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
; I; r2 L, N4 Esupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically' E9 m) P6 q. e# I
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
% X# z# ?! E3 S5 s/ M7 T1 ^live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,) N& R& W: f0 C! \, `7 x
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the7 x6 I( q. v$ I, d% q. ]
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the/ \$ c U5 p4 k6 i5 o
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be6 m+ ]# N2 j. F2 \" m. }8 a
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
& }( w: X+ W0 H1 Q' J9 |9 jMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how/ Y& K8 X( Y! o2 {
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
0 N4 _3 e9 j' ^9 E) [! }" Dtorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
) q9 s2 u2 e3 W" h- Amemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress"." u$ Z/ o' E) l6 e
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are& P/ H) N2 h/ T7 x3 i$ x
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
* ^$ L6 i# d& r7 n4 }3 e' unon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
$ d6 T5 e9 u/ k3 W. Cof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
! C5 }/ m; G( E3 ^0 M3 iHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those% N" D' Y& C/ c o
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they! B$ l; j! c3 Q& F- s+ n, d/ u$ B
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some. w- p4 Q4 c9 }! T7 Y T
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
2 K% g. b) v9 M- R2 T"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all( _ y8 t( e6 K: U
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise- U9 X) U! A- ~$ c* {. o0 {6 W
apartments are the way to go? No., B6 A5 p; U, f' l3 J
1 p; v. ^. C2 w
) {- \3 C2 B" M( Q7 o: m
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
( S& I5 e; m8 [8 Y( isituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this+ e5 Z$ K: ?- _' S* x* U
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
5 }$ A: a! I5 l# vno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so/ N$ O6 W2 M- M& u9 E
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
6 y( W. w3 ?0 |& [resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless# u2 k6 O2 L+ q7 z; D- c
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is/ v. g6 q; H0 ^( n! R! R- L) p
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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