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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
1 R1 t9 m% G4 v3 N; warchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
* [9 y: I" P' ?0 ABeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"+ Q, r7 _0 h7 A2 b; d) ~) R
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.% D1 s& e# K; B0 x7 I
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
; }2 v# C" p! b" `5 i% S, `3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of6 g6 @. \ E1 J
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
9 W: B5 Q* C- B8 [+ e) p) {! Vhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among; k+ N; n) F- S% ]: S" ]+ R
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
9 X6 N! @1 M# w* X# `and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
9 h" r1 T7 u+ U' M$ oharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
' K* t7 {" ?7 Z& k f ] wdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and; d0 e/ O2 u' m6 d. u) u
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I" G" m3 ~ F# y/ h9 l5 M
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great3 o7 x+ ~# o) C9 D8 E
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,3 H5 T1 M, W! [; h4 e; W; P% K& @
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
! z2 p9 @; R& S2 Thas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment! _. p# @- g" ^
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that+ O; l5 D8 c+ W! c$ [4 d b/ r7 o
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are, e/ o4 W0 i7 z( E4 | C9 V
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a x/ Y2 R' v7 C- f2 ^- I/ ^6 n
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
! V0 a: w3 Z2 w& m+ S1 ?# b* A# Pwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
6 S* u5 p) l+ B) @to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
! j, B5 S/ \! i, M& p! ~"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
+ E- ?- Q- Y1 @; z B3 k' _this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are( ~* E& W" j) S7 ]8 p9 {$ T) K
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 s, }$ S8 a& }
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make- @# ]! \ f) ]1 ^
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was( B6 r3 A, a9 s0 h% l! Z4 t) s1 t
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a) j4 w* ]2 u5 e. W7 k {2 a: V
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across* n$ H8 U/ W0 G( k7 f6 k6 @
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
/ m5 i6 K1 }/ Z2 T! pimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
0 V" l3 ?& s u9 s$ Q9 y& I6 Qdevelopment.
Hutongs! L: P6 y' C: D1 j3 w/ L
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived. v2 | p, R- |! X2 U* s3 q
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions0 F3 t" c+ w8 d
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
7 M, x- T: `4 ]& C- u5 u7 ]have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you; f. J( Y9 Z/ q) T! [, s* P2 x5 v
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.& n) Z5 x0 _( {" L* r1 n7 K
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date# @0 H& Z0 \- I& L
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
: F) ^# \9 R$ ~( ?. L" Zto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses6 _* s+ {7 {4 `0 A" y6 d* n }2 w
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
J/ `' l7 Z' d" [9 N/ g$ nunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to; S# ^' u k8 m, d
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
: G0 c3 U9 t2 s, S2 a% `. i. Z- y; S' z% Dhutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
: I Z3 U: o* j$ `0 V0 `/ S" Fbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
Z! F% Q* T( Z4 sproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be4 T% M6 ~' P# w& P7 }& V. m
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong$ q/ r' M1 O/ B! n
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how1 c5 c0 ^+ V0 h: P+ z
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be0 Q* R! U; j6 S& k
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
* w$ M2 t# H, q1 S9 f' { @& Mmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
9 L; i$ ^) w5 y+ aNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
# D# v* g" j; j( }( Yaligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially+ w% t; Z* t4 X% R' F
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image$ E% _1 T0 O6 s6 Y
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these# @3 J# A$ K# w' [) O% f9 w
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
/ F1 t; t7 k' V" \- apeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they6 ?5 Z" L! ?8 c" r# f# E( Z
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some7 _' C% K4 C9 d( ?
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
0 c) |7 j# k7 P"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all4 B+ Y1 u& X: r' \; C6 N
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
, J& B+ K; G5 m& Y+ O1 Oapartments are the way to go? No.* e2 ^4 g! ?0 I3 v# H4 G4 e
* E6 Q4 s) B/ N1 h7 L
) { k$ K0 y2 i& c# }% Q. }$ r
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the1 |, i; e$ W V, @. @- n
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this `1 U) X9 a: B+ [4 g
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
3 z+ `7 ^1 L( Gno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so9 i* }! D$ w e) c- o
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
$ ^1 t: Y+ w; A) F9 d1 R; eresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless) r! w, N4 ]: e
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is' ?! u8 i$ D$ l0 Z9 V0 @
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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