REVITALISING HUTONG AND SIHEYUAN : THE EVERLASTING CHARM OF BEIJING

Abstract

Beijing, as an ultimate Imperial Capital which could be traced back to the last four dynasties. The city is laid out with an orthogonal monumentality, with vast boulevards that stretches from the east to the west and from the north to the south. There are widely spaced buildings, and significantly narrow alleys named hutong, which are formed by lines of siheyuan, traditional courtyard residences. It is known that hutong and siheyuan is both representation of historic and contemporary Beijing. Beijing has experienced unprecedented change over the past few years. A neverending construction boom with large scale striking development by local and foreign architects has ripped large holes in the city’s urban pattern and wiped away enormous swaths of the historical urban fabric. The wanton hybridity of this capital is very much of a piece with global development. The ubiquitous nature of the Chinese character, of which “拆”, means ‘raze’ written in ghostly white on the courtyard’s gray walls could be easily surfaced if one meandering in the hutong neighbourhood. Raze the neighbourhood, it erasing not only the homes and hutong, but also a unique pattern of Beijing people’s life. The bustling Beijing hutong, once gave the city its very own character and emphasized the connection between the residents and their communities is suffering the fate of gentrification and gradually disappearing. Hutong and siheyuan, the valuable ‘vernacular’ architecture which give the identity of urban fabric for Beijing should be wisely conserved or strategically renewed. The hypothesis of merely preservation toward these urban heritages is not good enough to sustain for the future generations and it would not escape from razing. By giving a solitary identity towards each hutong and siheyuan could be one ways to conserve and maintain this significant artifact in this ancient city of Beijing. The problems and challenges of urban conservation for instance over-population, lack of modern infrastructure and sense of community spirit will be applied to examine and substantiate the conservation of the four selected hutong neighbourhood. They are Ju’er hutong, Nanluoguxiang, Dashilar and Liulichang neighbourhood. Among them, the first two situated in the inner city of Old Beijing, the latter two from the outer city of Old Beijing.