Monday, November 8, 2010

Hutong 2010


When we think of Chinese cities of the past, which is mostly in the fantastical way that hollywood has presented them, we think of grey brick and tile roofing, courtyards and ginkgo trees. We think, more or less, of hutongs, the iconic, insular alleyway communities that once made up the fabric of Chinese cities.

But as most people know by now, these traditional communities are being swept away by the flood of capital. It is no longer the new neighborhoods, but the old ones that feel out of place in Beijing.

My advice: see them while you can because while many pieces of Chinese culture are transforming rather than disappearing, these intimate urban settings are soon to be all but non-existent.

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