Some of the best parts of Beijing exist in hutong culture. Hutong are essentially alleys, but one look at a Beijing alley versus a New York alley reveals a world of difference. In the hutong, daily life plays out. They are integral to neighborhoods; indeed they are whole neighborhoods.
In his brilliant book, The Last Days of Old Beijing, Michael Meyer describes the decades-old policy of the central government to slowly remove these areas. “Slowly,” in that in totality the number slowly dwindles, but the rapidity in which a neighborhood disappears once the decision is made is astonishing.
Pros and Cons
It’s a tough call. On the one hand, these hutong give Beijing character. Locals identify with them, foreigners Instagram them. These areas are home. On the other hand, well, two things.
One, in the government’s eyes, developers can make better use of the land. These neighborhoods are definitionally low-rise. Not low density, just no skyscrapers. In terms of commercial development, potential tax revenue, and just the removal of an “eyesore,” the government would rather have modern buildings.
Two, for the locals, the hutong are, in fact, structurally deficient. The plumbing is limited, if not nonexistent, within one’s four walls. Those walls are paper thin, especially for a city that easily falls below freezing in the winter. Tightly packed people in less-than-perfectly-clean conditions allows sickness to quickly spread.
Foreigners come in and lament the end of this hutong or even urban villages in general. They heap criticism on the government. But this is an easy position to defend. It’s simple to blame the government for destroying these areas. Do I support steamrolling some identifying aspects of Chinese architecture? No, but like most things, there is probably a middle ground.
Middle Kingdom
Is it possible, to reimagine the hutong? Maybe rebuild them, with better construction, proper infrastructure, modern insulation. Perhaps each plot has a high rise shopping center that can fund part of this architectural legacy. I’m not sure. But to argue that these areas are squalor-ridden and need to be flattened for yet another shopping mall, is also outrageous. Beijing has plenty of shopping malls. But to argue that people must live in these areas that clearly need modernizing under the hood, is also being disingenuous to locals. The government has its needs; the people have theirs.
The problem drips in irony; for a country with millennia of history like China, in the 21st century, there’s a serious lack of appreciation beyond a superficial level for some of these elements. There could be several reasons for this.
Okay: rapid fire.
Paradoxical Lack of Appreciation for History
One, a cultural shift towards “modernity,” rocketed forward in the last 30 years at a pace for which it is understandable the youth would eschew these values. Two, it could be a Western impression, that architectural legacy is worth endeavoring for. Countless articles were written about ISIS’ destruction of ancient sites like Palmyra. Perhaps I/we overweight these things. Perhaps, some cultures don’t value this as much as I believe we should. Three, there are clear capitalist values that incentivize this behavior. Four, in the previous century or so, before reforms in the 1980s, it was a tumultuous time for China and the Chinese, bedeviled by Western imperial forces and most importantly – humiliated. This could be the physical manifestation of this desire to shed that ignominy. (There are undoubtedly other factors).
All of these are understandable, but at the same time, understanding doesn’t necessitate inaction here. I sincerely hope urban development across the globe doesn’t follow the same model. This is not to say that the US has an awesome model in many parts either. Certainly, American sprawl is hideous.
Other Countries’ Reconciling
But as other countries grow, especially those that grow due to tourism dollars, it makes sense to avoid the pitfalls of countries like Thailand, that grow so rapidly in ways that aid foreigners primarily, while avoiding problems concerning locals. This is both architectural and infrastructural. The Philippines (admirably) closed an entire beach community for a year to clean up the environmental damage incurred. The buildings along the beach included relatively overpriced hotels and restaurants. Roads improved access to the beach which is certainly where jobs opened up, but not for everyone.
Bhutan has a unique model. It allows only so many tourists a year. They can support only so many, and the nation’s natural beauty can only be sustained at a certain point. In order to book a flight, it must be approved by an agency (provided you’re not from a select few nations.) If you just go to Google Flights, you cannot purchase one. It’s a model that’s understandably restrictive.
Bringing this back to Cuba, a lot of the housing seems like it could use a face lift, as well as some work under the hood. The humidity has seemed to cause some water damage to a lot of walls. The sun has bleached the color of the walls and started to dry out and crack them. The salty air doesn’t help much either. It’s an immensely beautiful city, Havana, but one that you could easily see developers coming in and shaping it with their own, non-Cuban identity. Resorts are already opening up on the Malecon, and while they do like admittedly grand, I’m not sure they’re exactly Caribbean colonial in style.
What to Do?
This type of development cuts both ways. It’s a conversation with loads of gray area. Governments like development, as it means tax dollars. Resorts provide that. People like development as it can often lead to nearby property values shooting up, but also infrastructural improvements: nearby sidewalks and parks and roads. The resorts can stick out like a sore thumb or even restrict access to locals due to high costs. It’s tricky to get tourism right, even in nations with economies very different from Cuba’s, the US’ or China’s.
At the end of the day, perhaps I am missing the point; Cuba is still a Communist nation, at least nominally for now.
Let me know what you think in the comments below!
Like what you’re reading on China? Check out some other related articles in: The China Chronicles!!
