I lived on a hutong off of Andingmen Nei about a five minute walk to west to Gulou and five minutes south to Nan Lougo Xiang in 2003-2004. These were the days when the threat of the hutong being "renovated."
I walked the hutong, nearly every xiang south of the North 2nd Ring Road between the East 2nd Ring Road, south to Chang'an Road and west to Gugong. My intent was photographically document the hutong in a systematic, alley by alley way. I took more than 10,000 photos in the hutong over the years.
I'd say this slice of Beijing was 80 to 90% single story living quarters with multiple story buildings fronting on the main streets.
In 2004, the city announced certain hutong areas would be protected. An immediate construction boom started with sewers being installed and building fronts restored and the character of the hutong changed. In 2008, post Olympics, preservation of the hutong was forgotten.
The area south of Qianmen was indeed destroyed, sorry "rennovated" See "The Last Days of Old Beijing" by Michael Meyers, Kindle ed. $10.59.
The Russian area was just west of Ritan Park, centered on Yabao Road. Bought bread and sausages there. Main currency exchange was located there too.
@Napoleon
I agree with most of your description of the center of Beijing in the 90s but my recollection is the major changes began about 2000 and accelerated as soon as the 2008 Olympics were announced.
I began my photographic record of the hutong in the late 90s and by 2002 was aware I had photos of places that were gone. On my hutong walks in 2003, I met a young lady who worked for an American NGO documenting known 500 to 1000 year old buildings in the hope of saving them. They are all gone now.
@Napoleon
Just because Adolf marched his army procession down Arc de Triomphe didn't erase, nor take historical precedence over the army of yours truly, monsieur Bonaparte...
yet I find it saddening how history is buried in this case, evident by the defiantly nescient posts on this thread.
Brush up on buried history before throwing bs claims. Use a VPN to dig source info from the opposition side. Perhaps, the person you're accusing of making false claims come from a line of top officials flanking the founding father (no, the other one). In either case, I will stop here before thin ice breaks.
I'm from Zimbabwe - but thanks for the pretentious, confusing post. Location of your land would have been more helpful.
Geezer,
I know what you mean, went back to Beijing about 2007 and I wasn't the place I knew, certainly on that south side of the square, which for me, was how I will always envision the place.
Never had I implied you were French. Pretentious for stating we lost millions in court?
@bilingualexpat I hope to hell you are not an American as it would be a hoot to watch 'your' army march down, or up, the Arc de Triomphe, or are you being defiantly nescient?
l’Arc is at one end on the Champs-Élysées.
@Geezer
Would replacing "down" with below, under, through, or past soothe your OCD itch?... or is it time for a detailed geography layout of Paris? ;)
yep, predicted it with...everybody else shut up, im right and will shout louder and longer than the rest of you, i will have the last word
