Nearly 70 pct Beijing hutongs destroyed: survey

时间：2006-12-22 05:48:50

（单词翻译:单击）


 
Dec.20 - Only one third of Beijing's hutongs still exist--most have been demolished1 or partially2 destroyed, according to a newly-released survey.

 

The field survey, conducted by the Beijing Institute of Civil Engineering and Architecture, covered about 1,320 hutongs, traditional streets and lanes. It found that 205 hutongs, 15 percent of the total, have been completely demolished and made to give way to modern buildings.

 

Another 52 percent have managed to retain something of their original condition but have suffered serious damage. Some only have a few courtyard houses left, in others the courtyard houses on one side of the hutong lane have been totally demolished.

 

Only 430 hutongs, 33 percent of the 1,320 hutongs surveyed, have been able to preserve their original character.

 

Hutongs are lanes lined with traditional Beijing courtyard houses. A traditional form of urban construction, they once formed a dense3 latticework in Beijing and are a traditional cultural feature of the city.

 

Historical records show Beijing had a total of 458 hutongs in the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and 978 hutongs during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

 

The city boasted more than 3,679 hutongs in the 1980s, a number that plunged4 40 percent as the city sought to make space for urban roads and skyscrapers5.

 

Up to 600 hutongs have been destroyed each year in a relentless6 drive to rebuild the old city, and now many people worry that Beijing has lost something of its essence as an old capital city.

 

"Hutong" is originally a Mongolian expression meaning "well". In the old days, people lived together around a well and the "passages" they made formed today's hutongs.

 

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1 demolished 3baad413d6d10093a39e09955dfbdfcb     
v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光
参考例句：
  • The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
  • They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来，为了不让拆除他们的房子，他们一直在进行最后的努力。
2 partially yL7xm     
adv.部分地，从某些方面讲
参考例句：
  • The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
  • The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。
3 dense aONzX     
a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的
参考例句：
  • The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
  • The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
4 plunged 06a599a54b33c9d941718dccc7739582     
v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降
参考例句：
  • The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
  • She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。
5 skyscrapers f4158331c4e067c9706b451516137890     
n.摩天大楼
参考例句：
  • A lot of skyscrapers in Manhattan are rising up to the skies. 曼哈顿有许多摩天大楼耸入云霄。
  • On all sides, skyscrapers rose like jagged teeth. 四周耸起的摩天大楼参差不齐。
6 relentless VBjzv     
adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的
参考例句：
  • The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
  • Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

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