A review by bellatora
The Last Days of Old Beijing: Life in the Vanishing Backstreets of a City Transformed by Michael Meyer
5.0
Meyer provides a fascinating insight into life in China's old neighborhoods, the hutongs. He writes about his own experience teaching English while living in a hutong as well as explaining their history and the destruction of classic architecture in favor of "modernity" in both China and other countries.
While hutong life is not perfect - it definitely could use better utilities - it has a true community feel. If money had gone into providing improvements for the residents, it could have been the best of both worlds, modernity and tradition. Unfortunately, the powers that be chose to shuttle hutong residents into isolating and sterile apartment buildings far from the city center and across multiple highways.
I always mourn when beautiful historical architecture and lovely communities are destroyed. I'm glad that Meyer was able to capture the hutong's essence even as they disappear.
While hutong life is not perfect - it definitely could use better utilities - it has a true community feel. If money had gone into providing improvements for the residents, it could have been the best of both worlds, modernity and tradition. Unfortunately, the powers that be chose to shuttle hutong residents into isolating and sterile apartment buildings far from the city center and across multiple highways.
I always mourn when beautiful historical architecture and lovely communities are destroyed. I'm glad that Meyer was able to capture the hutong's essence even as they disappear.