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One can see commerce of all types, bustling small businesses and the elderly enjoying recreation.
But most important are the personal interactions between the residents that even the most unobservant visitor cannot miss. Everyone seems to know each other; passing individuals will exchange greetings, or stop at length for a chat. This intimate atmosphere can be found nowhere else in the city.
Yet, as Oscar Wilde once opined: "These days, men know the price of everything and the value of nothing." Land values and development are fuelling the destruction of the hutong. Mere monetary value is far from the most important measure, for there are intangible cultural and historical values, as well as the important community values.
It is my firm hope that more visitors, especially Chinese visitors, explore the less tourism-oriented hutong, to experience the hutong life. The greater the understanding and appreciation of these communities, the greater the public will to prevent their eradication.
To conclude, another Wilde quote: "Experience is the name we give our mistakes." Let us not allow the loss of the hutong become another chapter in the history of this city.
However, these values are being sacrificed in favor of rapid urban development. The hutong are important historical assets to Beijing. Unlike other points of interest, such as the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven or the Summer Palace, the hutong represent the history of the people of Beijing.
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