Importance of Hutongs and Siheyuan

Literature Review
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Introduction
The Hutongs and Siheyuan have been among the most important parts of Beijing's social life and culture since 1271. However, radical urbanization and modernization have threatened these buildings (Li et al., 2020). The demolition of these buildings led to new concerns regarding the need to maintain Beijing's cultural heritage. This literature review shall examine the importance of Hutongs and Siheyuan, the challenges facing preservation, the repurposing of Siheyuan, and successful preservation practices.
Importance of Hutongs and Siheyuan
Wang et al. (2023) researched the relevance of the historic Beijing structure. This researcher aimed to determine Hutong and Siheyuan's rationale and significance. According to this researcher, the Hutongs and Siheyuan signify the historical representation of ancient Beijing. The modeling framework of this building may form a basis for historical studies and discoveries regarding ancient life. The researcher also claims that the Hutongs and the Siheyuan are among the most architectural modeling methods, which has raised much interest in the outer world (Wang et al., 2023). The architecture behind the buildings encompasses the depth of social and cultural history of Beijing from 1271 during the Yuan dynasty. This researcher also connotes that the structure and model of the building enable people to interact more frequently, leading to healthy community life and social interactions. In this case, social interaction significantly contributed to maintaining social values during ancient Beijing. Overall, the researcher determined that Hutongs and Siheyuan remain significant, and their preservation may bring more benefits than when demolished into a new commercial building structure.
Challenges Facing Preservation
Tang & Long (2019) conducted visual quality research to determine the level of preservation of the ancient Hutongs and Siheyuan structures. The variation of the visual quality would help determine whether this Beijin structure was adequately preserved. According to this visual quality research, there was a significant variation between the ancient Hutongs and Siheyuan. Notably, the comparison between the existing buildings and the ancient ones showed that there were some missing structures. In addition, the research also determined the emergence of modern buildings. According to the researcher's analysis, there were severe cases of Hutongs and Siheyuan demolitions as a way to build better structures in Beijing. In addition, the researcher also determines that the need for modernization poses a significant threat to the Hutongs and Siheyuan. The friction between the authorities and Beijing settlers has significantly increased due to a consistent government plan to demolish Hutongs and Siheyuan for modern buildings (Tang & Long, 2019). Overall, Hutongs and Siheyuan face a major threat of demolition and a lack of motivation for its repair and maintenance.
Repurpose of Hutongs and Siheyuan
Maroldi et al. (2019) researched repurposing historic buildings using the case of Beijing Hutongs. According to this researcher, the pr...