The world of the hutong

Hutongs are a type of narrow street or alleyway and are most commonly found in Beijing. A hutong is actually an entire neighbourhood made up of a series of car-free alleyways containing traditional courtyard residences and are characteristic of "old" Beijing. Our lovely hotel, with the fabulous name "Sitting on the City Walls Courtyard House", was situated in a hutong.

A hutong is usually made up of rows of "siheyuan", a type of traditional courtyard residence, with nearly all siheyuan facing south for better light, meaning most hutongs run east to west. The hutongs are not really architectural wonders in themselves, but definitely represent Beijing at its charming, old world best. They are quiet, ramshackle, enchanting little worlds unto themselves, tucked away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Following the founding of the PRC in 1949 many of the old hutongs of Beijing disappeared, replaced by wide boulevards and high rise apartment blocks. Many residents left the hutongs where their families had lived for generations for soulless apartments with more modern facilities. In one of the oldest districts of Beijing 200 of the original 820 hutongs have disappeared. It is said that there about 4,550 hutongs left in Beijing today, and it certainly was a pleasure to have experienced just one of them :-)

The first few photos here (the red ones!), feature our hotel. The rest of the photos give a bit of an impression of life in a hutong.

Alli xxx