The facts of Beijing Hutongs

For most of the tourists from abroad or China who wish to visit Beijing, there are some spots they can't miss ; all of them deserve a visit and the future tourists already know all of them : the Great wall, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, and of course the famous hutong, a peculiar place in Beijing. Well, let's go there ! These hutong, whose name in Chinese characters 胡同 does not have in itself any precise meaning, is reportedly coming from the Mongolian word "hottog", meaning water well, of which Chinese language made a phonetic transcription. Supposed or real, even no sense at all, is not what matters here, but rather their Mongolian origin, because it is indeed from the period of the Mongolian Dynasty of Yuan, who ruled China from 1278 to 1368 that the origin of these famous lanes can be traced back, when Beijing was called then Dadu (大都, the Large Capital). The Hutong which can still be seen today date from this dynasty and the two following ones, the Ming (1368-1644) and the Qing (1644-1911). But unlike the 2010 visitor can imagine, there were once Hutong almost everywhere in the capital, often bearing names as picturesque as Mutton Meat Lane (羊肉胡同), Golden Fish Lane (金鱼胡同) or Beneficial Rain Lane (甘雨胡同) and Fried Noodles Lane (炒面胡同). Most of them have been destroyed, to the great displeasure of the Western tourists who can hardly imagine how hard were the living conditions in these districts. But the local inhabitants very often left without much regret these dwellings where the picturesque often competed with discomfort and dilapidation. Between history and modernity, the Beijingers have chosen. But don't be afraid, there is still enough of these Hutong, now well protected, to satisfy your eager for Pekinese authenticity.

The most famous hutong are those located in the Northern part of the city. I should say they deserve well their celebrity, because it is quite obvious that the landscape around is really splendid. Our visit will start in the district of Shichahai, in front of the Northern entry of the Beihai Park. You can't miss the place, because there is a lake there, a lake you can see from the street. Well, actually not only one lake, but rather three. Qianhai (前海), then the most famous of them, Houhai (后海), because you will find around it a whole string of bars, popular among the night birds from Beijing and abroad alike, and Xihai (西海).

This place was once the commercial port of Beijing, connected to the Great Canal, which ran from Hangzhou, in the South, towards Beijing. This vocation has long disappeared, and today these lakes are mostly a good place for the amateurs of canoeing in spring and summer, and of ice-skating during the winter, when the lakes are deeply frozen. It is very easy to lose one's way in this maze of lanes, and besides lose one's way does have its own charms. If you are not so courageous, you can still get a guide, or take a bicycle rickshaw, which swarm in the neighbourhoods of Houhai. Try them, at least once…

With a little chance, you may have the chance to visit one of the mythical places of the hutong, these famous quadrangle houses, the Siheyuan (四合院). Few of them are well preserved and have kept their original appearance now, mostly because of demographic pressure, and as a result you may be possibly feel disappointed in front of the incredible mess you will find in the courtyards of most of them. But if you can fall on a well preserved siheyuan (there is still some, don't be afraid), you will understand then that everything, or almost, is a symbol in itself there. So please come in…

If you have a chance to have a China tour in Beijing, hutong area should not be missed.