Touring the Hutongs in Beijing, China

Beijing is home to a unique and culturally rich form of residence, the Hutong. These are tiny little streets, we may call them alleys but at one time they crisscrossed the entire city, housing the population and commerce. They date back to the Yuan Dynasty and the time of the Mongol invasion of Genghis Khan and his grandson Khublai Khan who moved the capital city to what is now Beijing.

This was during the 1270s. The city started at what we now know as The Bell and Drum Tower which were the axis points. The Bell and Drum Tower were a short distance from our hostel, The Hutong Inn which meant we were staying along one of the original Hutongs with buildings dating back to the 1200s. In Beijing today that is a hard thing to find since they seem intent to tear down anything old replacing it with something new.

The Hutong Inn where we stayed is an example of how an entrepreneur bought up many smaller buildings, tore them down and replaced them with an inn. Entire Hutong districts are being raised to make room for new roads, shopping areas, and high rise apartment buildings. The Olympic village was once the site of a Hutong district which was cleared for the 2008 Olympic games

The width of a Hutong is barely the width of an auto, although they do drive up and down the Hutongs. The city planers in the Yuan dynasty stated that a Hutong is six paces wide. Today many of the Hutongs are even narrower as the houses have expanded to take over some of the space in front. The Hutongs have there own methods of transportation which is the bicycle and the pedicab. Walking is also very popular along the Hutongs.

Each morning we took a long walk through our Hutong district and met many wonderful people. In the Hutong people would greet each other and smile, unlike they do on the streets. Grandmothers would rush out of their homes to pinch my grandson's cheek and pat his blonde head. A little girl had asked and gained permission from her father to come and play with the "English boy" she saw in our Hostel's courtyard.

The Hutongs are more than residences. They are a living and thriving culture. The Chinese say that the Hutong breathes and has feelings. No where else on earth will you find such a place. Many of the residents have lived in their Hutong for generations. The name of their Hutong may even be their own name. Some Hutongs are named after their dominant form of commerce, like cobbler, or gunpowder. Ours was named Jiugulou or Old Drum Tower which was after a place nearby, another popular way of naming the streets.

Hutongs combine nature and color with the stark greyness of its structures. We were there in early spring and saw the first buds on the many fruit trees planted in the courtyards. Soon these trees would burst out their color and fragrance. Outside the homes the tradition was to plant two Chinese Scholar trees. These are large trees which bloom with yellow flowers in late summer. It was amazing how they could thrive growing out of the concrete and bricks. Several of the homes had ivy clinging to their outside walls. Many of the doorways had a bird cage hanging from its side post. In these cages were a range of colorful jade birds, parrots and larks, to the entirely black crow. All of the birds combined to create a chorus of morning sounds.

Behind the weathered grey brick and plaster fronts of the homes we occasionally caught a glance into a courtyard just inside a doorway. From these glances another impression of Hutongs is that they are small. The courtyards we saw were cramped and sometimes just wide enough for a person to pass through. The walls along the courtyards and passageways were stacked with bicycles. We hardly ever saw a lock on any of these bikes, unlike you see on the city's streets.

Most homes in a Hutong have no plumbing or kitchens. There are many tiny eateries along the Hutongs. The other method of food preparation was your doorway. People would set up a wok and start to cook. There are fresh ingredients available along the Hutong in any direction. The smells were delicious, most of the time.

In the morning there are dumpling makers preparing dumplings for those in a rush to get to work. Later in the day stands opened selling hot pockets, and a variety of delicious things on a stick. The Hutong culture leads itself to eating many small snacks instead of sitting down for a meal.

On the surface the Hutongs may appear a little dusty and grubby but one had to remember these buildings are hundreds of years old. Ours was not a gentrified or modernized Hutong but one that peoples had lived and worked in for centuries. Each night a crew swept the street and curbs and the area by the public bathroom was mopped frequently. Public bathrooms are common along the Hutongs since very few homes have plumbing.

We were fortunate to have found a hostel within the Hutong district. For a short time we experienced the culture of the Hutong. At the rate the Hutongs are being demolished it is possible that only a few will remain when we make our return visit. Sadly, what is being destroyed are not buildings but a way of life peculiarly unique to Beijing.