City - Hutong community State - BEIJING Country - China
About
They need each other in order to exist. Photo taken in Beijing's Hutong.
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The word "hutong" originates from the word "hottog" which means "well" in Mongolian. Villagers dig out a well and inhabited there. Hutong means a lane or alley, in fact the passage formed by lines of siheyuan (a compound with houses around a courtyard) where old Beijing residents live. Be careful not to get lost in it! China for centuries lived in a culture where walls were very important mean of protection of its citizens. The Great Wall of China was built to keep invading armies out of China, and in Beijing the citizens also built walls around their dwellings for protection. Today a modern Beijing is fast overtaking the ancient past. New modern high-rise buildings and apartments are fast replacing the traditional dwellings within the walled hutongs, but a few still survive in the north part of Forbidden City and can be visited by tourists. Within these walled hutongs you'll find individual residences and courtyards where thousands of Beijingers still live, many without modern conveniences. Many have opted to move into the more modern apartment buildings, but others still prefer the traditional style of living in a hutong. It was recorded that in the Yuan a 36-meter-wide road was called a standard street, an 18-meter-wide one was a small street and a 9-meter-wide lane was named a hutong. In fact, Beijing's hutongs are ranging from 40 centimeter to 10 meter in wide. The longest has more than 20 turns. Due to the narrow alleys and to prevent loss, there is modern-day rickshaw powered by a human on a bicycle to transport tourists around for a tip.
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{K:88111} 12/17/2004