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For those who want to experience the localcustoms as well as the history and culture of Beijing, the hutong and Siheyuan (quadrangle) are indispensible parts of a visit as unique Beijing architectural structures. A hutong is an ancient city alley or lane typical in Beijing, where hutongs run into the several thousand. Surrounding the Forbidden City, many were built during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. In these dynasties the emperors planned the city and arranged the residential areas according to the etiquette systems. The center of the city of Beijing was the royal palace — the Forbidden City.  The word “hutong” came from the Mongolian language about 700 years ago. It originates from the word “hottog” in Mongolian meaning “water well.” Where there was a spring or well, there were residents. The word “hottog” became “hutong” after it was introduced into Beijing. Hutong means street, lane and alley, and is in fact the passage formed by lines of siheyuan (quadrangle) where most Beijing residents live. One hutong connects with another, and siheyuan connects with siheyuan, to form a block, and blocks join with blocks to form the whole city. In old China, there was a clear definition for a street or a lane. A 36-meter-wide road was called a big street. An 18-meter-wide one was called a small street. A 9-meter-wide lane was called a hutong. The shortest one is just 10 meters long, and the narrowest hutong is only about 40 centimeters wide. Some hutong have more than 20 turns. Most of the hutongs in Beijing are in east-west or south-north directions. That has resulted from the need for houses to face south so as to take in more sunshine.

Tags: Beijing Today

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