|
Beijing
Hutong
 Hutong
refers to the ancient alleys and lanes typical
in Beijing. It is a term passed down from
history, believed to be a Monglian word
from the times of Changkis Kan, who built
Beijing as the capital of the Mongolian
Empire (1206-1341).
Hutong runs into several thousand,
surrounding the magnificent royal tempeles
and palaces in Beijing, quietly demonstrating
the life of grass-root people in this ancient
city through the history.
One kind of hutong, usually
referred to as the regualr hutong, was near
the palace to the east and west and arranged
in order fashion along the streets. Most
of the residents of these hutongs were imperial
kinsmen and aristocrats. Another kind, the
simple and crude hutong, was mostly located
far to the north and south of the palace.
The residents were merchants and other ordinary
people.
 The
main buildings in the hutong were Si He
Yuan--a building complex formed by four
houses around a quadrangular courtyard.
The quadrangles varied in varied in size
and design according to the social status
of the residents. The big quadrangles of
high-ranking officials and wealthy merchants
were specially built with roof beams and
pillars all beautifully carved and painted,
each with a front yard and back yard. However,the
ordinary people's quadrangles were simple
built with small gates and low house. hutongs,
in fact, are passgeways formed by many closely
arranged quadrangles of different sizes.
The specially built quadrangles all face
the south for better lighting; as a result,
a lot of hutongs run from east to west.
Between the big hutongs many small ones
went north and south for convenient passage.
 Unfortunately,
the Hutong receding fast into the history
as the city becomes a modern metropolitan.
In time many Hutongs have been pulled down
and replaced by modern buildings. Quadrangles
previously owned by one family became a
compound occupied by many households and
the conditions of the hutong are getting
deteriorated.
However, in the urban
district of Beijing houses along hutongs
still occupy one third of the total area,
providing housing for half the population,
so many hutongs survied. In this repect,
we see the old in the new in Beijing as
an ancient yet modern city.
|
