hutongs (胡同) Hutongs (胡同) - 33

A hutong is an old city alley or lane, and the hutongs of Beijing are

one of its most distinctive features. The capital city is home to

thousands of hutongs, many of which were built in the area surrounding

the Forbidden City during the Yuan (1279 - 1368), Ming (1368 - 1644)

and Qing (1644 - 1911) dynasties. During China’s dynastic heyday, the

emperors planned the city and arranged the residential areas according

to the etiquette systems of the Zhou Dynasty (1027 - 256 BC). At the

center of the metropolis was the Forbidden City, surrounded in

concentric circles by the Inner City and Outer City. Citizens of

higher social status were permitted to live closer to the center of

the circles. The aristocratic hutongs of those days were located just

to the east and west of the imperial palace. The lanes were orderly,

lined by spacious homes and walled gardens. Further from the palace

and to its north and south were the commoners’ hutongs, where

merchants, artisans and laborers lived and worked. The residences

lining the hutongs, whether grand or humble, were generally siheyuan,

complexes formed by four buildings surrounding a courtyard. The large

siheyuan of high-ranking officials and wealthy merchants often

featured beautifully carved and painted roof beams and pillars and

carefully landscaped gardens. Commoners’ siheyuan were far smaller in

scale and simpler in design and decoration. The hutongs are, in fact,

passageways formed by many siheyuan of varying sizes, all arranged

closely together. Nearly all siheyuan had their main buildings and

gates facing south for better lighting; so that the majority of

hutongs run from east to west. Between the main hutongs, many tiny

lanes ran north and south for convenient passage.