garrido_manuel 0 Posted May 6, 2011 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. Link to comment
Pierre Dumas 309 Posted May 6, 2011 As I've said many times before on the same motif! Only the wire should be erased!Warm regards Manuel!PDE Link to comment
corbin 0 Posted May 6, 2011 Nice light, nice mood, and excellent info. Reminds me of a scene out of Raise the red lantern. Link to comment
Saadsalem 74 Posted May 8, 2011 good light and fine colors,the mood is very fine too. Link to comment
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