Hutongs, Beijing

Advantages: It's a great insight to the living and breathing history of life in Beijing from the local perspective
Disadvantages: If you go indepently you may get lost.

The Hutongs are a large expanse of "ancient alleyways" (semi- literal translation) which house a large number of Bejing's families right in the heart of the city. It is really worth visiting, as it gives a more grassroots perspective on living and breathing in Beijing as opposed to the vast imperial palaces like the Forbidden City. What is so great about the Hutongs is that despite all the upheaval that this great city and China has witnessed, they ...
...with hundreds of families still resident. The organic nature of the Hutongs means that they have sprawled across a large area of central Beijing- easily accessibly from the Tiananmen Square, the shopping district of Wangfujin (if you walk behind the main street), and HouHai (which is a wonderful bar and restaurant district spanning the parameters of a large lake). If you go to both the Bell and Drum Tower you can also get a great aerial view of ... Read review

Advantages: great to see some culture
Disadvantages: small streets

The hutongs is small alleyways crisscroding east west acoss the city. They are small narrow street which one car could fit down. In some places only a bike could fit down them.It is a great opportunity to see some culture of Beijing and how people lived in the past. People still live here but not as many as there used to be as younger generations prefer to live in modern homes. Some of the hutong and courtyard homes are protected by Beijings Cultural ...
...there are getting less and less available. We got a rickshaw ride around the hutongs which had been arranged by a tour operator. Beware it is abit rough around the edges and quite dirty in places however it was worthwhile to see how people of beijing live. At times I felt very enclosed in. Once on the rickshaw ride another women cycled beside us to tell us about the place. She explained the different house types and how different doors represented ... Read review

Advantages: Another insight into Chinese social history.
Disadvantages: Narrow alleys, bleak, and as informative from the outside as the inside.

A hutong is an ancient city alley or lane typical in Beijing, where hutongs run into the several thousand surrounding the Forbidden City. 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 and now refers to a compound with houses set around a central courtyard where old Beijing residents live. The main buildings in the hutong are almost all ...
...houses around a quadrangular courtyard . The guide informs that the quadrangles vary in size and design depending on the social status of the occopier. In days gone by the big ornate quadrangles were occupied by high-ranking officials and wealthy merchants; these were specially built with roof beams and pillars all carved and painted. One of the tours that I went on allowed us a look inside one of these domiciles and a breif meeting with the residents. ... Read review