The Hutongs of Beijing

We didn’t need to go far to see the city. In fact, we were right in the center of it all. We were wedged into one of the small alleyways that’s decorated with hanging laundry and carpeted with rusty bicycles, piles of archaic roof tiles, and other construction paraphernalia. With huge trees looming overhead, creating erratic beams of light to splay across the walls crowding around me, I didn’t think this could be the same city so many others had talked about. But, red lanterns and those saliently red, exultant posters that hung everywhere in the country were spread throughout the narrow lanes. And I knew it was Beijing, just not the one I was expecting. It was way better.
 

Away from the huge high-rises, mega malls, and swinging cranes are the hutongs…probably the coolest part of the city. With so much character and color, you instantly feel welcome walking down the ancient passages. You could really get a sense of what traditional Chinese life was like. Tiny, quirky shops and restaurants fill the clustered neighborhood and almost every door, or courtyard gate, is embellished so uniquely that it makes you wonder what hidden treasures might lie just beyond.
 

Whether you were inside or outside the neighborhood of winding streets, you could just as easily get lost both ways. The main road held many entrances, but finding the right one was the hard part. From afar they all looked completely the same. The trick was to look closely…which, isn’t that always the case? We each had our own ways, by looking for distinct details, of figuring out which alley was ours. From the lingerie store promptly titled, “Undercover”, to the pet store situated on a guy’s car and an old wagon consisting of bunnies and fish, we were soon able to spot the correct lane that would lead us to our hotel. Now we were going in and out of the hutongs like a local.
 

The other, more touristed Beijing, is one we definitely couldn’t not see; but while we did venture out to soak in some of the more famous sites, we were honestly still most impressed with the hutongs.
 

Over the years many of these neighborhoods have been demolished and turned into tall buildings or sprawling boulevards. Many were yielded under the bulldozers commission in the name of the 2008 Summer Olympics. But, just recently, some specific hutongs have been designated as protected areas in order to preserve the cultural history. So, as time goes on, it looks as though more and more people are starting to see the indisputable beauty and wonder these connected alleys have to offer and that it’s clear there is a story worth keeping behind each wall.

 

 

   
 

Fade Out