There are still quite a number of hutongs built around the
Forbidden City still exist in Beijing. Their overall arrangements
are just like Eastern labyrinth if one has chances to overlook form
the air.
Most of these hutong were built in the Yuan (1271-1368), Ming
(1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. The Shichahai Lake
scenic sites consist of West Sea (Xihai), Back Sea (Houhai), Front
Sea (Qianhai) and Prince Gong's Palace (Gongwangfu), which have
helped to keep the hutong there intact, and fascinating many
tourists from home and abroad. When one stands at the top of the
700-year-old Drum Tower (Gulou), glancing at the alleys in the
city, one would feel Beijing's great cultural and economic
changes.
There are several kinds of hutong. Some of them are named after
the yamens (government offices) or temples located there; some
named after the official titles of their residents, etc.
Beijing's longest alleys are Dongjiaominxiang and
Xijiaominxiang, running parallel with the Chang'an Avenue. The
shortest one is Yichi (meaning "one foot") Hutong, only 75 feet
long. The narrowest is Xiaolabakou Hutong, whose northern part is
less than 0.4 meter. Jiudaowan (meaning "nine turnings") Hutong
located in Dongcheng District has the most turnings--more than 20
in all. The oldest hutong in Beijing is Sanmiaojie, which located
outside Xuanwu Gate, was called Tanzhou Street in the Liao Dynasty
(916-1125).
Tourists can also find vermilion gates, brass knocker, mottled
stone lions and other cultural relics everywhere in the
alleys.
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(Chinanews.cn August 16, 2006)
