Down In the Alley

There are about 360 named hutong (alleys) in Beijing. They first appeared during the Yuan Dynasty about 700 years ago. The siheyuan (courtyard house) is a traditional dwelling of four single-story rectangular buildings arranged around a courtyard. The gateways are beautifully shaped and the entrance door with stone carvings indicated who lived within the siheyuan. The one pictured was the entrance to the home of a warrior. The hutong buildings are a dark grey color, offseting the splendid reds and golds of the Forbidden City. Originally, they housed a single family but now each one houses up to five or six families. For many westerners, the idea of an alley conjures up in the imagination a shadowy place with sinister figures lurking in the background but the hutong are quite safe. It is very pleasant to stroll around the maze of alleys without the traffic and noise of the main streets of Beijing and observe the comings and goings of the people who live there -- laundry drying in the courtyards, bird cages hanging from the eaves, men delivering coal to the various residences, grandparents caring for toddlers. Many hutong are being razed to give way to high-rise apartment buildings. There are some efforts to preserve and keep safe some of the hutong. However, due to the rapid growth taking place in Beijing, it is uncertain as to how many hutong will survive. And while foreign tourists may romanticize the hutong life-style, relocating may not be entirely unwelcome by many of the hutong residents as, while the residences do have electricity, they do not have the convenience of indoor plumbing and central heating. Toilet facilities are in a separate building and are shared by the community and the siheyuan are heated by coal stoves.
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