When you travel to China, you might want to know what are well-known hutongs in Beijing. Actually Hutongs are a type of narrow alleys or street in Beijing with the history of 700 years, displaying the fantastic local cultural in terms of history, architecture, and art.
The Hutong first appeared during Yuan Dynasty (1206AD-1370AD) with the meaning of town. These hutongs were situated near Forbidden City, and normally occupied by aristocrats and wealthy merchants. Their houses were called siheyuan which was built with bricks carved and painted roof beams with beautiful gardens.
In the mid-20th century, many hutongs were demolished to construct new buildings and roads. Some hutongs currently are designated as the protected area.
The hutongs are different, the longest one is Dongjiaomingxiao Hutong 6.5km, and the shortest one is Yichidajie Hutong with length of 10 meters, and the widest one is Lijing Hutong is about 33 meters, and the narrowest one is Qianshi Hutong for its narrowest part 0.4 meters.
Here are the some well-known and interesting hutongs for travelers to travel around.
Yandai Xiejie
Located in front of Drum Tower, Yandai Xiejie is the oldest and most famous one in Beijing with the length of 232 meters. In Qing Dynasty, the shops in this hutong mainly sold tobaccos, smoking sets and curios. 'Yan' in Chinese means tobacco and 'Dan' pouch. Yandai is a pouch to contain tobaccos, that is why the name came from.
Nanluoguxiang
It is probably the the most popular Hutong in Beijing, located just a few kilometers north of the Forbidden City, near Houhai and Gulou area. It is filled with pubs, bars, and shops all designed in classic Chinese Hutong Style, which is very busy in the night.
Nanluogu Alley Hutong
This is a only 800-meter long alley but listed by Times as one of the highly recommended site to visit in Beijing. The shops and bars are in the old houses with typical Beijing style, each of them has a unique name that attract travelers to explore. You can take metro to here by Line 6 or Line 8, Nanluoguoxiao Station.
