Living in Cultural Limbo: Hútòng Redux

Last weekend, I followed a walking tour in my travel guide of the area just north of Beihai Park. It began at the north entrance of Beihai Park, went along the west shore of Qianhuo Lake and ended at Nanluogo Xiang, a recently revitalized hútòng (胡同) area of Beijing.

For those of you unfamiliar with the term "hútòng," hútòng are the narrow streets and alley ways that used to criss-cross most of Beijing. Unfortunately due to the development boom of the last 20 years or so, many have been demolished.

First built in the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368), the hútòngs were created to make it easier to enter and leave different courtyards. They also served as a means of ventilation and sunlight. By 1950, an estimated 6,000 hútòngs covered Beijing. In addition to serving as living quarters, they also acted as storehouses for supplies such as grain, candles and porcelain, and as the base for various craftsmen that supplied the Forbidden City with items like carriages, bows and paper.

Nowadays, many of the hútòngs have disappeared as Beijing has modernized and many families have moved out to high-rise apartments with proper plumbing, heating and private bathrooms. However, some of the hútòngs still remain, mainly in the areas within the Second Ring Road. An estimated 20% of the population of inner Beijing still resides in the hútòngs.

Some hútòngs, like Nanluogu Xiang and the hútòngs around the Drum Tower, have now been adapted for commercial uses. Over the past ten years, Nanluogu Xiang has been revitalized as a nightlife hot spot for tourists and locals alike. Now, Nanluogu Xiang serves as a model of how to convert other hútòng areas to viable commercial areas all the while preserving its historical appearance. While this revitalization isn't really a preservation of the hútòngs in the truest sense, this revitalization is necessary to keep all the hútòngs from being demolished by land-hungry developers.

Now for some pictures from my walk & some photos of the hútòngs themselves: