Beijing & the Great Wall - Discover China - page 169

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Don't Miss Beijing's Hutong

Beijing's medieval genotype is most discernible down the city's leafy hutong ( nar-
row alleyways). Criss-crossing Beijing within the Second Ring Rd, the hutong link up
into a huge and enchanting warren of one-storey dwellings and historic courtyard
homes.
After Genghis Khan's army reduced Beijing to rubble, the new city was rede-
signed with hutong . By the Qing dynasty more than 2000 passageways riddled the
city, leaping to around 6000 by the 1950s; the figure has dwindled to somewhere
above 1000.
Hutong nearly all run east-west so that the main gate faces south, satisfying feng
shui (wind/water) requirements. This south-facing aspect guarantees sunshine and
protection from negative principles amassing in the north. Old walled siheyuan
(courtyards) are the building blocks of this delightful universe. Many are still lived in
and hum with activity. Inside, scholar trees soar aloft, providing shade and a nesting
ground for birds.