Beijing Hutong-Beijing Old Hutong Travel
Hutong means small & narrow alleys, used to full of the city of Beijing. It runs more than 7,000 miles in the city, even longer than the famous Great wall. But nowadays, most of traditional Hutongs have already disappeared, only few them left. The most famous Hutong areas locates at the northern Beijing at presents, the areas near the Bell & Drum towers, they’re under the special preservation of the central government.
History of Hutong
Hutongs were first named as such in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), with its Mongolian rulers having an influence on the Chinese language. However, siheyuan or quadrangles, have probably been around much longer. Based on historical records, Hutongs were appeared and named in Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368, Mongolian ruling period), the word of “Hutong” is the name of “water well” in Mongolian, coz the water well were built at each living communities, the small alleys hence the name of Hutong afterwards.