Beijing Hutong – the Vitality & Pulse of Beijing

Beijing Hutong is not only a pass in this city, but also the vital stage showing the historical and cultural evolution of the ancient capital. Every tile and brick has a long history of at least over hundreds of years. For the first blink, you would think all these grey walls and tiles are the same look, but when wandering here closely in several hutongs and chatting with the local residents for a while, you could find all hutongs have their own stories and legendary experiences. Every hutong seems like a museum of folk custom with rich culture and features of era.

Beijing people have special emotion for hutong because numerous life traces are left here. And it is really meaningful to learn the daily life, delight, and neighborly relation through these diverse hutongs.

Among all the thousands of hutongs in Beijing, some distinctive ones are worth having a general knowledge and even going to have a look, like the Shichahai Hutongs, Bell & Drum Towers Hutongs, South Gong & Drum Alley, Pipe Slanting Street, etc.

Shichahai Hutongs

Shichahai (什刹海) best keeps the most old Beijing buildings, so you can visit about 15 hutongs with particular features, imperial mansions and former homes of renowned people in this area, like the Prince Gong’s Mansion (恭亲王府), which is the most-preserved palace of a prince of Qing dynasty in Beijing and a typical garden palace of a prince. What’s more, Shichahai is a famous tourism sightseeing area in Beijing. Fascinating natural scenery with lush plants and crystal clear lakes are placed here, which enables Shichahai to get the honor as the “Western Watery Place in China”.

Address: Xicheng District, Beijing.

Bell & Drum Towers Hutongs

The Bell Tower (钟楼) and the Drum Tower (鼓楼) are the must-visit places for people first visiting Beijing. Hutongs in this area extend in all directions with famous Beijing time-honored brands and antique culture surrounding. It is really like a magic experience to roam in these deep and quiet hutongs, admiring the old pines and overhanging eaves of the hundreds-year-old dwellings, and hearing the ear-pleasing chime and drumbeat at a fixed time.

Address: Zhonglouwan, Dongcheng District, Beijing.

Nanluoguxiang

Nanluoguxiang (南锣鼓巷), or called South Gong & Drum Alley, 8m wide and 787m long, is one of the oldest blocks in Beijing built more than 740 years ago. It is also the traditional residential area of checkerboard type with the most-preserved texture of hutong and courtyard in the Yuan dynasty (A.D. 1271 - 1368), largest scale, highest level and most resources in China and richest old Beijing flavor. Since it was a rich land hundreds of years ago, countless imperial mansions and grand courtyards are left along this alley.>>Read More about Nanluoguxiang

Address: Dongcheng District, Beijing.

You can choose many different ways to get close to these characteristic Beijing Hutongs to appreciate the special ancient buildings and to experience the local old life and rich Beijing culture, such as enjoying the special buildings on a rickshaw; learning to make dumplings in a local residence; biking through the deep hutongs, etc.

Take a rickshaw to visit Hutongs

Almost all friends from other countries prefer to take a rickshaw to visit the old hutongs. They can both appreciate the ancient alleys with grey brick walls and particular northern Chinese quadrangle courtyards, and listen to the related history and stories along the way since some wheelers can speak some English. Moreover, you can see the remained palace of the prince to admire the excellence in the gardens and decorations and to experience the past life and prosperity of Chinese imperial household.

Making dumplings in a local family

You can choose to take the chance of making dumplings in a local residence in a hutong, which is an uncommon opportunity to know every step of making these delicious northern China dumplings and understand more about the rich culture of family reunion and the sincere hope for bright future life in China. Also, you can feel it really interesting, warm and sweet to enjoy a meal with the hospitable Beijing people.

Biking along Beijing Hutongs

Renting a bike to roam along the hutongs is of full fun as well. You can enjoy the historical feature in the deep and serene hutongs, watch the local Beijing people’s daily life, and appreciate and charming sightseeing near these old buildings. You will understand why foreign people say that Beijing Hutongs are so beautiful and charming!

Besides those featured activities, you can also choose other interesting things to do to enjoy the real life and local culture of old Beijing, such as learning the Chinese paper cutting of various patterns, trying the calligraphy to know the ancient writing of Chinese, making Chinese Knots, Yangko dancing, etc.

To explore the best highlights of Beijing, including Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Great Wall, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Hutongs, you only need 2 or 3 full days, which is available for to 72 Hours Visa-free for Transit in Beijing. If you have more days, you can go for an in-depth Great Wall hiking or photography, and explore more hidden attractions in the city.

>> 4 Days Classic Beijing Tour Package

As the most popular transportation hub in China, you can easily travel from Beijing to any other hot travel destinations in China by flight or train, such as Xian, Shanghai, Yangtze River, Guilin, Chengdu, Tibet and other popular destinations in China by flight or train.. China Discovery has designed many great China tour packages from Beijing for you. Please make your choice from our collections or let us customize one for you.