A Walk Through Old Beijing’s Historic Hutong Alleys

before the skyscrapers the main roads and the cars this is what Beijing look like so really a walkthrough or hutong is kind of like a walk through the park so who talked homes have been through many changes throughout the centuries originally they were built more than a century ago as homes for the affluent residents here in Beijing but during the 1950's and 1960's due to political changes in China these futon men sir who um became very very crowded and Beijing swelled with new arrivals during this period the former compound of a single past may become

homes of a two dozen family so as the hutongs became increasingly cramped increasingly cramped I think this really predicated the concept of communal living so here in Beijing Beijing especially in the hutongs the importance of communal living can not be underestimated the few jobs here in Beijing provide a glimpse into a way of life that while to an extent is being preserved its fading really quickly this way of life lives on through the older residents that live in these treetops but when they're gone a hutong is not simply an alleyway between houses

it's the social backdrop for daily life it's a place to convene to drink tea to gossip to eat to socialize and especially considering the cramped conditions in many of the hutongs you can see why it might be a preferable solution to hang out in Airy alleyway than in your own house and thus communal living osbourne for example let's look at the toilet situation here although the old residents have running water few people actually have a private bathroom so public toilets actually play a major role in local life believe it or not these public toilets are

alive I'm sorry like your teaser let's have a look so in the toilets actually your doors when I see communal evening I mean like you literally see your neighbor take it sir yes sir yes while these toilets may not be what you and I foreigners a used to don't play a really important role here in the beijing hutong and then there are the exercise stations like you see behind me here so these can be found scattered throughout Beijing but no one appreciates them more than the futon residents I go on adopts this a particularly busy all the people meet here get

their bodies moving and have a great place to socialize so as you can see this communal way of living you can definitely still see it in Beijing and considering the often isolated and insular lifestyles of older Westerners knit communal living is really an aspect of China that I admire in this way hutong life represents an old Beijing but with the rise of globalization westernization urbanization the beijing hutong has become somewhat of an endangered species by 2005 three quarters of old Beijing had been destroyed developers had free right to buy the

land buy the land tear down the hutongs and build whatever they like there was no conservation plan in effect whatsoever in 2005 the Beijing government finally released a new plan to protect the scattered fruit songs throughout Beijing and while the laws protected the original appearances of hutongs they didn't protect against the inevitable gentrification of the hutong because you see the hutongs had become so rare in Beijing they were the new hip cool commodity for example bars cafes and boutique started moving into quiet streets where where locals

were more than happy to give up their houses in return for good price these areas are now now cool chic hotspots merging the old with the new merging the traditional with the modern so life in the hutongs is still thriving today like you can see here this is the darling it's one of my favorite hutongs just because there's so many cute little boutiques and cafés is actually the best place in beijing to grab a coffee so there's a tip for you for free for free and hutongs are definitely a tourist attraction in themselves check out this one this is none of

with some it's a it's a really wide hutong that's been transformed into a souvenir Street snack Mecca for tourists and also those who want like a a glimpse into traditional Chinese life not so traditional but so in this way I guess food tongs have been in this state of constant evolution since they were created those many centuries ago then it provided housing for wealthy members of the population then cramped conditions for the middle class during those 50s and 60s and now like I guess it's a go to hangout but for cool and hip Chinese and foreigners

alike go pickups and while it's a shame that the hutongs aren't what they used to be I guess it has to like everything else move with the time