Z G08: I&S Urban Design: Hutongs

The history of Hutongs can be traced back to the Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368) when Beijing was the capital. After the establishment of the Yuan authority, the nobles and heroes were awarded with lands as feudal estates. They built houses and courtyards arranged orderly around the wells.

The word hutong, meaning a narrow street or lane, is unique to northern China. The grid of hutongs crisscrossing Beijing has shaped both the city’s neighborhoods and the city itself. Today the hutong is the lens through which many people experience life in Beijing. Many know that the Great Wall is visible from the moon, but few realize that the length of Beijing’s hutongs put together is longer than the Great Wall.

Prince urges authorities to turn historic hutongs into low-carbon eco homes

Hutongs -- the famous ancient city alleys in Beijing - are disappearing from Beijing's city map every year as ring roads, viaducts, skyscrapers and modern homes creep into China's fast-growing capital city.

Still home to about half of inner city residents, the 13th century courtyard communities — known as hutongs — are rapidly disappearing in a controversial concession to China's explosive development sparked in part by the Olympic Games.

Hutong (simplified Chinese: 胡同; traditional Chinese: 衚衕; pinyin: hútòng) are a type of narrow street or alley commonly associated with northern Chinese cities, especially Beijing.

A list of hutongs in Beijing

With its imperial history, Qing dynasty design, Ming intrigue, revolutionary attititude and command over the most populous and ancient nation, Beijing is the greatest city in the world. If only there was a key to unlock all its secrets?
Now there is a way, and it’s a quest called the "Hidden City Challenge" and it can change how you discover this wondrous, enigmatic capital.
Exploring this metropolis has never been more exciting. The "Hidden City Challenge" can take you to different neighbourhoods of the city, where the history and culture is deeply inspiring. Take the challenge and you will be given several hours to closely explore the important streets to discover the secrets of temples, hutongs, mansions, alleys and communities. The more you can observe, uncover and decipher, the greater are your prizes and rewards, and indeed you will be rewarded well.

Hutong Days is a short documentary that explores the effect of modernization of China, specifically the direct consequence on the culture and life of Beijing’s hutongs. Beijing’s hutongs, some dating back to the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1341) are a sprawl of narrow alleys and courtyards, of small shops and restaurants, of homes and families. The hutongs are regarded as one of Beijing’s defining, essential characteristics, the heart and soul of the city for centuries. The destruction of hutongs has been taking place for several years since 1949, but since mid of 1990s, the rate at which they were being cleared increased exponentially. According to UNESCO, 4/5 of the 62km squared area that makes up the central part of the old city has now been destroyed in 2005. This has displaced close to 580,000 people.