The word "hutong" originates from the word "hottog" which means "well" in Mongolian. Villagers dig out a well and inhabited there. Hutong means a lane or alley, in fact the passage formed by lines of siheyuan (a compound with houses around a courtyard) where old Beijing residents live. Be careful not to get lost in it!
China for centuries lived in a culture where walls were very important mean of protection of its citizens. The Great Wall of China was built to keep invading armies out of China, and in Beijing the citizens also built walls around their dwellings for protection. Today a modern Beijing is fast overtaking the ancient past. New modern high-rise buildings and apartments are fast replacing the traditional dwellings within the walled hutongs, but a few still survive in the north part of Forbidden City and can be visited by tourists. Within these walled hutongs you'll find individual residences and courtyards where thousands of Beijingers still live, many without modern conveniences. Many have opted to move into the more modern apartment buildings, but others still prefer the traditional style of living in a hutong.
It was recorded that in the Yuan a 36-meter-wide road was called a standard street, a 18-meter-wide one was a small street and a 9-meter-wide lane was named a hutong. In fact, Beijing's hutongs are inequable ranging from 40 centimeter to 10 meter in wide. The longest has more than 20 turns. Due to the narrow alleys and to prevent loss, there are modern-day rickshaw powered by a human on a bicycle to transport tourists around for a tip. This photo shows a portion of daily activities on an alley through the roof of a rickshaw.
Thank You, George. Your crique is the most helpful one I rrceived in USEFILM. If you don't mind, I would like you to post a copy cropped down the way you mentioned. Just delete the frame and let me have the workshop. Thanks.
This is a fine shot. Your comment is thoughtful and most informative, and I appreciate it very much. Framing the subjects with the rickshaw canopy is superb. It establishes an environmental context and provides a strong and wonderful visual element. You might consider cropping the image horizontally just above the red canopy to eliminate that second rectangular frame. Thank you for this excellent posting!
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{K:102014} 11/29/2004