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Beijing China Hutongs
A pedicab tour of the Hutong quarter of Old Beijing was included in our 15-day escorted tour of China. A pedicab is a tricycle. It is used in China for transporting passengers. Men who once pulled rickshaws now pedal pedicabs. The men pedaling are very strong. They tried to make it an adventure for you touring the area. There were a few times when we went around corners and we had to hold on to the sides of the pedicab for security. It seemed fast. We could hear some of the other travelers in our group yelling in the pedicabs following us. Hutong is a 700 year old Mongolian word meaning water well or a place were people live. Today it means a small alleyway or lane. It is not a place to visit on your. You may not feel safe. Most of the hutongs go east and west or north and south. This followed feng shui rules and took advantage of the sunshine while avoiding cold north winds. However, hutongs can be like a maze and you may get lost. Every day you will see elderly people sitting and playing cards, mahjong or Chinese chess. They also practice traditional exercises in the morning and evening. You will find traditional food being sold in carts or small stalls. The food varies according to the season. We were told they sold flavored ice in the summer and crab apples covered in sugar in autumn and winter The community is a vibrant one, and the people seem to have a good life. They have lively discussions right in the lanes. Hutongs are very important to the culture of Beijing especially to the older generation. Many operas, plays, and films have been written set in the hutong districts. During the Yaun Dynasty around 1271 to 1368, hutongs first appeared in Beijing. Most of the hutongs today are from the Ming (1368-1644) dynasty and the Qing (1644-1911) dynasty. We had an opportunity to walk around the Silver Ingot Bridge area were there are many hutongs. The aroma of the food enticed some people to purchase it from the street vendors. The tour group walked along the canal to a park. It was lovely. This was where the pedicabs picked us up and took us to our next stop. We were invited to visit the home of a family in the hutong not far from the Forbidden City. When you enter a building in China, you have to be careful to step over the front door step/sill. They are high to keep the evil spirits out. They usually have door gods for additional protection. The home was a comfortable one. All 12 of us in our group as well as our guides were able to sit in the porch area comfortably during the visit. The father of the house welcomed us warmly. I believe he worked for the government and owned the home. He gave us a tour of the fruit trees in his backyard and showed us his prized pet birds. We were served some fruit and tea. This was a wonderful opportunity to visit a private home in Beijing. Let us hope that China retains hutongs in Beijing and doesn't knock them all down to build modern buildings. The architecture is wonderful, and they represent Beijing's history. Hutongs represent the peoples' customs.
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Contributor's Note
This is the second of several articles relating our experiences and impressions of a 15-day escorted tour of China we took in September of 2002.
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May, 2012
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