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| Hutong, Beijing |
If you’ve never seen Qianshi Hutong before, don’t blame yourself: with an average width of 70cm, it is by some way the narrowest hutong in the city, and easy to miss. Located just off Zhubaoshi Jie, it was once the banking capital of Qing Dynasty Beijing (1644-1912), being home to some 26 mints. People also exchanged money here, as the narrow space made it hard for any would-be thieves to evade capture.
Equally quirky is Jiuwan Hutong, which is based off Liuxue Lu and lives up to its name, ‘Nine Turns’, by being the most crooked alley in Beijing. With nine 90-degree corners, this winding little street seems to stretch on forever. Be wary, however: entering via the west entrance (on Xiaowei Ying Hutong) is considered to be bad luck, and there are documented cases of people being mugged in its twisty confines.
A little bit more bright and shiny is Dongjiaominxiang, located south of the National Museum of China. Once connected to Xijiaominxiang, but now divided by Tiananmen Square, it was filled with foreign embassies from 1900 onwards, hence the Western-style architecture that makes it an unusual example of hutong redevelopment, and a historically protected site.
If you would like to see more about China tours, you could try Beijing-explorer http://www.beijing-explorer.com and Beijing Chinaholidays http://www.chinaholidays.com. You could also find some interesting Hutong Explore Tours on http://www.chinaholidays.com/tours/beijing.html, Beijing: Hutong Bicycle Tour http://www.chinaholidays.com/tours/beijing-hutong-bicycle-tour.html
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