北京胡同BEIJINGHUTONG

WALKINTOHUTONGJune4,2016WeekendclassThesourceof“HUTONG”InMongolian,thepronunciationofwaterwellisclosetoHUTONG.Inhistory,peopleinBeijinggetwatermainlyfromwaterwell,hencewaterwellbecametherepresentofhabitation,andthenbecametheantonomasiaofstreet.Thereouttheword—HUTONG.CityiscalledHAOTEinMongolian,whentheMongolsestablishedYUANdynasty,theycalledthecentralplains’cityHAOTEtoo.LaterHAOTEevolvedintoHUTONGandNONGTANG.Mongolianisgreatharmony:HUTONGisthesimplifiedversionofYUANdynasty’spoliticalslogan“Mongolianisgreatharmony”.ThehistoryofHUTONGHUTONGoriginatesfromYUANdynasty,thenumberofwhichreachedmorethan6,000inBeijing.TheearliestHUTONGarelocatedbetweenChaoyangMenneistreetandDongsi,whichareplannedtidy.ThedistancebetweenHUTONGisnearlysame.Thestreetsofnorthsouthtrendarealwayscalledstreet,whicharerelativelywide.SuchasNanxiaostreetandBeixiaostreetfromBeijingrailwaystationtoChaoyangMenneistreet.Thesestreetweremostlyforcarriage,soarecalledroadtoo.ThestreetofeastwesttrendareHUTONG,whicharerelativelynarrowandforpedestrian.WhatnexttoHUTONGisgenerallycourtyard.HUTONGisnotjusttheveinandtransportationofBeijing,butalsothenormalPekingmen’slivingplaceandtheimportantstageofBeijing’shistoricaldevelopment.ItwritesdownthechangesofBeijing’shistory,thefacesofdifferenteras;andisfullofculturalspirit,likeamuseumoffolk-customthatmakeadeepmarkatPekingmen’ssociallife.ThefamousHUTONGTheoldestone——ZhuantaHUTONGZhuantaHUTONGisaroundWestSipaitower.ThenameofZhuantaHUTONGiscomefromablackbricktowerlocatedatthere.ThistoweristheburialplaceofaeminentmonknamedWansong,whoisYUANdynasty’sfamousofficialYelvchucai’steacher.Onthebasisofhistoricaldata,ZhuantaHUTONGisasoldastheblackbricktower,ismorethan600years.FromYUANdynastytoQINGdynasty,ZhuantaHUTONGistheentertainmentcenterofBeijingallthetime.Thelongestone——LegationQuarterLegationQuarter,whichwasembassydistrictofoldChinaandstretchesfromsquareeastroadofTiananmentoChongwenMenneiStreet,overalllengthisabout1.6km,isthelongestHUTONGofBeijing.Afterthesecondopiumwarof1860,countriesincludingEngland,France,America,Russia,Japan,Germany,etc,setupdiplomaticmissionatLegationQuarter.Theshortestone——OneFootStreetAlthoughOneFootStreetnamedstreet,itisstillHUTONG,andistheshortestoneinBeijing.Itisnotreallyonefootinlength,butabout30m.Intheolddays,therewerethreeshopsatthenorthofOneFootStreet,theseshopswereallforlettering.AtthesouthofOneFootStreetwearcapaciouswineskins,smithy,barbershop.OneFootStreetisminiatureofBeijingHUTONG.Themostnarrowone——SmallTrumpetHUTONGSmallTrumpetHUTONGislocatedatthesoutheastofXuanwudistrict.ThisHUTONGisintheshapeoftrumpet,whosesouthiswiderthanthenorth,thereoutitsname.ButthereisBigTrumpetHUTONGatitswest,sowecallthisHUTONGasSmallTrumpetHUTONG.SmallTrumpetHUTONGisthemostnarrowoneinBeijing,itisonlyabout62cmatthemiddlepart,whichonlyallowonepersontopass.Thewidestone——LingjingHUTONGLingjingHutongislocatedinthecenteroftheXichengDistrictofBeijingCity,whereitliesbetweenFuyouStreetintheeastandXidanNorthStreetinthewest.ItcrossestheZaolinYard,SouthStreetofWestHuangchenggen,DongxieStreet,XinjianHutongandBeiyinHutong.Theoveralllengthis664meters(about726yards).Havethemostroundsone——JiuwanHUTONGJiuwanHUTONG,asthenameimplies,hasmanyrounds.Fromtheeasttowest,atthelengthoflessthan380m,kindsofroundscanbefoundeverywhere.Therearemorethan13roundsatJiuwanHUTONG.BeijingHUTONGarealwaysstraight,butyouwilllostyourdirectionifyougetintoJiuwanHUTONG.CULTURALPROTECTIONURBANDEVELOPMENTPeoplesaythattherealcultureofBeijingisthecultureoftheHutongandCourtyards.Howtruethatis.Theyattractmoretouristsfromhomeandabroadthanthehigh-risebuildingsandlargemansions.HUTONGisthesymbolofBeijingcity,Beijing’shistory,andBeijingpeople’slife.AndHUTONGisalsoakindofculturalheritageofBeijing.Weneedurbandevelopment,butasweallknow,oncetheculturewaslost,wewon’tgetitanymore.So,Ithinkculturalprotectionismuchmoreimportantthanurbandevelopment.Atthesametime,wecandevelopoureconomybyculturalpackingandattractive.Theend,thankyou!