History of Beijing's Hutongs
	A History of Beijing’s Hutongs by Jennifer Patton

Beijing’s hutongs are a sprawl of narrow alleys and courtyards, of small shops and restaurants, of homes and families. The city’s residents regard them as one of Beijing’s defining, essential characteristics, the heart and soul of the city for centuries. Some hutongs have been standing since their construction under the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1341). Today they are at the heart of an increasingly controversial facet of “progress” and “modernity” in China: what balance should be struck between preserving Beijing’s culturally and historically significant sites, and building a developed, global city in time for the 2008 Olympic Games? Many of Beijing’s surviving hutongs were constructed as residences for both nobility and commoners, arranged so as to emphasize social stratification and the Emperor’s domination over all. Some hutongs are comprised of narrow alleyways and siheyuan complexes, with four houses surrounding a square courtyard. Many years ago a single complex would house one family, a situation much less common since the Cultural Revolution when the government confiscated many such residences for being “aristocratic.” Today it is not uncommon to find several families sharing one courtyard complex in very poor condition.

Some figures place the number of hutongs in existence at the foundation of the Republic in 1949 at over 7000. Today, there are certainly fewer than 1000 remaining, and their rapid depletion has raised the concern of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, which has declared Beijing’s Old City, and the hutongs within, world heritage sites. But the desire to develop the city’s heavily populated central districts has seen the establishment of major construction projects, despite concern by both local and international observers.

The word “hutong” means “water well” in a Mongolian dialect. This term indicates that long ago people built their homes surrounding wells, with alleys separating each residence. Today we can observe that the physical layout of the siheyuan still fosters the development of close-knit community support systems and strong relationships between neighbors. It is this type of social support network whose existence is threatened by the destruction of the physical buildings, and the disappearance of this particular facet of Beijing life draws the greatest concern. We at the Hutong to Highrise Project seek to provide hutong residents with the ability to create a photographic memory of a rapidly disappearing lifestyle.