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Published: August 29th 2010
Driving in Beijing Part 4
Hutongs and Nanluogu XiangBack in Beijing, crisscrossing the city center, through the passenger windows, there are small alleyways tucked within large blocks of modern skyscrapers. These alleyways are known as Hutongs and there are thousands of them. Strolling or cycling is the best way to explore and experience how the city used to be nearly 800 years ago. Since Genghis Khan’s time, the people of Beijing have built single-story homes with tiled roofs, facing into a central courtyard. From the labyrinth of crumbling grey alleyways, one cannot see the houses as they are protected by high walls.
From a corner of a Hutong, one can watch children playing soccer, men working in a tiny workshop dimly lit by a single bulb, street vendors on a bicycle with a wagon attached selling foods, rickshaw drivers taking locals home, old men in black outfits carrying songbirds in bamboo cages, and a medicine man scooping a cup of mysterious elixir from a big jar filled with yellowish liquid and hundreds of dead scorpions.
Just north of the Forbidden City, invoked by the entrepreneurial spirit of local designers, Nanlougu Xiang evolved from a typical Hutong into the city center of
Driving in Beijing Part 4
Hutongs and Nanluogu Xiang Bohemian life. Here, locals go to shop for home-grown fashion, jewelry, artworks and crafts at hip boutiques. At night, the alley is filled with aromas of international cuisines. The new generation lounges at bars and restaurants over dumplings, tapas, and glowing cocktails. For us, Nanlougu Xiang is a perfect place to find keepsakes to bring home...@
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