Hutong

Hutong
Simplified Chinese胡同
Traditional Chinese衚衕 or 胡同
Literal meaningborrowing of Middle Mongolian quddug ("water well")
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinhútòng
Wade–Gileshu2-t'ung4
IPA[xǔ.tʰʊ̂ŋ]
A hutong in Beijing
Entrance to a residence in a hutong

Hutong (simplified Chinese: 胡同; traditional Chinese: 衚衕 or 胡同; pinyin: hútòng) are a type of narrow street or alley commonly associated with northern Chinese cities, especially Beijing.

In Beijing, hutongs are alleys formed by lines of siheyuan, traditional courtyard residences.[1] Many neighbourhoods were formed by joining one siheyuan to another to form a hutong, and then joining one hutong to another. The word hutong is also used to refer to such neighbourhoods.

Since the mid-20th century, many Beijing hutongs were demolished to make way for new roads and buildings. More recently, however, many hutongs have been designated as protected, in an attempt to preserve this aspect of Chinese cultural history. Hutongs were first established in the Yuan dynasty (1279–1368) and then expanded in the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) dynasties.

  1. ^ Michael Meyer. "The Death and Life of Old Beijing". Archived from the original on 2015-09-10. Retrieved 2008-12-05.

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