Life in the Hutongs

People often say that the real culture of Beijing is "the culture of hutong" and "the culture of courtyard". How true that is. Tourists flock to Beijing's winding hutongs that attract tourists from home and abroad.
Hutong is a typical lane or small street in Beijing that originated during the Yuan Dynasty "Hutong" is a Mongolian word, meaning "water well". During that time, water well is the settlement around which people lived. There are tens of thousands of hutongs surrounding the Forbidden City. In the past, Beijing was composed of countless courtyards. Hutongs were formed when people left a passageway between two courtyards to make entering them more convenient.
As the symbol of Beijing City, a hutong has its own layout and structure, which makes it a wonder in the world. There is some concern in Beijing, because of the construction and all of the redevelopment projects taking place. However, some of the most historic hutongs are protected by the Chinese government and will remain preserved.

Yesterday, I entered the Hutongs near the Bell and Drum towers. From there our group boarded rickshaws, carriages for two driven by bicycle, and were cycled away through the narrow laneways. On each side we rode past the family members who live in the Hutongs. The elders have their own courtyards, and often serve as neighborhood watch. They are aware of any outsiders who enter the Hutong.

On a bright and sunny day like today we noticed clothes and linens were out to dry, children were running and playing and groups of men were gathered to play Chinese Chess.

After making our first pass through the Hutong we stopped in Houhai for lunch at NUAGE, a Vietnemese Restaurant. For lunch we were served Deep Fried Fish, Yellow Curry Chicken, friend Green beans, which tasted almost like french fries, chicken kabobs, and beef kabobs. Everything was absolutley delicious. The restaurant looked out over Houhai Lake, it was a very bright and sunny day. You could even see the mountains to the west from the bridge. Something that very rarely happens.

Following lunch I sat in the courtyard outside of NUAGE and spoke with a Chinese gentleman who went by the name "Jimmy". Jimmy and I discussed where each other was from, and talked about the basics.....until he started asking about the US President, and the differences in government. His take on the war was filled with frustration, and anger and confusion. He felt that "If the government had simply attacked Afghanistan in response to Sept. 11 that would be fine, but why attack Iraq?"

I said my goodbyes to Jimmy after about a fifteen minute discussion, and continued on the tour of the Hutong. The second half of our tour featured an inside look at one of the courtyars. WE entered through the swinging double doors and stepped into a quaint, quiet little courtyard, adorned with lush green gardens. It was peaceful and tranquil and very temperate. The sun was shaded by the walls and trees of the hutong. We honestly all felt that we were miles away from the hustle and bustle but the reailty is that we were less than a mile away from a main street. Once inside the courtyard we were invited in to a womans house who would teach us to make traditional chinese dumplings. She reminded us that "before choosing your wife, you must first try her dumplings." I really thought that was sound advice.

Later that night, I met up with Matt, Max and David, whom I had not seen for quite some time. We decided to meet at one of our favorite spots in Beijing thus far. It is not glitzy, or glamorous, and quite honestly it isn't found on any local maps. We visited the bar "Tattoo" in Houhai. Houhai is a touristy district which sits on Houhai Lake, however Tattoo is off the beaten path in one of the hutong lanes. As you enter Tattoo you notice a symbol and then the letters bmecen. The symbol reflects the "god to large piercings" according to our bartender

The bar was offering two Tsingtao beers for 10 rmb, less than 2 US dollars. We had a few pitchers of Tsingtao and then decided to get brave and try some local shooters. The first shot was confusing, it was spicy, yet sweet. According to the menu the drink roughly translates to Ghost Cramp. As we took the shot we were hit with a wasabi spice, then the liquor. The Ghost Cramps has wasabi oil as the top layer and then the liquor underneath. The next shot we took had three parts, in the first glass was a liquor which is heated and then lit on fire, then two other shots are poured into the container that is on fire and then you drink it from a straw, it is a long process, and a very potent drink.

As the night went on we played games with the bar owners, we sat and discussed various issues, and listened to music. It was a gorgeous night with a bright moon overhead. One of the games we played was to have the Chinese people at our table guess where we were from. For some reason they thought of every country aside from the United States. We heard Canada, Spain, Mexico, and a few others. At one point Matt wanted a pack of cigarettes but really did not feel like going to retrieve them from the store. SO, the bartender being the gentlemen that he is, jumped on his bike and pedaled down the way and grabbed them for Matt. Now that is what I call delivery service. We probably stayed out too late, but the evening in the end was well worth it. Another fine outting for two midwesterners, one Mormon, and a Jersey boy.