China - Beijing - Hutong street just south of Tiananmen

Hutong street in Xuanwu district, an area just south of Tiananmen in Beijing, China. Hutongs are a type of narrow streets or alleys, most commonly associated with Beijing, China. In Beijing, hutongs are alleys formed by lines of siheyuan, traditional courtyard residences. Many neighbourhoods were formed by joining one siheyuan to another to form a hutong, and then joining one hutong to another neighbourhood. Since the mid-20th century, the number of Beijing hutongs has dropped dramatically as they are demolished to make way for new roads and buildings. More recently, some hutongs have been designated as protected areas in an attempt to preserve this aspect of Chinese cultural history.

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Filename: 20120531tiananmen area beijing_I.jpg
Copyright: Mike Kemp
Image Size: 3543x2419 / 1.2MB; Mike Kemp Michael China Chinese Beijing capital city Qianmen Tiananmen area PRC People's Republic of China Peoples Hutong hutongs street living traditional housing area Xuanwu district people outside
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Hutong street in Xuanwu district, an area just south of Tiananmen in Beijing, China. Hutongs are a type of narrow streets or alleys, most commonly associated with Beijing, China. In Beijing, hutongs are alleys formed by lines of siheyuan, traditional courtyard residences. Many neighbourhoods were formed by joining one siheyuan to another to form a hutong, and then joining one hutong to another neighbourhood. Since the mid-20th century, the number of Beijing hutongs has dropped dramatically as they are demolished to make way for new roads and buildings. More recently, some hutongs have been designated as protected areas in an attempt to preserve this aspect of Chinese cultural history.