Announcing the formation of the Hutong
Hutong means
a passage between rows of Siheyuan courtyard house, the
traditional residence of Beijingers, each consisting of rectangle courtyard
surrounded by one-storeyed tile-roofed houses. The quadrangles varied
in size and design according to the social status of the residents. The
big quadrangles of high- ranking officials and wealthy merchants were
specially built with roof beams and pillars all beautifully carved and
painted, each with a front yard and back yard. However, the ordinary people's
quadrangles were simply built with small gates and low houses.
In fact, Hutong is passageways
formed by many closely arranged quadrangles of different sizes. The specially
built quadrangles all face the south for better lighting; as a result,
a lot of hutongs run from east to west. Many small hutongs went north
and south for convenient passage between the big hutongs. Thus Hutong
formed.
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