Hutong Walks: skip?
 

Sounds like this might be a bit of a Potemkin village scenario; plus recently lots torn down, basically a walk through warrens akin to slums (ie., "slumming" like visiting Harlem in the Flapper era), seeing bits and pieces of leftover historic buildings.
Anyone think that this was THE highlight of Beijing, or just "meh"?

We were in Beijing in September. We stayed at the Westin on Financial Street. One day we walked north about 1/2 mile and walked back in to some Hutongs. This was very enjoyable. We saw markets and commerce on a much smaller level than everyhwre else. We ate some treats at a small bakery to the delight of the proprietress. While it was not an earth-shattering experience, we did have a lot of fun. A pleasant way to while away a morning.

Sylvia, if you forget to tag a post you can ask an editor to tag it for you. I did so, and the duplicate post was deleted.

thanks! (to both)

It all depends on what you want. We spent a lot of time just wandering in the hutong. Our traditional style hotel was in a hutong area.

Warrens, sort of. Slums, no. Lots torn down, only one in our case. Historical buildings, not a lot as in many cases all you see is walls although some doorways and roof lines are interesting.

What you will find - as Gpanda suggests - are markets and small shops whose owners are intrigued and delighted to see you. You will also see people going about their daily life in the 'traditional' Beijing. We loved it.

well worth your time

We too stayed in a small traditional courtyard hotel, and strolling the hutongs was one of the highlights of our stay in Beijing. Not at all like "slumming", but a snapshot of age-old family living, working and interacting.

Loved it!

I was in Beijing last year and spent a few hours walking around a hutong. It was totally different scenery from what we had seen earlier in the newer section of Beijing, where everything is so westernized.

In Hutongs you see the old-fashioned life. There are tiny shops selling varied items such as clothes, food, decorations and some really tiny restaurants.

But this is where you see the locals living their real life. They are walking or cycling, picking up some lunch stuff at a tiny restaurant or even just chit-chatting sitting on tiny stools close to the road.

There was a really tiny store, like a small closet selling notebooks, pencils etc for students. Very cute.

We saw an interesting restaurant where some sort of special food was being cooked. It was close to lunch time and thus there was a long line of people waiting to pick up freshly made item. It was quite interesting to see whatever they were ordering and taking away packed up in some unique way. We tried to ask what it is but no one spoke English and food was packaged and so we could not see. But the long line showed it was popular. We did not have enough time to stand in line, otherwise I would have bought whatever they were selling just to try.

We ate a simple Chinese meal on a rooftop of a tiny restaurant. The owner said the sun is shining, good day to eat up. So, from roof top terrace the sights were truly a joy.

Thus, dont miss the experience. Even if you can spend an hour, you will enjoy it as it is real China, not the new China. The narrow streets are unique and the homes or stores lined up on both sides are enchanting in more than one way.

I should have added that in addition to wandering on our own we went on a cycle rickshaw tour of the hutong with a quide (on her own bicycle). The actual rickshaw ride was of no particular interest but the guide we had was excellent and very informative. Lunch (very good) was included and in a local home - we ate in one of the bedrooms. This gave a chance to see a little of what life is like inside these enclosed courtyards.

Hi Sylvia! I just noticed your little run-in with Peter (he of the hutong walk guide)... In almost 20 years I have never heard any foreign visitor express negative views of their visit to a hutong. Perhaps the best way to think of hutongs is not as streets, but as neighborhoods. As in any other city, some are poor and shabby, others are quite upscale. Most are somewhere in the middle. A few are protected by the government as historic areas, most are not. There has been a trend in a few hutongs where they have transformed by mostly private enterprise into trendy dining/drinking/shopping areas. The best example is Nanluogu Xiang some ways north of the Forbidden City.

Beijing does have its own "Potempkin Village" in the recently "restored" Qianmen Street shopping area. Nearly all of the buildings along this street were razed and replaced with new ones whose facades attempt to recreate what the street looked like in the early 20th century. There is even a fake trolley that runs up and down the street complete with a pantograph, but no electric lines to connect to overhead! Very very Disneyesque!

So even without Peter's walks, definitely visit a few and see for yourself. "THE" highlight of Beijing??? Welllll... But certainly A highlight!

One more thing, I don't know whether you have traveled in East Asia before, but "bits and pieces of leftover historic buildings" are generally the rule wherever you go. In my experience, there are very few places like say, Florence or Venice, where the entire old town is beautifully preserved. And what does exist is often too heavily restored and/or touristified (meaning that tourism has become the main or only economic activity) for the sensibilities of many Westerners. Economic miracles are almost as bad for wooden architecture as fire. Maybe worse.

That said, and despite a lot of "redevelopment" in recent years, Beijing probably still has more traditional neighborhoods intact than most major east Asian cities. Certainly more than in any Japanese city (I live in Kyoto).

Thanks, Xinghuo, I will indeed try to visit and stroll through, as time permits; I appreciate the specific suggestion of Nanluogu Xiang!
(Actually, most of my comments and questions mysteriously disappeared; funny how that happens when you dare to question authority!) :)