Hutong Lane

Hutong Lane (Hutong is also a general term for the older historic residential areas of China) was a really cool experience. We arrived, paired up in rickshaws, and rode the small neighborhood streets.

Some interesting things about the Hutong communities:

• In these communities there are many old homes, and the communities are very tight-knit. They will often set out little chairs in front of their front doors after the work day and sit together to drink tea or play mahjong.
• Each of the homes, once you enter the front door, have rooms centered around a central courtyard. 
• Larger families (or multiple families) will often live together in one home
• There are not bathrooms typically in these homes, and so the families of these communities share a public restroom. This is just their way of life that they are used to. The younger generations though are tending to move into apartments so that they can have their own space and bathrooms.

We visited a home from the Ting Dynasty that has been home for a family for generations - over 200 years. The home was made up of three small rooms and a courtyard, all set behind this door. Because this home was in the old Hutong area of Beijing, this modest home is worth somewhere between 8-9 million dollars.

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