So I just found out that the area I walked around taking those
pictures in yesterday is known as the Hu Tong District. I thought some
of you might enjoy the information I found on it. Too bad I didn't read
this before I went and walked around!!
~A
hutong is a unique form of community that exists only in China.
'Hutong' literally means a small street or a lane between
two courtyards, although the word can also mean a community within
the city consisting of hutongs and residences.There are thousands of hutongs in Beijing City.
Most of them were built in Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties (1271-1911).
Every hutong has a name. Some hutongs have had only one name since
the hutong was formed, but some have had more than five names in
the past.
People name each hutong by various means. Some
got their names from places such as Inner Xizhimen Hutong; some
from plants such as Liushu (Willow) Hutong; some from directions
such as Xi (West) hongmen Hutong; some from Beijing idioms such
as Yizi (Beijing local people call soap as yizi) Hutong; some from
good words such as Xiqing (Happy) Hutong; some from markets for
business such as Yangshi (Sheep Market) Hutong; some from temples
such as Guanyinsi (Kwan-yin Temple) Hutong, and some are even from
the names of common people such as Mengduan Hutong.
