Beijing’s hutongs date back to the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and have since spread across much of central Beijing, connecting people’s walled courtyard homes, which are called siheyuan in Chinese.

Fifty years ago, Beijing had 3,000 hutongs -- narrow alleys flanked by old, one-story houses and crowded with people. Some of the alley communities have existed for 800 years.

BEIJING — An old way of life is being swallowed by the hungry march toward modernization. In the past decade, the quaint, crumbling communal neighborhoods known as hutongs have been razed in ...

Many of Beijing’s hutongs date back to the 13th century. During the Cultural Revolution, the hutongs were divided, and many more people crowded into the traditional courtyards.

The true essence of the city is found in its traditional lanes packed with single-story houses. Here, Beijing Postcards founder Lars Ulrik Thom guides us through hidden hutong history.

A woman walks through a hutong in Beijing. There’s an element of truth to each. Wang Ruishu, a native Beijinger who recently graduated from Parsons, grew up in a hutong two miles southeast of ...

Chinese shoppers in a store in a hutong in Beijing, China. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images. Since our last column, the bricking of Beijing’s hutongs, the jumble of quirkylanes that have represented ...

Embark on an unforgettable journey as we uncover a Beijing must-do: exploring the Hutongs the local way. Dive into the heart of the city's rich culture and history, navigating the narrow lanes that ...

The conversion of No. 28 Dayuan Hutong, titled ‘Miniature Beijing’, is Atelier Li Xinggang’s recent project, completed in 2017, and located in the old town of Beijing.