The Chinese word 'hutong' means lane and is curiously made up from the word for beard 'hu' and the word for same, 'tong', which makes no sense, and therefore is probably an attempt to represent a word from another language with a rough phoneticization using Chinese characters. The word hutong originates from the word hottog which means well; in Mongolian. Villagers used to dig a well and take up residence around it.
Hutong Culture
The name of a hutong represents its origin, location or history. It is in the gray-tiled deep lanes that families play, travel, buy goods, gossip and connect. In Beijingers' eyes, hutong means a period of history, a cordial lifestyle and even an "encyclopedia of Beijing".
Within the numerous hutongs are scattered the residences of famous personages. Laoshe, a well-known playwright is just one of them. Laoshe was born in a small lane, in the west of the city. The memory of his childhood was so dear and left such a deep impression that after he'd been away from Beijing for more than 20 years, he still clearly remembered his birthplace, and he made it the backdrop of his novel "Four Generations under One Roof". Many famous operas and dramas are based on the themes of hutong life. A visit to the hutongs plus a drama by the Beijing People's Art Theatre, such as "Teahouse" or "Small Hutong" in the evening will help you appreciate this fundamental part of Beijing's history.
When urban construction threatens the existence of these hutongs, Beijingers become worried. Beijing still has about 400,000 residential quadrangles now, mainly distributed over the East, West, Xuanwu and Chongwen districts. The municipal government has earmarked a number of these compounds for protection.
Courtyard Culture
The enclosed dwelling compounds or quadrangles (Siheyuan) consist of one-story courtyard houses, which make up old Beijing, and feature typical Chinese residential architecture.
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