Bucket list experience:
Beijing, China
Wandering the atmospheric hutong neighbourhoods is Beijing’s most evocative experience.
Hutongs are residential lanes and alleyways traditionally associated with Beijing and defined by the outer walls of courtyard homes called siheyuan – usually single storey – which join together to form communities. The oldest date back hundreds of years. The word itself is believed to be of Mongol origin, dating back to the Yuan dynasty.
The narrow hutong lanes north of the Forbidden City and around the Drum and Bell Towers and Houhai Lake, are some of the best for strolling, where you might see local residents playing xiangqi, traditional street sellers, and surviving Qing dynasty courtyard architecture.
Explore independently, or hire a guide to explain the unique cultures of the more fascinating hutongs such as those around the Dashilan neighbourhood southwest of Tiananmen Square, which served as Beijing’s red-light district before the Communist revolution.
Read Michael Meyer’s The Last Days of Old Beijing: Life in the Vanishing Backstreets of a City Transformed is an eloquent personal story of life in a Beijing hutong. It details the architectural and historic elements of several hutong districts.
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Destination Guide >Official tourist office maps are generally unhelpful, but boutique hotel The Orchid has prepared a wonderfully informative walking map of the hutongs around its immediate neighbourhood close to the Drum and Bell Towers.
A sample route begins on pedestrianised Qianmen Street south of Tiananmen Square and heads west onto Dashilan Dajie, a narrow street lined with heritage Chinese stores and Beijing’s oldest cinema. Cross Meishi Jie and continue along the quieter Dashilan Xijie, noting the cafés and grey-brick houses. Turn right onto Qingzhu Xiang, a small lane featuring Zhenwu Temple, which leads onto Liulichang – an attractive hutong famous for its inkstone and giant calligraphy brush shops.
Trishaw drivers hang around Houhai Lake and nearby hutongs offering tours – a more leisurely way to take in the hutong atmosphere. Bargain hard or pay over the odds.
Beijing is full of dockless bicycles which are a great way to explore the hutongs, but you will need to enlist the help of a Chinese person to access them, because the apps (Chinese only) require a Chinese bank account for payment. However, there are plenty fo excellent cycling tours on offer – see our recommendations.
Avoiding the crowds
Some of the most popular lanes, such as Nanluogu Xiang near the Drum Tower, can become intolerably crowded, especially on weekends. However, you generally only need to step off the main thoroughfare and duck into a side alley to find relative peace and solitude.
Alternatively, seek out the hutongs around the White Dagoba Temple in Xicheng, which are wonderfully authentic and local, and far less prone to overtourism.
Spring and autumn offer the best temperatures for wandering. Summer can be blisteringly hot; winter bitingly cold.
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Our writer’s picks of the best places to stay near this experience, closest first
Beijing, China[1.6 miles]
Modish design hotel combining Kengo Kuma’s architectural invention with contemporary interiors and top dining.
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Beijing, China[2 miles]
Easy-going boutique hideaway with an authentic hutong setting. Houhai Lake is a short walk away, and breakfasts feature artisanal, locally-sourced ingredients.
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Beijing, China[3.4 miles]
Palatial guest rooms and Forbidden City views make this Beijing’s best hotel for a special occasion splurge. Its Wangfujing location puts the city’s central sights within walking distance.
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Beijing, China[3.5 miles]
Enjoying a central location and huge, all-suite rooms, the long-established Peninsula is a safe bet for a holiday splurge.
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Destination guides including or relevant to this experience
China
A burgeoning megacity with one foot in the past, Beijing is a marvellous melange of UNESCO-listed heritage buildings set within an ever-more tech-forward cityscape. Come for the culture, the people, and of course the food.
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Dating back to the reign of Kublai Khan, this peaceful Buddhist temple is crowned with an urn-shaped, 51m tall dagoba that soars photogenically over the surrounding hutong neighbourhood, one of the city’s best for strolling.
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