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Bucket list experience:

Last updated: 29 May, 2023
Expert travel writer: Thomas O’Malley

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.

Before you go

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.

Price: Free
Minimum age: Any
Age suitable: 13+
When: All year around

Getting there & doing it

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.

See them by rickshaw

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.

See them by bike

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.

When to do it

Spring and autumn offer the best temperatures for wandering. Summer can be blisteringly hot; winter bitingly cold.

Our selection of the best Viator tours of this attraction or activity

Beijing Hutong Breakfast Food Tour

Beijing Hutong Breakfast Food Tour

Beijing

Get away from the tourists and explore a traditional hutong neighborhood while enjoying breakfast like a local. On this 2-hour intimate walk...

$55 | Rating 4.88 / 5 [45 ratings]

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Tour supplied by:

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Old Beijing Hutongs eBike Tour

Old Beijing Hutongs eBike Tour

Beijing

Do you want to have fun in Beijing and see its the Old Towns true beauty? Then riding an An eBike is without doubt the most exciting and eye...

$62 | Rating 4.98 / 5 [81 ratings]

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Tour supplied by:

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Beijing Hutong Breakfast Food Tour

Beijing Hutong Breakfast Food Tour

Beijing

A stroll through Beijing’s Hutongs are recommended to every visitor to the capital, but locals know that “there are as many hutongs as there...

$69 | Rating 4.90 / 5 [73 ratings]

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Tour supplied by:

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Beijing Hutong Food and Beer Tour by Tuk Tuk

Beijing Hutong Food and Beer Tour by Tuk Tuk

Beijing

This is not another walking tour. Your small group tour travels by private tuktuk and offers unlimited beer and soda while you and your Engl...

$84 | Rating 4.95 / 5 [589 ratings]

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Tour supplied by:

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Our writer’s picks of the best places to stay near this experience, closest first

The Opposite House

Beijing, China[1.6 miles]

Modish design hotel combining Kengo Kuma’s architectural invention with contemporary interiors and top dining.

Official star rating:

The Orchid

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.

Official star rating:

Mandarin Oriental Wangfujing

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.

Official star rating:

Peninsula Beijing

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.

Official star rating:

Destination guides including or relevant to this experience

Beijing

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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Our writer’s recommendations of other bucket list experiences our writer says you must do in this destination, closest first

Traditional performing arts in Beijing

Beijing, China[0 miles]

From the mystique of Peking opera to the daredevil feats of acrobats and kung-fu masters, China’s cultural capital is a great place to get acquainted with traditional Chinese performing arts.

Best for ages: 13+ | £40 | 2-3 hours

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Beijing’s imperial history

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Capital of China for over 700 years, Beijing has hosted the last three imperial dynasties – the Yuan, the Ming and the Qing. Twenty-four emperors ruled in the Forbidden City until revolution swept it all away in 1911.

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Other worthwhile experiences near this experience if you have time or interest..

Houhai Lakes

Beijing, China[1.3 miles]

Three inter-connected lakes surrounded by willow trees, hutong lanes, and bars – a fun place to experience local culture, and take a rickshaw ride.

Best for ages: 6+ | Free

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Bell Tower
Experience

Bell Tower

Beijing, China[1.6 miles]

Beijing’s official timekeeper since the age of the Mongols, this splendid, 47-meter tall stone tower, facing its compatriot the Drum Tower, houses a gigantic copper bell said to weigh over 60 tons.

Best for ages: 13+ | £3

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Drum Tower
Experience

Drum Tower

Beijing, China[1.7 miles]

Rising up imperiously over grey hutong rooftops, the Drum Tower (together with the adjacent Bell Tower) has sounded the rhythm of Beijing for centuries. Climb the steep steps for exhibits on time-keeping in ancient China, and an hourly drumming performance.

Best for ages: 13+ | £3

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front entrance to White Dagoba Temple
Experience

Miaoying Temple

Beijing, China[1.7 miles]

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.

Best for ages: 13+ | Free

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