Strolling in the Alley

Since the Liao Dynasty made Beijing its capital in 938 AD, this city has a history of nearly a thousand years; and since the Yuan Dynasty, the hutongs in the old city of Beijing (within the Second Ring Road) have a history of seven to eight hundred years. Thousands of years of vicissitudes of life and historical and cultural imprints are engraved in every alley in Beijing. This book takes the hutongs of the old city of Beijing as the background, and uses the history and humanities of the hutongs as the theme. It tells the past and present life of Beijing's hutongs and the long past events in the hutongs, in order to express a Beijinger's sincere love for the city and the hutongs. This book introduces a large number and wide range of hutongs. It not only focuses on the most distinctive and representative architectural styles of Beijing, but also vividly introduces nearly 200 hutongs in the original East City and West City in the old city in spatial order. In addition, this book does not simply describe the appearance and ins and outs of hutongs, but tells the story of the Beijing accent and charm in the hutongs from the perspective of Beijingers, focusing on the capital's unique imperial city culture, palace culture, guild hall culture, as well as the culture of celebrities' former residences and urban life that are closely related to the process of Chinese history.