WelcometoBeijing,welcomeyoutoparticipateinthehutong.Mynameis--,youcancallmeGrace.SinceIwasyoung,Igrewupinthehutongs.TodayIwilltakeyoutovisithere,ifyouhaveanyquestion,Iwilldomybesttogiveyouasatisfactoryanswer,makeyourhutongtourpleasantandmemorable.
Firstofall,Iwillstartwiththeword"hutong".Expertsbelievethattheword"hutong"isderivedfromtheMongolianlanguage,meaning"well".Inancienttimespeoplelivingandgatheredaroundthewell,sothemeaningoftheword"hutong"shouldbe"inthepeople'slife.Anotherexplanationisthatduringtheyuandynasty(13thcentury),residentialareaisdividedintoseveralregions,areasbetweentheaislesforresidents.Anothereffectofthecorridorhasbeenisolatedfire.IntheMongolianlanguage,thecorridorcalledhutong.Whateveritsexactmeaning,onethingisforsure,hutonginBeijingisthefirsttimeintheyuandynasty.
Inthe13thcentury,aMongoliantribesinthenorthisbecomingmoreandmorepowerful.Undertheleadershipofthetriballeadergenghiskhan,theyoccupiedtherulersofnations-Beijing.InA.D.1271,genghiskhan'sgrandsonKublaiKhanestablishedtheyuandynasty,madeinBeijingin1272countries.Unfortunatelycitywascompletelydestroyedinthewar,thereforehadtobebuilt.Inancienttimes,builtbuildingsandroadsneedsymmetrical,sotheymustfindacenter,accordingtothecity'scenterbuilding,thedesignofthewholecityislikeacheckerboard.Abouttobuildmorethan50residentialarea,residentialareabetweentheroadandhutongsconnect.Atthetime,road,street,alleyhasaclearconcept.37meterswideroad,streetsof18meterswide,hutongis9meterswide.
Today,weseemostofthehutongsaretheMingandqingdynasties,noonecansayexactlyhowmanyhutonginBeijing.Butonethingisclear,ifconnecteachhutong,atotallengthmorethanthefamousGreatWall.Speakmoreclearly,equivalenttobuildahighwayfromSeattletoBoston,it'sacrossthecontinentalUnitedStates!Todayyoucanfinddifferentshape,length,andthedirectionofthehutong.Theshortesthutongisonly10meterslong,thenarrowesthutongjust40cmwide,thatistosay,likeIneedtowalksidewaystofigurethroughthehutongs,alsosomehutongshavemorethan20.
Withthegrowthofthepopulation,someoldhutongs,replacedbythespringingupofhigh-risebuildings.Today,Iamverygladtotakeyoutowellpreservedhutongtour,believeitwillmakeyoutoatypicalChineseresidentshaveadeeperunderstandingoflife.Ok,go!
Whenweenteredthealley,youmayfindalmostallofthewallsandbrickaregrey.Infact,behindthewallisthehomeoftheresidents,wecallitthe"siheyuan".Whichisarectanglearoundthewallsofthefourrooms,eachroomdoortowardthecourtyard.Inthepast,acourtyardonlybelongstoafamily,butnowwiththegrowthofthepopulation,mostofthecourtyardfourtotenfamilies.
Wecanonlyseeinthehutongcourtyardgate.TheancientChinesepeopledon'twanttheretobeastrangertobother,sofromtheappearanceofthedoorcanseetheidentityandstatusoftheowner.Thedoor,forexample,tallandbig,thedoorhasbrickdecoratedeaves.Carefullylookatitsdesign,LiZihuaandbamboo,whichmeansthattheownerwasservetheemperorofthenobles.Looknexttothedoor,andthereisalionpattern,suggestingthatoncelivedhereattache.Interesting,isn'tit?
Let'stakealookatthedoor,almosteverydoorhasabar,doyourememberwesawinthePalaceMuseumandtheSummerPalaceisalsothesamebar?Theeffectisaexorcismasylum.Folkloreimpisveryshort,theyarenotabletoskipthestepsofhigh,sosetthecrossbar.
Ittreatstwoagainstthecrossbarstonepillow,havetheeffectofreinforcementonitsgates.Similarly,italsohasadecorativerole.Thetwostonedrumstone,likedrumhasalionontopofit,inthefrontwithtwomouthcontainingcopperbataround.InChina,peoplelikebatsverymuch,becauseit'spronunciationisthesameastheblessingofblessings,anduseittomakeadornmenttobeabletobringgoodluckforyou.Somepillowdoorisarectangle,theyareafterdrumstones.Theyaretheproductofnearly100years,generallyappearedatthedoorofthesmallandmedium-sizedsiheyuan,usuallydecoratedwithflowersandgod.
Inthepast,thetrafficisnotdevelopedlikenow,streetvendorsplayanimportantroleinthehutongs,betweentheminhutong,sellingallkindsofgoodsorprovideservices.Peoplecandistinguishfromdifferentcriesofwhattheywanttosellorprovidewhatkindofservice.Theysellfoodismainlyapancake,milletcongee,Friedfruit,andFrieddoughsticksandsomevegetables.ThebarberdoesnotShouting,heonlyneedtotakeahaircuttoolscompletesthelaborofduty.Inthepresent,buthereismodernlifeatmosphere,ishardtoheartheringingcriesofoldBeijing.
Overtheresatagroupofpeople,youknowwhataretheydoing?TheywerebuildingthenewGreatWall!Theyareusingthelatestbrick-mahjongtiles.Itisaverypopularpastime,especiallyintheretiredoldpeople.
Youmaywanttoask,whysomeoldpeoplewearredband?Theirneighborhoodvolunteers,theythinkitistheirduty.Ifyouthinktheyaretoooldtoworkratherthantheirarmbands,you'dbewrong.Becauseoftheselovelyoldman,theregionwillbepeacefulandsafeenvironment.
Thebiggestcharmofhutonglifeisfriendlyexchangesbetweenpeople.Thechildrengrewuptogether,likeafamily.Therefore,Chinesegovernmentintendstoprotectthisareawithoutgovernmentapproval,shallnotdismantlesloshinginthisregion,maintainthispreciousheritageforourchildrenandgrandchildren.
Timereallyfast!Todaywe'regoingtoendinthetravel.Youmusthavelearnedthatmanyofourtraditionalwayoflifeandthehousingsituation,Ihopeyounotonlyview,andlearnmoreabouthutongcultureandpeoplehere.Ifonedayyouvisitagain,Iwillinviteyoutomyhome.
Thankyouall!HopeyouenjoytherestofthetriptoChina!