Hutong tour in Beijing

While my husband and I were in Beijing for three days during a 2-week trip to China, April 15-29, 2007, I wanted to take a tour of the hutongs.

Hutongs are the alleys that are lined with multitudes of small homes. They covered the city for centuries, but since the founding of the People’s Republic of China and most particularly since the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), hutongs have been destroyed and replaced by other buildings, Tiananmen Square, etc. Many hutongs remain, in pockets around the city, housing one-third of Beijing’s population today.

For our china visit, my husband and I had an individual itinerary arranged for us by David Allardice of Eastern Journeys Limited (4C Right Emperor Bldg., 122 Wellington St. Central, Hong Kong SAR, China; phone +852-2544-5488 or fax 5489). He followed my ideas and fleshed them out perfectly.

For two of us, our trip cost $8,620, including hotels, in-country flights and someone to meet us at each airport and drive us, with a guide, to our hotel. The guide stayed with us throughout each stay, then handed us off.

Even in Kunming, where we had a 2-hour wait between planes while en route from Lijiang to Shanghai, a young man was there to meet us. We agreed to have him take us to a teahouse to learn about the various famous teas of the area and, of course, buy a bit. He deserved his “cut.”

All the cars were in excellent condition, the drivers were good, and the personable guides provided excellent service and spoke English competently enough to be able to answer our many questions intelligently.

I asked our guide in Beijing about a tour of hutongs and he took us to a meeting place of the Beijing Hutong Tour Company, Ltd. (No. 26, DiAnMenXiDajie), 200 meters west of the north entrance to Beihai Park.

Our experience was dismal, to say the least, and I strongly recommend that this particular hutong tour be avoided. It was expensive, at RMB200 (near $26) per person plus tips all around, and we saw next to nothing but the alley or lane and the gray wall of a house. Inside, the homes were happily quite up to date with modern conveniences.

It is nice for the householders to make a little money and be able to stay in their longtime homes, but nothing more than the chat with a pleasant widow was offered before we returned to the entrance. The tour took about 40 minutes.

There are hutongs that can be seen on one’s own by keeping an eye out for them. We found one near our hotel that was wonderful, tucked between apartment buildings and giant highrises. A stroll offered street activity, little restaurants and interesting views through open doors.

One hutong preserved for historic (read “tourist”) value is behind the Forbidden City, and a sea of bicycle-rickshaws are available to carry people through it. A guide chooses a house to stop at, taking the visitor in for a very brief visit. It is possible to walk through a hutong on one’s own, of course, but not go into a home.

Hutongs offer a picture of what lies behind the present facade of the city, and it’s worth some effort to see them. There are many bicycle-rickshaw tours of hutongs listed on the Internet; travelers might research this ahead of time.

Our Eastern Journeys agent was within reach of a phone call at all times. He had arranged for us a nice bike ride in the countryside outside of Lijiang; a fine horseback trip (horses being led), and a walk on the Wild Wall (part of the Great Wall not fully restored).

The Wild Wall, by the way, is considerably farther from Beijing than Badaling and Mutianyu but is far less crowded. It’s the same one written up by Julie Skurdenis (June ’05, pg. 110), so I think I have her to thank.

The restoration goes only so far, but you certainly get a wonderful sweep of the wall and can carry on for a healthy and challenging hike for some 10 to 12 miles between Jinshanling and Simatai, if so inclined. The cable car up to the first tower was operating when we were there.

JANICE SCHOCK

Bend, OR