Hutong Entrance Gateways

This walk through Beijing's historic alleyways shows you how to decode the social status, wealth, and occupation of imperial-era courtyard residents by reading the architectural clues of their wooden doorways.

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1. 史家胡同博物馆

The Shijia Hutong Museum is identifiable by the traditional, red-lacquered gates of a siheyuan courtyard complex at number twenty-four. This site is Beijing’s first museum dedicated entirely to the culture of the hutong, the historic…

2. Lishi Hutong Courtyard House

Lishi Hutong is identifiable by the pair of preserved gateway supports standing at one of its courtyard entrances. These stone remnants are among the few original features still marking the transition between the modern city and the…

3. Dongsisan Alley No.77 Courtyard

The Dongsisan Alley number seventy-seven courtyard is defined by a classic siheyuan structure, featuring three rows of houses arranged with east and west wings. As the location of the Dongsi Hutong Museum, this property presents a…

4. Dongsisi Alley No.86 Construction

Number eighty-six, Dongsi Sitiao, is a two-story building that stands out from the traditional low-rise courtyard homes surrounding it. It features architectural elements from the West, a choice that made it a unique destination in the…

5. Dongsi Hu Tong Museum

The Dongsi Hutong Museum occupies a traditional courtyard residence, or siheyuan, that dates back to the nineteen forties. You can identify the site by its layout, which features a standard three-courtyard complex covering over one…

6. Beijing Double Happiness Hotel

The Beijing Double Happiness Hotel is defined by its traditional red gate, which opens into a complex of interconnected courtyards built in the classic quadrangle style. This compound, dating back over two centuries to the Qing dynasty,…

7. 崇礼住宅

The Chongli Residence is a sprawling courtyard complex tucked into the Dongcheng District, marked by three distinct, connected sections of traditional courtyard housing. Built during the Qing Dynasty for the high-ranking official Chongli,…

8. 东四七条96号院

The Dongsi area is characterized by its orderly grid of long, straight alleys and traditional gray-tiled courtyard houses, which follow a pattern established during the Yuan Dynasty. Among these lanes, Dongsi Qitiao, or Seventh Alley, is…

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