What's in the alley?

Hutong is a label of Beijing architecture, just as Shaanxi thinks of caves, Xiangxi thinks of diaojiao buildings and Inner Mongolia thinks of yurts. There is not a tourist who is not interested in the unique local scenery. So someone made up a jingle for Beijing: "It's a pity not to visit hutongs until you reach the Great Wall. I won't do it without eating roast duck! " When you walk into the hutong without regrets, the first thing you see is all kinds of hutongs, wide or narrow, long or short, straight or oblique: wide enough to drive several cars, narrow enough to "no fat people can enter", several kilometers long, more than ten meters short, due south and due north, oblique into a cigarette bag. There are many kinds and quantities. The so-called "3,600 famous hutongs, a dime a dozen unknown hutongs" is definitely enough to visit for ten days and a half. Some people say that the essence of hutong is quadrangle. This quadrangle is famous for its steps, piers on both sides, nails on doors and doorposts on doorframes, each with its own characteristics. The family status in the old society and respect for the poor and the rich are fully reflected here. Entering the gate, the screen wall, courtyard, east and west wing, main room, gate and second door are in perfect order, and social customs are vividly visible. Some hutongs, such as Niujiao Hutong, Shoudan Hutong, Erduoyan Hutong and Chair Hutong, just their pictographic names can make tourists from afar feel endless interest and their interest increase sharply.

The name of Hutong reflects history. There are government agencies, such as Fu Xue Hutong and Gong Yuan Hutong; There are palaces and temples, such as Longfumiao Street and Zhengjue Temple Hutong. There are warehouse workshops, such as Xishiku Hutong and Wangzhima Hutong. There are bazaars, such as Zhu Shi (now Zhu Shi) Street and Gangwa Hutong; There are bridges, rivers, people's surnames and so on. From these names, we can all imagine the social features of old Beijing. There is a large-scale renaming movement in Beijing's hutongs at the turn of the old and the new, and many original names have been changed because of "indecent". Gao Yibo Hutong was originally a dog's tail Hutong, officialdom Hutong was originally an enema Hutong, Zhao Ji Hutong was originally a chicken claw Hutong, Lishi Road was originally a donkey market Hutong, Hutong was originally a widow Wang Hutong, Hutong was originally a firewood chopping Hutong, and Meizhu Hutong was originally a sow Hutong! One old and one new, one popular and one elegant, the change is quite interesting. In the Yuan zaju Zhang Sheng Zhu Hai, Zhang Yu asked Xiang Mei, "Where do you live?" Xiang Mei replied, "My family lives in Zhuantar Hutong." This brick pagoda hutong still exists today, just in today's Xisi South Street. Walking in such an ancient alley, as long as you have a little imagination, it is like entering the life of the ancients, or the ancients crossed the door of time and walked in front of themselves. Beijing has always been called the national cultural center, where countless celebrities have lived. Which hutong did not leave their footprints? Wandering in the hutong, anyone can choose a person he likes to admire in his imagination to walk face to face or walk with him.

Hutongs have existed since ancient times, but people's interest in "Hutong Tour" seems to have only risen in recent years, which may be related to the disappearance of old streets and quadrangles in urban reconstruction. The sound of bulldozers in municipal construction awakened people's homesickness. Nostalgia has always been a beautiful and soft emotion, and people's empty hearts need it to enrich and comfort in the drastic changes. After the fierce chase, I walked into a quiet alley, and occasionally heard the faint sound of the craftsman grinding scissors and kitchen knives (more than a dozen iron pieces strung together and shaking), the flute played by the blind fortune teller, and the vendor selling hard flour cakes shouting "Hard flour-a cake!" Watching (if you can't see it, you want to see it) old Beijingers live a simple and tasteful life of "steaming a steamed bun, cooking a pot of shrimp-skin cabbage, a dish of stinky tofu and a big pickled radish". At first, they were emotional, then satisfied and finally happy. What a wonderful experience this should be!