Spread your arms out on Rozena Street, the narrowest street in Riga, where you can touch opposite walls at once.Learn more about the stories behind the hutongs on The Top 10 Hutongs in Beijing.Old Town Riga is a popular entertainment district in the historical and geographical center of the Latvian capital, featuring cobble-stone streets and an abundance of architectural gems. The most famous hutongs - Nanluogu Xiang and Yandaixie Street are popular for shopping and eating.The most tortuous hutong - Jiuwan ('Nine Bends') Hutong is 390 meters long with more than 13 turns!.The oldest hutong - Sanmiaojie ('Three Temples Street') Hutong can be dated back to 900 years ago.The widest hutong - Lingjing Hutong's broadest part is 32 meters (104 feet) wide.The narrowest hutong - Qianshi ('Coin Market') Hutong is only 0.4 meters (16 inches) wide at its narrowest and used to be a financial exchange, but as banks on both sides of the hutong expanded unchecked, it became the narrowest hutong.The shortest hutong - Yichidajie ('One-Foot Street') is 20 meters (65 feet) long.The longest hutong - Dongxijiaomin Xiang at 6.5 kilometers (4 miles) used to be the diplomatic area after the Second Opium War in 1860.Of all the hutongs connecting the old traditional residential areas in Beijing, there are a handful or two of famous and interesting hutongs that stand out from the rest. Shaguo Liu Hutong (Casserole-Pot Liu was a notable craftsman) and Mengduan Hutong (Meng Duan was a Beijing mayor in the Ming era). Yandai Xie Jie ('Tobacco Pouch Inclined Street') and Jiudaowan Hutong ('Nine Bends Alley') Liushu Hutong ('Willow Alley') and Shijinhuyuan Hutong ('Assorted Garden Alley') Yangshi Hutong ('Sheep Market Alley'), Luomashi Hutong ('Mule and Horse Market Alley'), and Mishi Hutong ('Rice Market Alley') Landmarks (usually temples, city gates, and government organizations), e.g. Guanyinsi Hutong ('Guanyin Temple Alley') and Gongyuan Hutong (Gongyuan was where imperial examinations were held).There were many ways to name a hutong, such as: Hutong Namesīeijing's hutongs have descriptive names. The familiarity and closer relationships are what the hutong Beijinger's cherish, and many hope to stay there. Hundreds of residents in a hutong may share the same bathroom, so even while using bathrooms or bathing, they had to live with each other intimately. The people meet, chat, eat, and play games such as mahjong in the lanes and public spaces. The narrow and compact hutongs stimulate deep and warm relationships among neighbors. See more on Hutong History.īeijing's hutongs showcase the traditional daily life of ordinary people in Beijing and give a glimpse of old Beijing. The commoners and poorer people, however, built smaller siheyuan around narrower lanes and alleys, laid out haphazardly on the outskirts of the capital city. A good example is the Qiao Family Grand Courtyard. ![]() In the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1912) empires, the officials and wealthy people built their grand siheyuan compounds close to the Forbidden City of the emperors along hutong lanes that were wide and laid out according to a plan. In ancient times, villagers dug a well and then lived around it. The word hutong originates from the Mongolian word hottog that means 'water well' in Mongolian. Perhaps the name describes the haphazard unplanned construction of many of the hutongs. It was recorded that in the Yuan Empire a 36-meter-wide road was called a standard street, a 18-meter-wide one was a small street, and a 9-meter-wide lane was named a hutong (胡同 hùtōng /hoo-tong/ 'haphazardly together'). The Mongolians captured the Beijing area in 1215, and in 1271 they started to build their Yuan Empire capital called Dadu (大都 Dàdū). The hutong first appeared in the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368). Beijing hutongs have a history of more than 700 years.
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