Part #4: Exploring the Hutongs

In case you missed it…

Part #1: Off to China
Part #2: The Joys of Hilton Gold
Part #3: Getting a Chinese Visa

On our first day in Beijing, we valiantly resisted jet lag and set out to explore Beijing’s hutong neighborhood. Hutongs are narrow alleyways or streets, a throwback to what old Beijing used to look like. Located just north of the Forbidden City, the massive shopping malls and modern structures disappear into a glimpse of ancient Beijing.

The main artery, a pedestrian only road named Nanluoguxiang, is populated with small shops, peddlers, throngs of locals, and very persistent rickshaw drivers who insist on giving you the grand hutong tour. It is a charming scene filled with leafy trees and hidden crevices, a stark contrast form Beijing’s massive roadways. Tiny alleyways branch off in either direction begging to be explored.

The entrance to Nanluoguxiang Road.

The aforementioned rickshaw tour guides.

After the hutongs, we made our way to the Drum and Bell Towers, hoping to get a pretty view of the hutong rooftops beneath us, but both towers were under construction and closed to visitors. We did not realize yet that the bright blue sky was a happy miracle. Our subsequent days in Beijing would be plagued by the city’s all too famous pollution.

Totally random couch on the streets on the way to the Drum Tower.

The Bell Tower

The Drum Tower

So we sat on the steps of the Bell Tower and bemoaned our exhaustion and took pictures of the adorable kids.

And then, for the hell of it, I decided to do a cartwheel. I blame the jet lag.