Where is the hutong?
Most hutongs in Beijing are basically concentrated in the middle of the Second Ring Road. To put it simply, it takes 20 minutes by subway from Tiananmen Square.
The following are some distinctive hutongs in Beijing, including location, hutong characteristics and transportation modes.
If you come to Beijing for the first time, you can give priority to the following four hutongs: Beiluoguxiang, Guozijian Street, Wudaoying Hutong and Liulichang Ancient Culture Street.
Beiluogu lane
From south to north, through Nanluoguxiang, through Gulou East Street, you will arrive at Beiluoguxiang. Beiluoguxiang has a leisurely atmosphere, which is the biggest difference from the noisy Nanluoguxiang. There are few people in Beiluoguxiang, which is suitable for walking and taking pictures. There are many small shops, cafes and restaurants hidden inside, and you can also have quiet afternoon tea.
Guozijian steet
Guozijian Street is named after Confucius Temple and imperial academy. There are several temples and four archways on this street, which are most suitable for exploring history and culture.
Imperial academy is the highest institution of higher learning established in Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. At that time, if you can go to school in imperial academy, it will be a matter of "honoring your ancestors". Confucius Temple was a place where Confucius was sacrificed in Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are more than 50,000 stone tablets 198 engraved with the names of three generations of literati, including Shen Junru, Xu Guangqi, Zeng Guofan and Yuan Chonghuan.
1, Confucius Temple and imperial academy are nominally two scenic spots, but the actual tickets are joint tickets. The entrance (ticket office is in Confucius Temple, and the exit is in imperial academy.
2. The northernmost part of Confucius Temple is Dacheng Ritual Music, with dance performances. The afternoon performance starts at 4 o'clock and lasts about 10 minutes. The content of the performance is some classics of the Analects of Confucius, depicting reading, making friends, war and other scenes.
3. At the imperial academy Gate in imperial academy, there is a big screen on the left, which briefly describes the history and culture of the scenic spot for about 20 minutes, with macro history and micro details.
In the past, temples and schools were not separated, and they were often built together. Personally, I think it is very beneficial to take care of children in parenting education! In short, it is worth seeing!
1. There is an exhibition hall on the right hand side of imperial academy, which introduces the whole story of the imperial examination in a colorful way. It is easy for people to think of Jiangnan Palace Garden in Nanjing. In fact, for the sake of fairness in the imperial examination, the government did take many measures to prevent cheating and selected many talents.
2. Inside the main building, there are lectures and libraries. And the learning atmosphere is very strong. Nowadays, social psychology is too anxious and impatient, and sometimes it is really beautiful to calm down and study hard.
How to get there?
Get off at Lama Temple Station on Metro Line 2 and Line 5 and walk for 2 minutes.
Wudaoying Hu tong
Wudaoying Hutong, with a total length of more than 600 meters, is next to imperial academy Street and is the new favorite of young people. There are not many people in this hutong, most of them are very leisurely, and they want to stay here for an afternoon, or tourists who come here to take pictures.
Because most of the investors who settled in Wudaoying in the early days were foreigners. So there are all kinds of coffee, pubs and western-style light restaurants here, which are the gathering place of petty bourgeoisie in Beijing and one of the favorite places for foreigners to live. Some bosses who opened stores in Nanluoguxiang and Gulou also got wind of it and opened branches or new stores in Wudaoying.
How to get there?
Take Metro Line 2, get off at Andingmen or Yonghegong Station and walk for 5 minutes.
Liulichang Guwenhua Street
Liulichang has nothing to do with "glass" now, and there is no trace of "glass". But in the Yuan Dynasty, it was still a suburb, so the official kiln burning glazed tiles was opened. In the thirty-second year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty, it became an urban area, so the "Liulichang" at that time moved to a farther place, but its name was preserved and passed down to this day.
Today's Liulichang is a street selling Four Treasures of the Study. Many old Bizhuang shops, bookstores and China's largest bookstore "China Bookstore" are located here. Since the Qing Dynasty, officials and examiners often gathered in Liulichang to visit the book market, which led booksellers all over the country to set up stalls, build houses and sell books in large quantities. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, literati often gathered here. During the Republic of China, Yu Youren, Zhang Daqian, Wu Changshuo, Qi Baishi and other painters of the older generation often went to Liulichang to buy ink and paper.