Kaifeng is known as "seven corners, eight lanes and seventy-two alleys". In 1990, there were 75 alleys in the city's census. Including small streets similar in size to alleys, there are more than a hundred that can be collectively called "alleys".

In a culturally famous city like Kaifeng, the naming of streets and lanes is itself a cultural phenomenon. In addition to those named after historical anecdotes, temples, temples and ancient relics, there are also many named after surnames and family names. For example, Liufu Hutong is the residence of Liu Chang, a celebrity in the early Qing Dynasty. Liu Changguan became the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment. He was an upright official, did not follow the powerful, and did not rely on his talents to show off his achievements. However, his "courtyard was quiet, and those who saw him did not know that he was a noble official." His younger brother Liu Huang was the prefect of Wenzhou, and he had a good way of dealing with Japanese invaders, which frightened the Japanese pirates and made the people grateful.

There are various alleys named after production workshops, such as Youfang Alley, Sauce and Vinegar Alley, Roast Chicken Alley, Fried Rice Alley, Black Ink Alley, and Laojiang Alley. Comparing it with ancient classics dedicated to Kaifeng such as "Menghualu" and "Rumenglu", we can imagine the prosperity of commerce and handicrafts at that time.

The names named after scenery and street patterns are also dizzying, such as Cuihua Hutong, Hydrangea Hutong, Chunshu Hutong, Purslane Hutong, Shuichu Hutong, and Sanyanjing (there is a well in the street). Sankong), Goge Market (a poultry market in the Ming Dynasty), Beiyang City (now a mutton market), Ear Eye (the street is curved and shaped like an ear), Fenghuang Alley (the street is shaped like a standing phoenix, now known as Sanmin Hutong), etc. In addition, there are also names named after auspiciousness and benevolence, such as Fushou Hutong, Boai Hutong, and Renyi Hutong.

Those named after government agencies include Xisi Hutong and Finance Department Hutong.

There are only a few named with ordinal numbers, such as Yiduohutong, Erdaohutong, etc.

Most of the names of alleys have "Shuotou" in them. There is a story about Renyi in Renyi Hutong in Ximen Lane. It tells that in the Qing Dynasty, there were two neighbors, Zhang and Li. They were at loggerheads over the size of the wall when they were building a wall. Once, the Li family squeezed in on the Zhang family. A few feet away, the Zhang family wrote a letter to their son who was an official in Beijing, hoping to use their power to subdue him. The son replied with a poem: "It's okay to carry books thousands of miles away as a wall, but it doesn't matter if I give it a few feet. Now I only see the city wall, but not the first emperor of Qin." The Zhang family repented and took the initiative to move the wall a few feet inward, which moved the other party. After making concessions, the two families reconciled, and the alley became wider, so people renamed the alley Renyi Hutong.

Some alleys have only one entrance to the outside world, which is called a "dead end".

Some alleys are as thin as sheep intestines, and two people walking across from each other have to flatten their bodies to pass.

Some of the same alleys have different widths and shapes.

Some alleys themselves have many branches.

Some are extremely short, and children can shoot from one end to the other with a slingshot.

Some residents are sparse and have a gloomy atmosphere, such as Bafucang, which was once a prison in the Qing Dynasty. The Bafucang Hutong on the east side used to have only high prison walls and no homes for a long time. I feel "hairy" all over my body.

The courtyards in hutongs and alleys are mostly courtyard houses. In the old days, when walking down the street, you could tell whether a rich or a poor person lived in a courtyard just by looking at the front door without asking. The courtyards where wealthy people lived had gatehouses, and some even had halls and screen walls. The gatehouses were higher than the street level. The more wealthy the people, the more wealthy they were. The yards of poor families in Huan only have two wooden doors or even simple fence gates, and some have no doors at all, with a hole in the adobe wall allowing access. Anyway, poor families are not afraid of thieves.

"People pay attention to living in the upper house." The upper house is the main house, which is for the family to live for a long time. If it is a complex with multiple families living in it, the family that lives in the upper house will have a higher social and economic status than the other families. Wealthy families are mostly concentrated in the city center, so there are many gatehouses in hutongs in the city center; poor people live in remote areas around the city, so gatehouses in hutongs in remote areas are rare. In the alley near the west gate, there are mostly rickshaw workers and plasterers; in the north gate, there are mostly people who boil alkali; in and around the south gate, there are many people who blacksmith and pull coal. It's hard for them to even take care of themselves, so how can they have enough money to repair the courtyard? So it's a dilapidated scene. But regardless of whether they are rich or poor, they all like to plant flowers and plants in front of and behind their houses to embellish their lives.

As soon as the window paper turns white, the florist's long and sweet cry will be heard: "Who wants those peach red flowers and fragrant flowers?" This reminds people of Lu You's "The small building listened to the spring rain all night, and the deep alleys made the Ming Dynasty." The famous poem "Selling Apricot Blossoms" comes from. Girls use peach flowers to dye their nails red to satisfy their love of beauty.

Visiting each other’s homes is the most common way for residents in alleys to socialize. Women always bring needlework with them when visiting each other’s homes, so that they can talk and work properly. Men like to have a "dinner" outside in the yard when eating. If they see someone's bowl of food is delicious, they will pick up a pair of chopsticks, squat or stand, laugh and curse while eating. Some with big appetites think it is a waste of time to go back and forth to fill the meal. , just eat it with a basin. If any family makes a modified meal, including making dumplings and spreading pancakes, the housewives always give it to other families in the same hospital to taste. At night, the alley becomes a world for children, playing various games such as "horse riding to fight", "riding a blind donkey", "crossing the city gate", "selling flowers", "catching old bored" and so on.

History is advancing, times are developing, cities are developing, Hutongs are changing, and the people in Hutongs are also changing.

With the formation of modern urban structures, the rise of high-rise buildings, and the deepening of rapid transit systems, more and more urban alleys have been lost amidst the roar of machines.