China is hot right now, and will be getting hotter. The World Tourism Organization says that nation will be the Number One travel destination by 2020 (France is now in that position, with 73 million visitors a year). And the country is changing rapidly, some of its skyscrapers (as in Shanghai's new Pudong District) making hard core New Yorkers feel like hicks from the sticks when they first spy them.
My advice is to get to China before it changes too much, and loses some of its unique character. Among the areas endangered are the hutongs (back alleys) of Beijing, many of which have long since vanished under piles of ugly concrete apartment houses. But some are left (one half the population lives in hutongs, which occupy one third of the city's area, but most are far removed from the city center), and the ever-alert CITS (China International Travel Service) has laid out a tour to see them. It's called "Hutongs & Siheyuans Tour" (literally "lanes and quadrangles")and it gives you a taste of these delightful narrow alleys squeezed between bigger, square structures that were homes to imperial retainers (long gone) and ordinary craftsmen and their families (still very much present).
Many of the old lanes were built in the Yuan and Ming dynasties (1206 to 1628), but a lot date from the Qing (Ching), 1644-1908. The siheyuan (quadrangles) are actually buildings, not open places, each with front and back yard. The hutongs, in fact, are just the passageways between many siheyuans of differing sizes. I advise taking the tour, by the way, then getting out on your own to investigate them further, at your own pace.
A Half Day in the Hutongs
You can take a half-day tour of the Zuanwu Hutong, which visits Dazhalan Street, Liulichang Cultural Street (about 50 antique stores in ancient buildings), eight of the bigger hutongs and a Free Market, all by pedicab. (This area is just to the southwest of Tiananmen Square itself.) The cost is Y200 (about US$25). On the "antique street," look for stores specializing in calligraphy, embroidery, ceramics, paintings, coins, furniture and handicrafts. When you come back to Dazhalan on your own (there won't be any extra time on the tour, as they don't dilly dally), look for one of the 90 entrances to the Underground Shelter, built to accommodate 10,000 people in case of a nuclear attack. It now shelters shops, restaurants and even a hotel.
During the tour, you "visit a local family" (usually someone's smiling and retired grandmother) and chat with her, during which time she will offer you tea and conduct you on a short tour of her living/dining room, with peeks at her bedroom and kitchen. You also visit a kindergarten when school is in session, and can interrupt the class (I didn't have the heart to do so) to ask the kiddies questions, as well as to photograph them. You will also visit a neighborhood committee/community activity center, Ping-Pong tables and all.
Full Day Tours, With Lunch
On the full-day Shishahai Hutong Tour (costing about Y480, US $60), you start from the north entrance of Beihai Park (a popular gathering place) and go by pedicab to the Shishahai Lake area, where people boat in summer, skate in winter. There you take in the Drum Tower (Gu Lou), up which you can climb to get an almost-aerial view of the old city. It was built in 1272, reconstructed in 1420. Used to warn residents of approaching danger, the Drum Tower was supplemented by a bell tower (1420, rebuilt in 1747), intended for the same purpose, but in which a huge bronze bell rang at 7 PM daily until 1924.
In the same area, walk into hutongs to visit one or two courtyard-style homes and have lunch with a local family (after they teach you how to make jiazi dumplings and to use a wok). After lunch, you visit the mansion and garden of Prince Gong of the Qing (Ching) Dynasty. This home (1779) is considered to be one of the most beautifully decorated and best preserved among the many princes' mansions in Beijing. There were 1,000 rooms here, covering 31,000 square meters (331,684 square feet)! The garden covers 25,000 square meters (269,100 square feet), and includes artificial rockeries (much loved by the Chinese), pavilions and covered corridors.
If the tour doesn't take you to the Zheng-Yi Temple Theatre, go yourself. If there is no performance, ask for the tea service, during which you can taste up to 5 different kinds of Chinese teas. The theatre presents daily performances of Chinese opera (Beijing, Kun Qu and Hebei Bangzi versions). They are at 220 Xiheyan Qianmen, Xuanwu, Beijing 100051, phone Mr. Ma Mingsen, Mr. Zhong Chaohui or Mr. Duan Xiufang at 6303-3104 or Ms. Cheng or Mr. Wang at 6303-5706. Their e-mail is zhengyici@btamail.net.cn.
On your own for lunch? Try the Confucian Heritage Restaurant, right on Xi Liulichang (No. 3), where you will find an English-language menu and Shandong cuisine (that's the region where Confucius was born). They're open from 11 to 2, 5 to 8, and are quite moderate in price. The phone is 6303-0689. If you want Beijing duck, one of the best places to have it is here, also. Get yourself to Quanjude Kaoyadian, with three branches, one just southwest of Tiananmen Square at 14 Qianmenxi Dajie, phone 6301-8833. Open 10:30 to 1:30 and 4:30 to 8:30. Yes, they have an English-language menu, too.
You can book hutong tours through most hotel front desks or directly from CITS, 103 Fuxingmennei Avenue, Beijing 100800, phone 6601-1122, e-mail webmaster@cits.net, Web site www.cits.net.
The area code for Beijing is 010, drop the 0 if dialing from inside China.