Hutong - Other Information

Other Information

Each Hutong has a name. Some have had only one name since their creation, while others have had several throughout their history.

Many hutongs were named after their location, or a local landmark or business, such as:

• City gates, such as Inner Xizhimen Hutong, indicating this hutong is located in the "Xizhimen Nei", or "Xizhimen Within", neighbourhood, which is on the city side of Xizhimen Gate, a gate on the city wall.
• Markets and businesses, such as Yangshi Hutong (Yangshi literally means sheep market), or Yizi Hutong (a local term for soap is yizi)
• Temples, such as Guanyinsi Hutong (Guanyinsi is the Kuan-yin Temple)
• Local features, such as Liushu Hutong (Liushu means willow), which was originally named "Liushujing Hutong", litearlly "Willow Tree Well Hutong", after a local well.

Some hutongs were named after people, such as Mengduan Hutong (named after Meng Duan, a mayor of Beijing in the Ming Dynasty whose residence was in this hutong).

Others were given an auspicious name, with words with generic positive attributes, such as Xiqing Hutong (Xiqing means happy)

Hutongs sharing a name, or longer hutongs divided into sections, are often identified by direction. for example, there are three Hongmen Hutong ("Red Gate Hutong"), being the West Hongmen Hutong, the East Hongmen Hutong, and the South Hongmen Hutong (all three hutongs have been completely obliterated as of 2011 and no longer exist).

While most Beijing hutongs are straight, Jiudaowan (九道弯, literally "Nine Turns") Hutong turns nineteen times.

At its narrowest section, Qianshi Hutong near Qianmen (Front Gate) is only 40 centimeters wide.