Hutong  胡同    

Hutongs are a type of narrow streets or alleys, commonly associated with northern Chinese cities, most prominently Beijing. In Beijing, hutongs are alleys formed by lines of Siheyuan, traditional courtyard residences. Many neighborhoods were formed by joining one Siheyuan to another to form a hutong and then joining one hutong to another. The word hutong is also used to refer to such neighborhoods. 

During China’s dynastic period, emperors planned the city of Beijing and arranged the residential areas according to the social classes of the Zhou Dynasty. The term “hutong” appeared first during the Yuan Dynasty, and is a term of Mongolian origin meaning “town”.

In the Ming Dynasty, the center was the Forbidden City, surrounded in concentric(同心的) circles by the Inner City and Outer City. Citizens of higher social status were permitted to live closer to the center of the circles. Aristocrats (贵族) lived to the east and west of the imperial palace. The large Siheyuan of these high-ranking officials and wealthy merchants often featured beautifully carved and painted roof beams and pillars and carefully landscaped gardens. The hutongs they formed were orderly, lined by spacious homes and walled gardens. Farther from the palace, and to its north and south, were the commoners, merchants, artisans, and laborers. Their Siheyuan was far smaller in scale and simpler in design and decoration, and the hutongs were narrower. Nearly all Siheyuan had their main buildings and gates facing south for better lighting; thus a majority of hutongs run from east to west. Between the main hutongs, many tiny lanes ran north and south for convenient passage.

Since the mid-20th century, the number of Beijing hutongs has dropped dramatically as they are demolished to make way for new roads and buildings. More recently, some hutongs have been designated as protected areas in an attempt to preserve this aspect of Chinese cultural history.

Hutongs represent an important cultural element of the city of Beijing. Thanks to Beijing’s long history and status as capital for six dynasties, almost every hutong has its anecdotes(轶事), and some are even associated with historic events. In contrast to the court life and elite culture represented by the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, and the Temple of Heaven, the hutongs reflect the culture of grassroots Beijingers. The hutongs are residential neighborhoods that still form the heart of Old Beijing. 

 Abridged and revised from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hutong