Hutongs, traditional narrow alleys built during the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties in ancient China, are now disappearing from modern Beijing. However, today such narrow alleys have drawn people’s attention due to their unique ways of building and their antique beauty. Although many of them have already vanished, some have been preserved and will continue to welcome your visit.
Shijia Hutong is one among them. Shijia Hutong Museum—Beijing's first museum themed on one specific hutong—is a newly built museum located at Courtyard No. 24 of Shijia Hutong in Dongcheng District.
It is a community museum to document Shijia Hutong's history and culture, and enhance the quality of the local community life. The project is one meeting between the United Kingdom's Prince of Wales and China's then president Hu Jintao in London in April 2009. They exchanged views about the preservation of Beijing's hutongs.
As one of the oldest hutongs in Beijing, Shijia Hutong was initially built in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and renovated in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Many renowned intellectuals and officials once lived here.
The Courtyard No. 24 was once owned by the writers' couple Chen Xiying (1896-1970) and Ling Shuhua (1900-90). From 1958 to 2002 the courtyard was reused as a kindergarten after the couple moved to the UK. Since then, the house has been left unused and in need of renovation.
"We follow two fundamental principles on the project-to restore the courtyard as authentically as possible by using traditional Chinese craftsmanship and local materials; and to incorporate as much green technology-geo-thermal for example-as possible into the buildings," says the Prince's Charities Foundation China Beijing representative Matthew Hu.
Construction work started in 2011. Most of the bricks and ground tiles were collected from the neighborhood. The museum maintains the former structure of the courtyard, housing 10 gallery rooms and one multifunction hall used for interactive events such as lectures.
The permanent exhibition covers general information about the hutong, the history and photo archives of Shijia Hutong, the celebrities that once lived here, and the everyday life of the local residents.
In the main gallery room, a large model of the entire Shijia Hutong, recreated from an old aerial image, is the center of attention. Next to the model, a short documentary depicting some of the oral histories of the local residents, is played on loop.
Objects that were once used in daily life help to give a sense of the different time periods. All exhibits were donated by people living in the neighborhood.
Two rooms have been set up to depict a typical living room from a former time period. One depicts the 1950s to 1960s and the other the 1970s to 1980s. The rooms reflect the economic and social change over that time.
From Tuesday to Sunday you can visit the museum and admission is free.
