Liang Sicheng and Lin Huiyin were two of the most famous Chinese architects of the 20th Century.

Liang and Lin lived at No. 24 Beizongbu Hutong (formerly No. 3) for seven years (1930-1937), and during that time conducted research that resulted in the discovery of the Zhaozhou Bridge, the oldest open-spandrel stone segmental arch bridge in the world that dates back 1400 years, and other valuable cultural relics.  Liang and Lin based their authoritative tome, Chinese Architectural History, on the knowledge and information that they gathered during their time living in Beizongbu Hutong.

The two architects later provided information to the military during World War II and the Chinese Civil War to prevent the destruction of culturally significant structures. The list of cultural artifacts that Lin and Liang gave the military during the Civil War is recognized by experts as the first such compilation in Chinese history and formed the foundation for the cultural protection lists later on.  It is doubtless that the seven years Lin and Liang spent in Beizongbu Hutong are some of the most important times in Chinese architectural history.