Nanchizi street is covered with trees in summer.

Speaking of hutongs, we instinctively feel that hutongs are just streets of ordinary houses. In fact, with the changes of the city, part of the passageways in the old Beijing City have gradually evolved into hutongs today. This is the case with Nanchizi Hutong.

Nanchizi street and Beichizi street, located in Dongcheng District, form a north-south passage to the east of the Forbidden City, becoming the "artery" sandwiched between the Forbidden City. Nanchizi Hutong was the passage of the Imperial City in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It was forbidden for the common people to enter. This also determines the function of the area near Nanchizi, which is related to royal activities.

You can see the names of the nearby hutongs, such as Denglongku Hutong, Duanku Hutong, Ciqiku Hutong, etc. This is the original royal owned warehouse, used to protect all the royal living materials. Therefore, Nanchizi hutong is the one in the royal living area.

Nanchizi Hutong became the residence of ordinary residents in the early years of the Republic of China. At that time, relevant organizations carried out a series of large-scale reconstruction of the whole city of Beijing. It includes dredging the traffic around the Forbidden City, opening up many blocks we are familiar with today. At the same time, a large number of ordinary people began to move into Nanchizi Hutong. As a result, the alley enters from the royal era into the age of ordinary people.