Explore the roots of hutongs, feel literary and artistic romance, trace the former residences of celebrities, and taste Beijing's delicious food.

Hutong is where history and modernity collide and merge, presenting a picture of a life full of old Beijing charm. It is also a place worth visiting for tourists coming to Beijing to understand Beijing culture and feel the life of Beijing.

Brick Tower Hutong

Brick Tower Hutong is located on Xisi South Street and existed as early as the Yuan Dynasty. There are lines in the miscellaneous drama "Zhangsheng Zhuhai" written by Li Haogu: "You go to the gate of the main shop of the Brick Tower Hutong to look for me." How many hutongs were there in Beijing in history? There is a folk slang: There are three thousand and six hundred big alleys and numerous small alleys. If we date back to the Yuan dynasty, the recorded hutong is only the Brick Tower Hutong. Its name has not changed for more than 700 years, so Mr. Luo Zhewen called it "the root of Beijing hutong".

Wansong Laoren Pagoda

There is a Wansong Laoren Pagoda at the east entrance of Brick Tower Hutong, from which Brick Tower Hutong gets its name. The Wansong Laoren Pagoda was built in the Yuan Dynasty. The tower was originally an octagonal seven-level building, and it was raised to nine levels when it was rebuilt in the eighteenth year of the Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1753). The current pagoda was rebuilt in 1927 by Ye Gongchuo and others. The pagoda is 16 meters high, simple, elegant and exquisite. It is the only existing brick tower with dense cornices in Beijing’s urban area.

Zhengyang Bookstore

There is a bookstore under the Wansong Laoren Tower in the Brick Tower Hutong, Zhengyang Bookstore, which is currently the only special bookstore in Beijing that only deals in Beijing literature and books. Zhengyang Bookstore is the result of the revitalization and reuse of cultural relics buildings in Beijing and has now become an important cultural window for readers. It has become a home for Chinese and foreign readers who love Beijing's history and culture.

Former Residence of Luxun

In July 1923, Lu Xun had problems with his brother Zhou Zuoren, so he moved to No. 61 of the Brick Tower Hutong with his wife Zhu An. After that, until May 1924, when he moved to a new home, Lu Xun lived in the small courtyard of Brick Tower Hutong. The conditions in the small courtyard were difficult, but they did not stop Mr. Lu Xun from working hard. During the more than nine months of living in Brick Tower Hutong, he proofread the "Ji Kang Collection", compiled the second volume of "History of Chinese Novels", and created works such as "On the Restaurant", "Happy Family" and "Soap".

Translator: BAO Minmin

Reviewer: ZHANG Ruochen