Dashilar Hutongs

The Dashilar Hutongs are central to Beijing and its history. Traditionally they are many residences with central courtyards separated by narrow streets. Historically, hutongs were designated to those of higher social status due to its central access to the city and surrounding amenities. As of today most of them have been demolished for newer streets and city developments but the ones we see today are considered protected, and give insight to some of the ways that residents in China used to live. Through our study abroad program this was our designated site for our projects aimed to identify ways to improve or change the hutongs in a way that would benefit the locals of the area.