Daily Life in the Hutongs

Daily life in the hutongs of Beijing is what looks like low income or poor, but it is filled with residents that can afford food, clothes, and other amenities just fine. In fact, the hutongs are extremely expensive compared to some other areas in Beijing. The biggest advantage hutong residents have is that they are in the center of Beijing with access to everything Beijing has to offer. Within the hutongs the streets are extremely narrow so vehicles such as cars or trucks is quite scarce. Most of the transportation is either by foot or via bicycles or motorcycles. There are many shops and vendors along two main streets in the hutongs that sell various street foods and trinkets. Among all of this there is a lot of reconstruction that renovates crumbling structures and individual homes. The new buildings mirror that of the neighboring ones in order to preserve the tradition and culture of the hutongs.