Hutong in Foreigners' Eyes
Catarina Lilliehook is one of the few foreigners who have lived in Beijing's siheyuan for an extended time. This Swedish writer and journalist relates her story of living in hutong in Beijing.
A fan of China since her childhood, Lilliehook prefers to be addressed as Li Lin, her Chinese name. After her first visit to Beijing in 2000, she decided to study Chinese in Beijing the next year. Having lived for three years in Beijing, she is used to the life here and has fallen deeply in love with its vitality, hospitality and cosines.
"My dream of visiting China originated from my father. He is a man who fancies Chinese history and culture. When I was growing up, I was obsessed with visiting different countries around the world. Therefore, I planned my first visit to China in 2000," she said.
Later in 2001, Li's husband came to work in China. After living in an apartment in the prosperous Jianguomen area for a few months, they decided to challenge themselves by living an ordinary life with the Chinese. With the help of an agent, they found an ordinary dwelling in the Fangzhuanqiang Hutong.
She recalled that siheyuan as "something of a dream," one of the most perfect things she had ever seen. It had three beautiful houses and a big green yard with pomegranate trees that bloomed in the spring. The traditional colours of red and green, the classical paintings with motifs from ancient China and the curved rooftops under a silvery moon, she said, made it "simply was like living in a fairytale. There were moments when I had to pinch my arm to believe that it was all real!"
Li said, "I like the old houses in the hutong; I like to hear the voices of peddlers, roaming the quiet hutong in the morning, and I like to watch children playing happily on the steps before my house. My two years' living in a hutong brought me back to a placid, rich and real life."
In her opinion, hutong in Beijing have countless attractions and she will never in her life get the chance to experience something so special again. "First of all the hutongs are mostly situated in what still exists of the old parts of Beijing. They are true historical landmarks that have retained much their old charm. Even though you are in the big city, you can still get the feeling that you live in a small town. There's the little shop selling baozi (steamed, stuffed buns) on the corner, a person cutting keys or mending shoes just around the block, a guy who delivers beer, and everywhere loads of street vendors selling fruit and whatnot. If you get into the local ways, it can be a very practical lifestyle."
Lilliehook thinks Beijing's hutong and siheyuan preservation efforts are good and necessary. "I have been very worried seeing more and more of the houses and quarters of old Beijing being torn down to make way for a modern city." She emphasizes that the hutong and siheyuan are important and fantastic pieces of history, just like the country's giant pandas. "It's something unique and characteristic for this country. Everything must be done to preserve this part of China's history."
"Every city should have its distinctive character, and Beijing is no exception."