Once you take a tour in Beijing, you'll never miss a Beijing hutong tour, because the real culture of Beijing is ‘the culture of hutong’ and ‘the culture of wourtyard’. When taking a bird’s eye view of Beijing City, you can find that the combination of hutongs and courtyards are just like an orderly chessboard and the narrow lanes are as numberless as the hairs on an ox. You may get lose in the hundreds of hutongs, wanting to find the old stories but don’t where to go.

Here are the Top 10 hutongs in Beijing for you to exploring Beijing’s traditional side, and experiencing the real life of the locals in Beijing.

1. Nanluoguxiang: the most popular Hutong in Beijing

Nanluoguxiang, located just a few kilometers north of the Forbidden City, boasts a history of more than 800 years. It was once a buzzing commercial center and gradually became a residential place for government officials, celebrities, and elite members of society during Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911).

This hutong has been designated by Beijing government as a historical site for preservation and showcase for Chinese culture while many old Beijing traditional Hutong neighborhoods was pulled down in recent years.

Intersected by eight East-West hutongs, Nanluoguxiang is a favorite spot for local hipsters, musicians, freelancers, and tourists as there are many stories and cultural experience to be found. You can take a rickshaw or bike through the hutongs yourself to closely explore the REAL life of the locals.

2. Yandaixiejie: One of the most age-old streets in Beijing

Yandaixiejie, literally meaning "Skewed Tobacco Pouch Street", was named as Dayuting East Street at Ming Dynasty. It is said that because there were many shops of China Tobacco pipe (Yandai), the street gradually changed its name as Yandaixiejie. The peculiar name is not only from the numerous sellers of long stemmed pipe in the past, but also from the Hutong’s shape – a huge tobacco pouch.

Nowadays, Yandaixiejie is a sightseeing street and fully with characteristic shops, where you can find many curiosities such as Chinese antiques, traditional art works and crafts, fashionable and classic clothes, Tibetan accessories as well as Beijing traditional snacks.You can also visit a Local Family to experience their lifestyle and learn to make dumplings with them.

3. Mao'er Hutong: the home to many Relics, Celebrities and Stories

The history of Mao’er Hutong can be dated back to Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It contains many traditional private gardens and amous former residences, such as No.35 & 37 of Mao’er Hutong is called Empress Gate, which is the former residence of Wan Rong (1906-1946), the empress of the last Qing Emperor, Pu Yi, and the No. 11 is Militarist’s Mansion which was the former residence of Feng Guozhang, one of the major participants in the nightmarish warlord period (1916-1928) in 20 the century Chinese history.