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Man Photographs Beijing's Hutong Legacy

For 67-year-old Zhang Yunting, an ordinary worker, Beijing's hutongs, traditional narrow lanes lined with siheyuans are something precious that are worthy of being remembered. Holding 5,000 hutong pictures in his hands, Zhang said, "It is the hutong that really represents Beijing."

The hutong pictures were taken by Zhang from February 2001 to May 2003. Taking two cameras with him, Zhang set out at 7 a.m. every day during the spring, summer and autumn months and at 8:30 a.m. in the winter, not returning home until about 5 p.m. In more than two years, Zhang wore out five pairs of shoes, two hats, and his two cameras because of excessive use.

Beijing's hutongs have a more than 700-year history.  Historical records show Beijing had a total of 978 hutongs during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Now, many have been flattened and the sites used to build department stores, metro stations, and commercial and financial streets, especially in recent years.

Zhang has pictures of Beijing's narrowest alleyway, the Qianshi hutong, which passages are as narrow as 44 cm at minimum, and the oldest hutong of Sanmiaojie, which was known as Tanzhou Street during the Liao Dynasty (916-1125). (Xinhuanet.net)