Recently, developers have begun to remodel and upgrade the hutongs and lane houses to meet 21st century standards. And when you mix modern luxuries with a traditional facade, foreigners and locals alike flood the scene for a chance to live in a truly unique environment. Luckily for me, I’ve lived in both the in hutongs of Beijing and lane houses of Shanghai, so if you can’t decide which one is right for you, here are my personal views on the subject at hand.

Historical Background

A hutong is a long lane or alley formed by the rows of traditional one-story, four-cornered courtyard houses or siheyuan. 

Hutongs are most commonly found in northern China, but Beijing is the birthplace of them and easily the most popular hutong spotting destination. They arose in the capital during the Mongolian dominated Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) as a form of modern housing units, and the word hutong actually comes from the Mongolian word hottog (which means water well) since these alleys were also where the local residents could pitch drinking water.

Courtyard homes used to be spacious, but after the 1949 revolution the dwellings became overcrowded and many homes were subdivided to fit more individuals. This caused many to coin the hutongs as slums. Nowadays, the government is sadly bulldozing the “slums” to make way for fancy shopping/tourist complexes, but there are still a few masterpieces remaining and plenty of rooms to rent out in remodeled (and non-remodeled) hutong courtyard houses.

Lilongs are three-story apartment complexes with a fusion of Western and Chinese characteristics separated by north-south, east-west running alleyways.

Lane houses are unique to Shanghai and rose during the later years of colonialism (early to mid-20th century) when Western powers controlled sovereign concessions in the city. These one-of-a-kind apartments were mainly built by the French and were (and still are) found in the French Concession. Typically, each floor housed three families, all of whom would share a communal bathroom and kitchen.

Many lane houses are in bad shape, but they never underwent the mass destruction campaigns that happened to their counterparts in Beijing. But during the communist era, the lane houses also became more crowded and aged rapidly due to lack of funding and upkeep. These days, however, there are some beautiful remodeled apartments to be found and a few historic ones have been preserved for visitors to see.

As you can see, both hutongs and lilongs represent their respective cities. The hutongs of Beijing, being in the capital and cultural center of the Middle Kingdom, are quintessential Chinese with black-tile roofs, red glowing lanterns, cobble stone paths, and tranquil courtyards. In Shanghai, rot-iron balconies, scraggly gardens, and old, creaky, wooden staircases are the name of the game in lane house territories. However different they may be, both do have some common characteristics: you will undoubtedly find a plethora of rickety bicycles (but more scooters and automobiles as the years go by), funny purple and yellow work out equipment machines, yapping poodles, and of course old folks walking backwards wearing puffy pajamas.

Hutong Haunts

There are pros and cons to living in the hutongs. On one hand, you’re centrally located and a bicycle ride away from Houhai Lakes, the Forbidden City, and numerous up-and-coming bars, cafes, restaurants and music venues. There’s also easy access to the city since you’ll most likely be on the ground floor, and you can even get an entire courtyard to yourself! (perfect for summer BBQs).

On the other hand, many hutong houses still to this day don’t have private bathrooms, meaning you’ll have to use the communal one down the alley. If that isn’t considered an invasion of privacy, hutong residents live in very close proximity and are packed together like sardines; your life will quickly blend together with all your neighbors’ as you can hear every move they make and every step they take.

My favorite Beijing hutongs: the areas aroung Beiluoguxiang, and Baochao Hutong, and anywhere around Houhai Lakes.