An older world amid Beijing’s skyscrapers

One of the experiences no one should miss in Beijing is taking a trishaw tour of the Hutongs. Hutongs are literally small streets, alleys, but can mean the older neighborhoods of Beijing as a whole. While the modern Beijing is all about big roads and giant glass skyscrapers, the Hutongs still manage to co-exist side by side with them (until they’re turned into luxury condos too.) It’s a world of small, one-floor houses and impossibly narrow streets where people still ride bicycles, play mahjong and hang their clothes outside.

We met Maggie, our Hutong guide, by the Drum and Bell towers and she led us through the alleys to a canal inhabited by mandarin ducks and surrounded by restaurants and bars. Then we ventured some of the main streets, slightly wider than most and filled with all sorts of specialty stores, some hip, some traditional. Finally, we visited a family that kept grasshoppers and fighting crickets and then our trishaws brought us back to the Drum tower, so we could watch the 4 o’clock show.