Top 10 Famous Hutongs in Beijing

 This alley has a long history, located outside Heping Gate. Early in the Liao Dynasty (916 - 1125), it was a village called 'Haiwang'. Then, a colored glaze factory was set up there and thus the name of the alley. Later, it became an antique market. Nowadays, nearly 100 time-honored brands are still there, such as Rongbao Zhai - containing precious calligraphy and paintings, Yungu Zhai - housing quaint enamels and porcelains, and Yuehai Xuan - selling traditional musical instruments.\
 With its east end joining North Dongdan Street while the west end adjoins Wangfujing Street, it measures 1,860 feet (567 meters) long. It is wider than other alleys in Beijing and houses the famous Jixiang Theater, Peninsular Hotel, and Novotel Peace Hotel.
 Together with Xijiaomin Lane, they are called the longest hutong in Beijing, with a length of 9,843 feet (3 kilometers). Stretching from East Tiananmen Square Road to Chongwenmen Inner Street, Dongjiaomin Lane used to be the location of many foreign embassies. There are also sites of old churches, banks, official mansions and clubs. Buildings there form the only European style block in Beijing, which contains the early 20th-century features.
 It is an east-west alley starting from West Tiananmen Square Road to North Xinhua Street, measuring 3,543 feet (1.08 km) in length. More than ten banks were set on this alley from late Qing Dynasty to late 20th century, making it the 'Financial Street of old Beijing'. There are many sites of old banks, such as Central Bank, Continental Bank, and Commercial Guarantee Bank of Beiyang Government.\
 With a length of 1,437 feet (438 meters), it starts from Jiaodaokou South Street in the east and ends at South Gong and Drum Lane in the west. It houses the former residence of Rong Lu, a minister in the late Qing Dynasty, including his mansion, ancestral hall, and garden.
 Once the synonym for the red-light district in old Beijing, it refers to an area to the west of Guanyin Temple and near Dashilar Street outside Qianmen Gate. This area features eight alleys from west to east named Baishun, Yanzhi, Hanjia, Shaanxi, Stone (Shitou), Zongshu Xiejie, Zhujia, and Xiaoli.