Xiaolaba Hutong (less than 0.6 m wide at the northern entrance)
Only remaining bridge spanning a hutong
Guanyinyuan Bridge in Rufuli
One of the broadest existing hutong lanes:
Lingjing Hutong (32.18 m at the broadest place)
One of the shortest existing hutong lanes:
Yichidajie (only 25.23 m long, but it has become part of Yangmeizhu Xiejie)
One of the longest existing hutong lanes:
Dongxijiaominxiang (3 km long)
Hutong with the biggest number of curves:
Jiuwan Hutong
Oldest hutong :
Zhuanta Hutong (which first appeared in the Six Dynasties period from AD 222 to 589)
Only existing glazed archway:
Dongyue Temple Archway at the northern end of Shenlu Street
Only existing arched gate with brick carving:
No 15 courtyard in Dongmianhua Hutong
Residential compound with multiple families
Com monly called "da zayuanr", such compounds can be found in the northern and southern parts of old Beijing where the poor used to live. Such com pounds could accommodate several or dozens of families and the living condition was far from ideal.
Siheyuan courtyards
Siheyuan is a unique residential compound in Beijing. The name means that the houses enclose upon the central courtyard. The main room must face south, and the kitchen and toilet should be located to the left and right sides of the main room. The rooms are given different importance according to their location and the residents living in them also differ in status. The main room is reserved for the senior-most man of the family and his wife. The northern rooms should be three or five in number and never be in even number. The eastern rooms are also important and appropriate as living rooms. But one dining room should be allocated among the eastern rooms.
The city of Beijing
Though Beijing has been the nation"s capital for many centuries, most of the remaining ancient architectures belong to the Ming and Qing dynasties. The city used to have the country"s most complete defense system, composed with the palatial city, imperial city, inner city and outer city. The grand city walls encircling the city had gates, citadels, turrets, platforms and a city moat. The gates were designed according to the level of importance and location on the walls of palatial, imperial, inner and outer cities. There were four palatial gates, four imperial gates, nine inner gates and seven outer gates. The nine inner gates are: Desheng, Anding, Xizhi, Dongzhi, Fucheng, Chaoyang, Zhengyang, Xuanwu and Chongwen. In the 20th century, the palatial city has been preserved as the Palace Museum and its adjacent areas. The imperial city only has the Tian"anmen Rostrum. The wall of the inner city still has Zhengyang Gate, the turret and southeastern watchtower of Desheng Gate, and a passage of broken wall at Chongwen Gate. The walls of the outer city have been totally ruined, though the Yongding Gate has been rebuilt at its original site.
Peking Opero
Peking Opera is seen as the cream of Chinese culture. It gained the name as it was formed in Beijing (known as Peking) some 200 years ago on the basis of several more ancient folk operas. Peking Opera is a performance art 1hat combines singing, dancing and martial arts. Even when the characters are simply speaking, 1he tone is very musical. There are four major roles: men, women, men with painted face and clowns. Each type is further differentiated according to the age, social status and r,vhether they are good or evil.
Folk arts in performance
Beijing folk arts in performance are quite varied. Some of the more famous ones are Jingyun Dagu, Meihua Dagu, Xihe Dagu,ranxian and Be1jing Qinshu which all have a rich repertoire of ancient tales with musical accompaniment.
Acrobatics
Zaji, or acrobatics, has developed from folk arts, magic shows and other cunning tricks popular among the common people. Records of the Historian says t h at t h e s h o w s had appeared as early as the Shang Dynasty some 3,500 years ago. The el egance and awesome poses of Bijing acrobatics have won it a special place in the world arena.
Master Rabbit
The clay figurine is said to be modeled upon the legendary rabbit in the palace of the moon. Wearing a red robe over helmet, the statue holds a stick that is used to grind m edicinal herbs. A light layer of rouge is applied to its face, which looks solemn but handsome. Upon the Mid-Autumn Festival, the families in Beijing would worship the rabbit, offering melons, vegetables, beans and others, to thank the deity for bringing good fortunes and happiness. The Master Rabbit is sometimes worshiped with a Lady Rabbit at its side.
Xiangsheng crosstalk
Xiangsheng is an art of humor that is unique in Beijing. Speech, imitation, poking fun and singing are the four m ain skills each actor or actress must master. A xiangsheng performance can involve one or two, or even more actors or actresses. Master Hou Baolin (1917-1993) once created the peak of traditional xiangsheng. Guo Degang, a young actor who strives to revitalize classic shows while creating modern pieces, has gained enormous popularity in recent years.
Clothing
When the Qing Dynasty settled its capital in Beijing nearly 400 years ago, the Manchurian rulers dictated that short coat, folded sleeve and plaited hair were the code of dress for men and banned the loose robes with broad sleeves and bound hair as worn by previous tim es.