Street superlatives

Beijing Weekend By Zhang Tianxin It would be a very fleet-footed foreign tourist, indeed, who could take in the 6,000 hutong of Beijing in a summer visit to this sprawling metropolis. However, by learning something of the most representative of these intriguing alleyways, you can get a pretty good idea of what it is about them, that makes them so special to Beijing natives and visitors alike. They are, in fact, often closely tied to history and local customs. Located close to Tian'anmen Square, Jiaomin Xiang (Alley), with its east and west extensions, is the longest lane in the city. East Jiaomin Xiang is 1,552 metres long and West Jiaomin Xiang, 1,080 metres. East Jiaomin Xiang and West Jiaomin Xiang are parallel to Chang'an Jie (avenue) to the north, and extend from Chongwenmenwai Avenue in the east to Xinhua Street in the Hepingmen neighbourhood in the west. In the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), the lane served as the city's glutinous rice market. It was located by a canal which brought the glutinous rice (jiangmi in Chinese) from southern China to Beijing. As a result, the lane acquired the name Jiangmi Xiang. In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the lane was separated into two parts: East Jiangmi Xiang and West Jiangmi Xiang. After the so-called eight-power allied military force (made up of British, US, German, French, Russian, Japanese, Italian and Austrian troops) invaded China and captured Beijing in 1900, many Western countries began to establish their embassies along Jiangmi Xiang. This led to the alley's name being changed to Jiaomin Xiang, jiaomin literally meaning diplomatic people. In sharp contrast with the longest hutong, Yichi (chi, a Chinese unit of length equalling one-third of a metre; yi means one) Dajie is only about 10 metres long, making it the city's shortest alley. Foreign visitors are surprised when they are told that the hutong, situated close to East Liulichang Street in Xuanwu District, was called an Avenue, or Dajie, in ancient times and that it has retained this rather ostentatious designation to this day. "The name is the result of Beijingers' sense of humour. Sometimes they give their lanes ironic names," said Yu Dexiang, a specialist on Beijing's history and culture. Finding Beijing's narrowest alley might be difficult for scholars as well as tourists. Located close to Zhushikou, the former pearl market area, in Chongwen District, Gaoxiao Hutong long held the crown as the city's "narrowest lane," as it measures only 60 centimetres across. Eventually, however, the alley lost its crown, which went to Xiaolaba Hutong, located close to Tianqiao in Xuanwu District. The reason was simple: Xiaolaba Hutong had a width of only about 50 centimetres. Before too long, the crown was to move again, however, because a certain Qianshi Hutong proved to be only 40 centimetres across. Yu Shihua, a middle-aged local resident said: "Now Qianshi Hutong holds the crown. I have lived here for decades, and I am quite excited about the alley's special status among Beijing's hutong. Our alley is listed as one of the city's 'mosts'!" In addition, some tortuous lanes full of twists and turns have distinctive names which vividly describe their characteristic features. The lane with the greatest number of turns is Jiudaowan (nine curves) Hutong in Dongcheng District's Beixinqiao Area. In fact, the lane has more than 20 twists and turns. In ancient folklore, great emphasis was put on the number 9, which represented ultimate supremacy and symbolized infinity. So it was only natural the number was used by locals to highlight the fact that the labyrinthian lane had many turns.

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