The Beijing Hutong (old lane) areas have a very special and important position in the rich history and culture of Beijing. While visiting the Beijing Hutong, you can appreciate the dramatic changes that the rest of Beijing has undergone. You can see evidence of the history of Beijing, experience the old way of life and experience traditional Beijing culture.   The Beijing Hutong is made up of lanes or alleys formed by lines of pre-modern quadrangles (siheyuan), four-sided dwelling compounds or quadrangles consist of one-story courtyard houses, which make up old Beijing, and feature typical Chinese residential architecture.   Beijing road classification was once s follow: A 36-foot-wide road was called a standard, street, an 18-foot-wide one was a small street and a 9-foot-wide lane was named a hutong. In fact, the Beijing Hutongs are unclassifiable by the traditional standard, ranging from 40 centimeters to 10 feet in width. The longest hutong has more than 20 turns. It is easy to get lost in the maze of winding lanes hat is the hutong, with the gray-tiled houses and deep alleys crossing each other, all identical in appearance, with many blind hutongs or culdesacs.   Hutongs were first named as such in the Yuan Dynasty(1271-1368), with its Mongolian rulers having an influence on the Chinese language. However, siheyuan or quadrangles have probably been around much longer. The name of a hutong represents its origin, location or history. It is in the gray-tiled deep lanes that families play, travel, buy goods, gossip and connect. In beijingers'eyes, hutong means a period of history, a cordial lifestyle and even an "encyclopedia of Beijing". When urban construction threatens the existence of these hutongs, Beijingers become worried. Beijing still has about 400 000 residential quadrangles now, mainly distribute over the East, West, Xuanwu and Chongwen districts. The municipal government has marked a number of these compounds for protection.   If you would like to have a glimpse into Beijing' Yesterday, you are highly recommended to have a short adventure trip to the Hutongs. Beijing Hutong Tour (Rickshaw Hutong, Bike Hutong and Walk Hutong) is organized by Beijing Xinhua International Tours. Where can this passage be found?
In tourist handbooks. In geographic magazines. In history books. In books about Chinese culture.