Beijing Photo Essay #1: A Photogenic Wall at the old Beijing Hutongs

You definitely know this fact: some walls are born to be photogenic. When you find this kind of wall, you are tempted to take picture(s) of the wall and maybe you with the wall as the background.

Hutong refers to old, narrow lanes unique to Beijing. They first appeared when Kublai Khan of the Mongol Yuan Dinasty (1279-1368) made Beijing his capital. The construction of such lanes continued during the Ming and Qing dinasties. At one time, thousands of Hutong radiated from the Forbidden City. Together with traditional courtyard houses, they are the embodiment of the old Beijing lifestyle. (Text was excerpted from a postcard I bought in Beijing.)

My brother and I were wandering around the traditional Hutongs in Beijing. Actually he ran out of energy during our last day in town, but I insisted to go. Glad to come because we weren’t disappointed at all and as expected, my imagination went crazy all over again imagining ninja(s) jumping between rooftops at the Hutongs. Well, I dunno exactly if there was ninja in the Chinese history. Nevertheless, we rested our legs in front of what it looked like a temple. I put my camera on my lap then I randomly took pictures of passersby. With a photogenic wall standing in front of me.

 

 

Cheers and happy Sunday!