THE world's eyes may be focused on Beijing this month because of a certain sporting event beginning with O. But there is another side to China's capital where the lanes have nothing to do with 100m dashes, and more to do with an ancient pace of life.
These lanes are the 'hutong' areas of Beijing, a lesser known part of the city's rich cultural heritage, but historically significant all the same.
A visit to these narrow-laned, single-storey neighbourhoods is the perfect pick-me-up if you are weary of urban high-rises and new developments, or seek a stark contrast to the ultra-modern 'Bird's Nest' Olympic stadium.
They are also something different to visit from the usual attractions such as the Great Wall and the Forbidden City.
Hutongs are old alleyways that run along the backs of siheyuan, which are traditional courtyard residences.
The origins of these siheyuan go back to the Han dynasty (20BC - AD300) and they consist of a courtyard with a building on all four sides.
These traditionally belonged to one family but after the 1911 revolution, they were usually divided up among many families.
Many of these old houses had already been torn down to make way for Beijing's building boom over the past decades, but recently the siheyuan is back in fashion and many are being preserved. Foreign investors have also pushed up the prices of some of these old houses, with some developers turning them into boutique hotels.
You can tour the hutongs on your own, but for those who prefer to be guided, there is a company called Hutong Tours which has been operating for over a decade. Along with copycat pedicab outfits, it offers guided tours of the area around Shishahai lake.
The term hutong is usually said to be a Chinese approximation of the Mongolian term for water well. It actually refers to the lanes rather than the houses themselves.
When Kublai Khan set up the Yuan dynasty in 1260, he chose Beijing as the capital. The old city known as Dadu had largely been destroyed in the Mongolian conquest, and so he set about building a new one.
At that time, a lane 9m wide was known as a hutong. Over the years, this definition was relaxed and they now range from the narrowest at just over 40cm to the widest at 32m.
Their number also grew from the 390 passages of the Mongol city to 458 in the Ming dynasty and an eventual 6,000-odd in the early years of the People's Republic.
Part of the need to go on the tour is that from the outside, lined with high walls, there is little to see. Life really begins once you go through the gate.
Visit a courtyard home
YOU can tell a lot from a doorway in the hutongs of Beijing.
First, there is the little plaque with the character for either public or private, denoting ownership. Next there are decoration knobs above the door. Two green knobs denote a common person, while four blue ones denote a richer person and 12 are reserved for the emperor.
Looking at the two stone decorations guarding the threshold gives a clue to the occupation of the former owners. Rectangular ones represent scroll boxes suggesting a scholar or official, whereas round ones are meant to be war drums and so a military officer.
To delve fully into the hutong byways, take a pedicab near the north entrance of Beihai Park. It will set off to Silver Ingot Bridge, which marks the start of the Grand Canal to Hangzhou.
From there, it is on foot up through Pipe Street, where the Empress Dowager Cixi is said to have gone to buy opium, before getting to the Drum Tower.
The Tower was originally built in 1273, and the current version dates from the Ming period. There are 24 small drums and one large drum. These are beaten in a performance every half-hour after a reproduction of a Song dynasty water clock chimes eight times.
One of the original drums still stands at the side of the room, a lifetime's pounding having taken its toll.
Next, you get to visit a family in their siheyuan. My tour included a visit to local artist Mr Zhang's home. There are 16 rooms in his 300 sq m courtyard where he lives with seven members of his family, spanning three generations.
When stepping over the threshold, men should do so with the left foot first, and women, with the right, to show respect.
In the courtyard, a caged mynah bird, hanging from the shade of a fruit tree, utters a welcoming 'ni hao' (how are you in Mandarin).
Over 100 years old, the house has been modernised with electricity and running water. The government is trying to get the families to switch from coal heating to electricity in this area.
And in a further nod to a Green Olympics, the house has a roof-mounted solar water heater. However, this takes three days to gain enough heat for a shower in winter.
The tour ends at Prince Gong's Palace where the spatial grounds hidden behind a hutong contain rock gardens, pools and corridors. Here, visitors can taste various types of tea in a building decked with antiques.
While the tours are unquestionably commercial and many of the buildings are now restaurants or bars, without the language skills or time it would be very difficult to get this glimpse of hutong life beyond the doorway.
Getting there
Singapore Airlines operates three flights a day and Air China two (one via Xiamen) from Singapore. Garuda has three flights a week and Air Zimbabwe operates two. Flight time is just over six hours. Beijing is in the same time zone as Singapore.
5 things to do
1. Do go to the Temple of Heaven - it's not just another temple. It is one of the most interesting historical buildings in Beijing and this was where the old emperors went to pray for blessings.
2. Do find out the visa regulations as early as possible and apply with the relevant paperwork in good time. Over the Olympic period, regulations are strict.
3. Do have the names and addresses of places written in Chinese if you are trying to take a taxi.
4. Do visit the Forbidden City, but avoid it during the weekend and head to some of the less visited parts.
5. Do sample more of the local food than just Peking duck. Mongolian hotpot is a good start.
2 don'ts
1. Don't do anything unlawful. A list of rules for foreigners visiting the Olympics has been produced and it would be wise to follow them. You can expect to see a heavy uniformed and plain-clothes security presence in Beijing.
2. Don't follow supposed students to their art exhibitions. They are very likely not students but salespeople for art shops selling overpriced art to unsuspecting tourists.
The writer is a freelancer.
Hutong Tours are based at 26 Dianmen Xidajie. Tel: 86-10-6615-9907 or 6400-2787. Tours leave around 8.50am and 1.50pm year round, plus 6.50pm from May to October. The basic tour costs 180 yuan (S$36).
