(Wikipedia)
Hutongs (simplified Chinese: 胡同; traditional Chinese: 衚衕; pinyin: hútòng) are a type of narrow streets or alleys, most commonly associated with Beijing, China. In Beijing, hutongs are alleys formed by lines of siheyuan, traditional courtyard residences. Many neighbourhoods were formed by joining one siheyuan to another to form a hutong, and then joining one hutong to another. The word hutong is also used to refer to such neighbourhoods.Since the mid-20th century, the number of Beijing hutongs has dropped dramatically as they are demolished to make way for new roads and buildings. More recently, some hutongs have been designated as protected areas in an attempt to preserve this aspect of Chinese cultural history.
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While the girls were enjoying a relaxing day in the swimming pool back at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, I explored the Hutongs of Beijing. I was initially nervous and was hesitant to pull out my giant DSLR camera with my 70-200 telephoto lens. I knew that it would draw heavy attention...and it did. But sometimes, you just have to do whatever it requires to get the shots. =)
