I remember my dad telling me stories about his childhood in Beijing and how these communities were everywhere in old Beijing. I remember going back a few years ago and visiting my old family home, a Hutong near Dongsi station, and a few living neighbors still remembering my dad from when he used to live there back in the 70s. It seems so much like a simpler time, a bittersweet melancholy of sorts as the city urbanizes so rapidly
I’m from the one of the modernized and urbanized parts of Beijing (西四环). I left the city for Canada when I was really young and I miss it so much. I enjoy riding those shared bicycles all around the city whenever I go back during my summer brakes, just to look for some memory. Every time I’d spend weeks just going through the Hutongs, only to feel like a local kid again.
wow , that's really interesting to see how the hutongs have changed almost 15 years after I've been to Beijing. such a different vibe. but in a nice way. I remember that they were talking about demolishing all the hutongs because they needed so much space, as you said. I am glad that the majority is still there and they found a way to value these special places. I really liked walking around there, though I always was afraid to get lost. maybe nowadays it's easier, by follow the crowds 😋
Amy, I've been looking for well made china vlogs for the longest time and I'm so glad to have come across yours. I'm not sure if that logo at the end of your videos indicates funding or representation of some sort, but you do them well! Thanks for being respectful and thorough in your explanations! I've breezed through a load of your videos this week and can easily say, your love for China is infectious! Thanks for sharing!
I really like your positive and upbeat reporting about China. You seem to enjoy your life there. Different from others who only report negative. I never lived in China but always love to come back to visit. Please keep it up.
Spending a few hours in the Hutongs looks fun. I think choosing between total demolition or leaving them dilapidated...what they are doing is a nice compromise. Like many things in China there is always a 'hybrid' solution.
I lived in the hutongs in Beijing for 5 years. Some of the streets you went down are in my old neighborhood. I recognized the Yonghegong area and guozijian. I also lived on Wudaoying for a while too. It's quite touristy and was always packed full of chinese tourists during the national holiday. The most beautiful hutongs I've even seen in that city are the ones just north of the temple of heaven. The ones along the north eastern side of the lake are nice too.
An excellent presentation. Full of facts and history. I went in 2000 I loved the colour of the brickwork and the ambience.I dont mind the modern twist. Cannot wait to go back
I've just discovered your channel and I'm binging on your videos! There are awesome and just make me want to come back to China! I hope you'll make more videos in the future! 加油
I still remember going to my aunt’s Hutong room while she was in college, it was literally the size of my bathroom now.. besides the history I can’t find anything positive about the Hutong, but the good old days will always be the good old days.
Didn't know about this specifically. All the older cities have these nooks and crannies but didn't know about the detailed history thanks so much. Just another amazingly informative clip from you. Thanks again Aimz! Love everything you do.
We stayed in a Hutong in the Dongsi district last year and didn't find it too commercial. Loved wandering around but the electric scooters are a nightmare - you can't hear them coming! As for the public toilets, my wife went in one and walked straight out. Not only didn't it have any doors but it had no dividing walls either!! Enjoying your vlogs.
the way your tell a story and present a video is so enchanting. You definitely sound knowledgeable and sophisticated. Good stuff! Hope your channel will blow up one day.
Wonderful video!!! I Am sure you know but here's a story on why some people specially in Shanghai wear a pijama in the streets. First is because people in hutongs didn't bother to change clothes to go to toilet (I wouldn't also) and second is because decades ago, most people only own 1 set of clothes. Those who had a pijama showed somehow a better economic position. So they liked to show around.
I was born and raised in the Hutong of Beijing until I was 10, spend the next 20 years in California. Can't wait to live in China for a few years to see how is it like.
Preserving and re-purposing some is a great idea but redevelopment for higher density is generally good. Many young people spend 3-5 hours a day commuting on public transit because they cannot afford to live closer to work. Hutong housing often also don't meet modern housing standards. They generally aren't connected to the underground sewage system. Inhabitants still have to go use the public toilets outside or use chamber pots inside.
Very different. Cannot compare. I lived in both and personally I find Beijing easier. More suitable for me. I lived in the south gate of chaoyang park and spent many hours in both chaoyang and honglingjing park. In Shanghai not so many green areas, road narrower and less traditional places
Hey Amy! i really enjoyed your video. Ive been here in bj for 2 months now and I really wanna visit the hutongs so i might check the ones you mentioned in ur vid.
thanks so much Raies!! Yeah you've gotta go check out the hutongs!! The main hutongs I went to in this video were 1) wudaoying 五道营, and 2) nanluoguxiang 南锣鼓巷 and the hutong streets that run perpendicular and parallel to nanluoguxiang。 Happy exploring!! You could spend hours getting lost in those hutongs. Enjoy!
Thank you dear, enjoy watching your blog. Are you able to recommend unbranded shopping for clothes , bags, shoes that are pretty decent quality in Beijing Thank you 🤗🌹
How fascinating. I'm going to search through my Dad's old postcards he sent me from China. I forget where he went, but he was in the waterpower industry and some people, .y Dad being one, was invited by the government to look at a spot to build a hydroelectric power plant. He went somewhere very rural and he made a few women cry because he was a big man and looked very odd to the locals. There's a photograph of my Dad picking up a man and carrying him on his hip like you would a baby 😂 The men he met really liked him and he made new friends.
Old Beijing hutongs, are ancient buildings in the Ming and Qing dynasties, are inhabited here, but belong to the ancient buildings protected by the state, here a single set of four-room hutongs, it costs 100 million US dollars, this is Chinese luxury
I remember when I was staying in Beijing, one night I was taking a walk with my friend after dinner around the 大栅栏 area and suddenly wanted to go to the toilet. So we managed to find a very small toilet in the hutong and I rushed in just to find out that there is absolutely no privacy, no door, no fence between those three 蹲坑. And what’s worse is there was already a person squatting on the middle one. I had no other choice but to do it next to her, our legs were so close I could even feel her body temperature. This is the most embarrassing moment in my life for sure. 😂
Do they mind you taking photos in hutongs? They're so interesting, we stayed in a hotel in the hutongs back in 2006. I was afraid they were all being demolished, good to know there are at least some around.
It really depends. Some of them are far more residential than others and generally speaking you don't want to be taking unwanted snapshots of people's houses. The more commercial ones are perfectly fine. if you are in a more residential one, depends on how comfortable you feel. Asking some of the residents nearby might help a ton and add a bit of local flavor to your experience. As for demolishing, the remainder won't. A lot of politically powerful people live in these areas (the notorious "2nd loop residents") and the growing resistance against the more outsider administration of Beijing has coincided nicely with Xi's direction of preserving the character of Beijing. They have largely been forced to retreat back to older regulation widths to allow for traffic - a lot of "growth" into the street was illegal but unmitigated back in the past. There is also a general call for removing businesses and changing it all back to residential, so you should see less businesses over time (especially chains).
I'm Chinese, and I've never been to a hutong before...XD. I wonder why only Beijing preserves a large amount of hutong compared to other cities in China.
Have Chinese Archaeologists Ever Discovered ANY Chinese Villages Which Seem To Have Been ESTABLISHED BEFORE THE WIDESPREAD DISTRIBUTION OF CHARIOTS OR WHEELED CARTS?
Really love all your videos. It was very entertaining but you should connect and communicate with the local. Hope you have videos be better and better.
I was there in dalishar police station near quianmen station. Those guys are tough. They are simply hardcore. But they helped me get my money back from those tea house scammers.
I remember my dad telling me stories about his childhood in Beijing and how these communities were everywhere in old Beijing. I remember going back a few years ago and visiting my old family home, a Hutong near Dongsi station, and a few living neighbors still remembering my dad from when he used to live there back in the 70s. It seems so much like a simpler time, a bittersweet melancholy of sorts as the city urbanizes so rapidly
The way Amy made her videos is always simple, straightforward and informative. It can reflect that she is a straightforward person. Like it!
I’m from the one of the modernized and urbanized parts of Beijing (西四环). I left the city for Canada when I was really young and I miss it so much. I enjoy riding those shared bicycles all around the city whenever I go back during my summer brakes, just to look for some memory. Every time I’d spend weeks just going through the Hutongs, only to feel like a local kid again.
我以前在海淀区（北京外国语大学）呆了两年，然后在北京第二外国语大学呆了一年，现在在长沙昌平区的外交学院读本科。
wow , that's really interesting to see how the hutongs have changed almost 15 years after I've been to Beijing. such a different vibe. but in a nice way. I remember that they were talking about demolishing all the hutongs because they needed so much space, as you said. I am glad that the majority is still there and they found a way to value these special places. I really liked walking around there, though I always was afraid to get lost. maybe nowadays it's easier, by follow the crowds 😋
i'm so glad gen z is finding ways to incorporate traditional culture into modern life-hutong cafes, hanfu streetwear, etc are so cool omg
Amy, I've been looking for well made china vlogs for the longest time and I'm so glad to have come across yours. I'm not sure if that logo at the end of your videos indicates funding or representation of some sort, but you do them well! Thanks for being respectful and thorough in your explanations! I've breezed through a load of your videos this week and can easily say, your love for China is infectious! Thanks for sharing!
I was born and raised in hutong but I am in Melbourne now. Really miss hutong.
如果您想拍拍您小时候住过的胡同，老街坊邻居，我可以协助。给我留言或者email都可以，拍完会上传youtube。
I really like your positive and upbeat reporting about China. You seem to enjoy your life there. Different from others who only report negative. I never lived in China but always love to come back to visit. Please keep it up.
I lived 8 years in china. In Beijing and Shanghai. Wouldn't change it for anything. Safest country on earth. Everyday an adventure.
@@g.t.4961 Yeah. Unless your gay, or a Tibetan, or an Uyghur, or a girl, or...
@@Bulls3ye86 Is there anything wrong with your mind? Typical happy education fool🤮
@@Bulls3ye86 If you don’t like China, don’t fucking click on this video and make disgusting comments.
Somehow, I feel these videos are so educated, even me as a Chinese find it interesting.
*educating
Hey!! I'm an American who's been living in Beijing for 4-5 years... I'm glad to see that you are exploring the old Chinese cultures!! :))
Hey Lawrence! Yeah gotta love all that Chinese history and culture - Beijing is such a great place to explore it!
Blondie in China thx for showing this , u know the funny thing is I’m Chinese and I never been to Beijing cuz I’m living in LA now for almost 13 years
Really like your content! Informative, well done, short and sharp. Love it. Thank you!
Thanks so much!
Really enjoyed your videos. They are not only entertaining but also informative.
Spending a few hours in the Hutongs looks fun.
I think choosing between total demolition or leaving them dilapidated...what they are doing is a nice compromise. Like many things in China there is always a 'hybrid' solution.
Right. Anyway... the stupid history should be demolished once for all as the extinction of dinosaurs..
RespectOthers that’s very true.
@@darkenergy9893 We should start by making you history and demolishing you.
胡同是拆不掉的，因为一套房子，价值三四亿人民币，政府没有钱拆。
I lived in the hutongs in Beijing for 5 years. Some of the streets you went down are in my old neighborhood. I recognized the Yonghegong area and guozijian. I also lived on Wudaoying for a while too. It's quite touristy and was always packed full of chinese tourists during the national holiday.
The most beautiful hutongs I've even seen in that city are the ones just north of the temple of heaven. The ones along the north eastern side of the lake are nice too.
An excellent presentation. Full of facts and history. I went in 2000 I loved the colour of the brickwork and the ambience.I dont mind the modern twist. Cannot wait to go back
Love the hutong life in Beijing. Always make a point of staying in or near them so we can explore. Great content!
I've just discovered your channel and I'm binging on your videos! There are awesome and just make me want to come back to China! I hope you'll make more videos in the future! 加油
I love the old towns where ever Dubai Doha r Bahrain morroco Beijing .Lov to eat n socialise people are easy going in these areas..good to see them .
I'm going to beijing next week. I hope i will be able to get an airbnb in these hutongs! Excited!
Love yr video, it's always short and precise! No nonsense talks.
I still remember going to my aunt’s Hutong room while she was in college, it was literally the size of my bathroom now.. besides the history I can’t find anything positive about the Hutong, but the good old days will always be the good old days.
Very informative.
Didn't know about this specifically. All the older cities have these nooks and crannies but didn't know about the detailed history thanks so much. Just another amazingly informative clip from you. Thanks again Aimz! Love everything you do.
Thanks so much!! So glad you liked it!
Thank you for the video. My best Hutong is this one near Ho Hai Lake. When I go to Beijing I stay there.
2012 - 2016 I lived in Beijing, WuDaoYing was still being built up, Nanlo only had foreigners. Good times!
We stayed in a Hutong in the Dongsi district last year and didn't find it too commercial. Loved wandering around but the electric scooters are a nightmare - you can't hear them coming! As for the public toilets, my wife went in one and walked straight out. Not only didn't it have any doors but it had no dividing walls either!! Enjoying your vlogs.
Thank you for sharing this with us!
the way your tell a story and present a video is so enchanting. You definitely sound knowledgeable and sophisticated. Good stuff! Hope your channel will blow up one day.
Your videos are superb. Please make more videos if possible.
When the time the hutong courtyard houses were for one or few families only, they were actually very comfortable houses.
Wonderful video!!! I Am sure you know but here's a story on why some people specially in Shanghai wear a pijama in the streets. First is because people in hutongs didn't bother to change clothes to go to toilet (I wouldn't also) and second is because decades ago, most people only own 1 set of clothes. Those who had a pijama showed somehow a better economic position. So they liked to show around.
I was born and raised in the Hutong of Beijing until I was 10, spend the next 20 years in California. Can't wait to live in China for a few years to see how is it like.
Thank you for showing us China! I recently found your channel and I’m so inspired. I started learning Mandarin as well. All the best to you!
Preserving and re-purposing some is a great idea but redevelopment for higher density is generally good. Many young people spend 3-5 hours a day commuting on public transit because they cannot afford to live closer to work. Hutong housing often also don't meet modern housing standards. They generally aren't connected to the underground sewage system. Inhabitants still have to go use the public toilets outside or use chamber pots inside.
I miss metal hands coffee so much! I used to go almost every day when I lived in 雍和宫.
well phrased and spoken!
I love Beijing so much ❤️ I don't know why but I feel so much more comfortable there than in Shanghai...
Very different. Cannot compare. I lived in both and personally I find Beijing easier. More suitable for me. I lived in the south gate of chaoyang park and spent many hours in both chaoyang and honglingjing park. In Shanghai not so many green areas, road narrower and less traditional places
When I Travelled Through the Villages of Korea I Found Two Examples Of "Pre-Wheeled" Village Life!¡!😮😅😢❤
Hey Amy! i really enjoyed your video. Ive been here in bj for 2 months now and I really wanna visit the hutongs so i might check the ones you mentioned in ur vid.
thanks so much Raies!! Yeah you've gotta go check out the hutongs!! The main hutongs I went to in this video were 1) wudaoying 五道营, and 2) nanluoguxiang 南锣鼓巷 and the hutong streets that run perpendicular and parallel to nanluoguxiang。 Happy exploring!! You could spend hours getting lost in those hutongs. Enjoy!
Please more 汉字 subtitles to all your videos, I learn to read mandarin by watching your vids.
try afu阿福,another youtuber based at Shanghai.
I learn English by watching your videos
there are always tons of mistakes about Chinese subtitles in TH-cam😂 usually the sentences don't make sense..pay attention when u read them....
Fantastic video, keep it coming...thanks for sharing
Thank you Ron! Glad you liked it :)
So beautiful
Going to be there next week. After seeing this video im definitely going to check out the hutongs 👍🏻
so glad to hear that! you won't regret it, the hutongs are so interesting
I am a local Beijinger, but I feel you know more about Beijing than me!!!
I've been around there before, was like an alleyway, and at night people just walking there, so.. felt safe for them.
Hi 爱米饭🍚 我非常喜欢你的视频，特别是这个北京的视频，让我非常思念我的城市北京。我现在在悉尼留学2年半了。今后会支持你的视频。加油！
哇！谢谢你的支持！让我非常开心。have a great day!
……😂google translate???
Foreigners: Wow. You can see everyone using the public toilets.
Chinese: Why are you looking at other people using the toilet?
Tq you do a great Job...
Thank you dear, enjoy watching your blog. Are you able to
recommend unbranded shopping for clothes , bags, shoes that are pretty decent quality in Beijing Thank you 🤗🌹
Fantastic vlog! We're planning a trip to Beijing this year and you just made us so excited about our trip! So beautiful.
Thanks guys! You're gonna love Beijing!!!
Enjoy being hounded by scammers.
@@ashleymalone1445 you are so lame,hater🌚🌚🌚
Shayne L why, because I’m telling the truth, drop dead loser
@@ashleymalone1445 oh…so much hate from your twisted little brain, just NUKE us,lier
How fascinating. I'm going to search through my Dad's old postcards he sent me from China. I forget where he went, but he was in the waterpower industry and some people, .y Dad being one, was invited by the government to look at a spot to build a hydroelectric power plant. He went somewhere very rural and he made a few women cry because he was a big man and looked very odd to the locals. There's a photograph of my Dad picking up a man and carrying him on his hip like you would a baby 😂
The men he met really liked him and he made new friends.
回顾amy以前的视频，好青涩哈哈哈哈，希望oneday能偶遇amy一起吃美食
U don't know how much I love u and your videos oh my god 😘😘😘😘
Old Beijing hutongs, are ancient buildings in the Ming and Qing dynasties, are inhabited here, but belong to the ancient buildings protected by the state, here a single set of four-room hutongs, it costs 100 million US dollars, this is Chinese luxury
Great video! 🙃Also...What VPN do you use?
Thank you!!! In china I usually use express VPN :)
I was shocked to see a kfc in a hutong near lama tempel.
Hutong must be preserved.
Beautifully presented!
love ur vids! entertaining and informative! binge watching ur channel rn lol! pls do more beijing videos :)
Nice video keep going
I remember when I was staying in Beijing, one night I was taking a walk with my friend after dinner around the 大栅栏 area and suddenly wanted to go to the toilet. So we managed to find a very small toilet in the hutong and I rushed in just to find out that there is absolutely no privacy, no door, no fence between those three 蹲坑. And what’s worse is there was already a person squatting on the middle one. I had no other choice but to do it next to her, our legs were so close I could even feel her body temperature. This is the most embarrassing moment in my life for sure. 😂
Probably you should greeting and have a little conversation with her, to enjoy the moment. [palmface].
太逗了哈哈😂
Do they mind you taking photos in hutongs? They're so interesting, we stayed in a hotel in the hutongs back in 2006. I was afraid they were all being demolished, good to know there are at least some around.
It really depends. Some of them are far more residential than others and generally speaking you don't want to be taking unwanted snapshots of people's houses. The more commercial ones are perfectly fine. if you are in a more residential one, depends on how comfortable you feel. Asking some of the residents nearby might help a ton and add a bit of local flavor to your experience.
As for demolishing, the remainder won't. A lot of politically powerful people live in these areas (the notorious "2nd loop residents") and the growing resistance against the more outsider administration of Beijing has coincided nicely with Xi's direction of preserving the character of Beijing. They have largely been forced to retreat back to older regulation widths to allow for traffic - a lot of "growth" into the street was illegal but unmitigated back in the past. There is also a general call for removing businesses and changing it all back to residential, so you should see less businesses over time (especially chains).
You could decrease volume of music. Please!
sorry!
Hello! Did you do a silent Walk film on BJ?
真好！
this is amazing! thanks for sharing!
这背景音乐超强，我不自觉地跟着点头~~
I like your videos so much. 👍🏻👍🏻
thanks so much, a sunny girl.
喜欢你的视频！
我从美拍追过来滴HHHH
Good, but need more pictures of the Hutong homes
I'm Chinese, and I've never been to a hutong before...XD. I wonder why only Beijing preserves a large amount of hutong compared to other cities in China.
T L 其它地方也有本地的特色居民区,比如天津的洋楼。北京之外没有胡同是因为只有北京叫它胡同,这个词应该是从满语演变来的。
Awesome. Thx
Very informative!
I love you Amy!
and I love you Nick!
Wonderful. The background music a little bit too loud.
Have Chinese Archaeologists Ever Discovered ANY Chinese Villages Which Seem To Have Been ESTABLISHED BEFORE THE WIDESPREAD DISTRIBUTION OF CHARIOTS OR WHEELED CARTS?
Hutong means Converging with barbarians.It's the name source from Yuan Dynasty when Mongolian rules Han people.
wow - really?! thats super interesting - I'm gonna do some research on that!
Very nice vedio
😁😁😁😁😁💕❤️🌹🌹👏👏👏
Really love all your videos. It was very entertaining but you should connect and communicate with the local. Hope you have videos be better and better.
Great
"The Last Days of Old Beijing"
I love that book
great job.
视频做的很好👍
我同意，但缺字母。
i can tell this girl lives in and knows China!
What about me?
目测开头在北二环安定门附近 ;)
2:45 Yeah, there are a lot of public toilets. Yeah, those are the worse toilets ever, floor toilets and even no privacy. I was like wtf when I saw it.
Dat calligraphy outtro tho
There should have to preserve the old houses
please don't add music to your videos. i cannot properly hear what you're saying because of the music.
胡同的厕所，我的心里好痛啊。
哈哈哈哈哈。
I was there in dalishar police station near quianmen station. Those guys are tough. They are simply hardcore. But they helped me get my money back from those tea house scammers.
We cud hv understood u better without that loud irritating music
Why so many elderly don't wear clothes? :)))
竟然有些事儿我都不知道
3：24 老大爷清华的
Background music is so loud and giving headache, I cannot focus or listen well to the narrator. What a pity!
CHINA TOP....YOU TOP.