an authentic courtyard

 If you want to see an authentic courtyard, you'd better come to the South Gong and Drum Lane because this alley remains the most complete lane of traditional courtyard dwellings in Beijing. When you come here, you can see the red lanterns hanging under the eaves. You may find a trace of ancient prosperous Beijing here. You can see the totally different styles of architecture. Compared with the grand red wall and golden colored roof of the Forbidden City, it has gray walls and roofs that represent the folk culture. As it is close to the Forbidden City, many royal families and officials lived here. For example, the former residence of China's last empress, Wan Rong, is in the Mao'er Hutong. In fact, a number of historical celebrities lived in the alleys before, such as Qi Baishi, a great artist, who is famous for his traditional Chinese painting. He lived in Yu'er Hutong for some time.