Eight Great Hutongs

Bada Hutong (Eight Great Hutongs), once the synonym for the red-light district in Beijing, refers to an area in the city center to the west of Guanyin Temple and near the Dashilar Street outside the Qianmen Gate. The area features eight alleys from west to east named Baishun, Yanzhi, Hanjia, Shaanxi, Stone (Shitou), Zongshu Xiejie, Zhujia, and Xiaoli.During the middle and late Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911 AD), the eight alleys used to be the red-light district near theForbidden City, attracting many officials. In that time, there were nearly hundreds of brothels, with many classy ones, distributed in the eight alleys. Nowadays, visitors can imagine the old days of Beijing through the well-preserved ancient brothel constructions, while wandering in the present residences and boutiques or staying in the traditional courtyard inns to meet the local people.