The hutong alleys of Beijing were laid out in the Yuan dynasty, and Nanluoguxiang follows the original grid almost exactly. It runs about eight hundred meters north from Di'anmen East Street, and on either side the lanes step down in size from hutong to alley to dead end, a hierarchy that once ordered the whole city.
The lane itself
Nanluoguxiang is commercial and busy, especially at weekends. Expect snack stalls, craft shops, coffee and small guesthouses in restored courtyard buildings. Look past the storefronts at the brickwork, the stone drum blocks beside doorways and the roof tiles; those are the original structures, and they are what the street is worth walking for.
The side alleys
Turn off into any of the numbered lanes running east or west and the crowds thin within fifty meters. This is where people still live. Courtyard houses, bicycles, caged birds hung by doorways and small neighborhood shops on the corner are all normal street life here. Walk quietly, do not photograph through open doors, and treat the lanes as someone's neighborhood rather than a set.
The Drum and Bell Towers
The walk north ends at two Ming-era towers that once sounded the official hours of the walled city. The Drum Tower holds a collection of large drums and the Bell Tower holds a bronze bell cast in the Ming dynasty. Both can be climbed, and the view from the Drum Tower over the grey tiled roofs of the old city is one of the best free panoramas in Beijing.
Practical notes
Allow two hours for the lane, the alleys and the towers. Go early morning for street life or late afternoon for light. Apply the usual courtesy: this is a residential district, and the people who live here are not part of the attraction.
