Dongjiaominxiang (东交民巷)

Dongjiaominxiang is the longest hutong which stretches as long as long three kilometers and begins at the east road of Tiananmen Square and ends at Chongwenmennei Street. In each and every city there are numerous alleys of different sizes which are called “hutongs”, initially built during the Yuan Dynasty. In the recent hundreds of years, these hutongs are like blood vessels that are closely connected with the lives of Beijingers. In the past numerous hutongs were found in the city and now the stories of Beijing are being performed in Beijing.

Dongjiaominxiang was born at the end of the 13th century, when grains were transported to the capital city of the Yuan Dynasty through the Grand Canal. In the beginning grains would be downloaded on the street, initially named River Rice Alley. In the 18th of Emperor Yongle, Emperor Yongle moved the capital city of the Ming Dynasty to Beijing from Nanjing. Since then, the River Rice Alley turned into a very long street. That was the longest hutong in Beijing and was the embassy area of the Old China.

The buildings of Dongjiaominxiang appear quite special. Not like the traditional old hutongs where four generations usually live in the same family. However, the oldest residents living in Dongjiaominxiang have only lived 50 years, because this is an embassy area.