Day 4 Back into town to visit a Hutong

In the afternoon, we went back into the old part of town to visit a Hutong, which means "lane". This area is preserved as it was historically, with no high rises allowed. There were narrow streets with lots of little shops and restaurants -- and a lot of fun. If you look at the third picture, you will see a restaurant with an outdoor balcony on the roof. That probably wouldn't be a good place to eat in the rain! We found a second hand junk store that was especially interesting. Some people tried to buy some stuff, but we didn't get anything except pictures.

Because the area is preserved, the property values are VERY high --even though it looks poor and run down. Allen, our city guide, says that a courtyard "house" could sell for $1,000,000. I actually saw an article in the paper before we left telling of a Hutong house selling for a record price of about $1,300,000. Talk about sky-rocketing property values! Allen explained that in China there is a HUGE poor class, a large wealthy class and a very small middle class. The wealthy take advantage of the quiet, calm atmosphere of the Hutongs and enjoy living there even though they are old.