Hutong, Beijing

Hutong, Beijing, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

Beijing is full of these hutongs. Basically hutong means alleyway and they are just interconnected little alleys that are just communities. Some of them have lots of little shops in, others are more where people live but they are all connected like a huge maze. A few years ago there were thousands but now there are less than 400 left as they are pulling them all down to build new things for the Olympics. Everywhere you go there are just huge fences of metal and behind that you can see what's left of the buildings that were there once.
Apparently different worldwide groups are trying to get China to slowdown in their building works and telling them not to destroy all their history but it seems to be falling on deaf ears. I've never seen so much building going on in a city at once. I'm sure it will all look lovely when it's finished but you have to wonder at what cost. And I can also bet that however lovely it will look there will still be men hawking up all over it. :)