Do you still remember the courtyard houses where you lived in old Beijing in the 1940s?

Look at old Beijing in the 1940s: people living in courtyard houses.

At first glance, Beijing’s hutongs all look the same, with gray walls and gray tiles. In fact, this is not the case. As long as you are willing to put in some effort, walk into a few alleys, and chat with the old residents there, you will find that each alley has a talker and its own story.

Beijing Siheyuan is a type of courtyard building. The so-called courtyard is a courtyard with houses built on all sides. A quadrangle house has a courtyard in the center, which is the courtyard. Each household has one house, and one house has several courtyards. The central axis runs through the courtyard, with the north house being the main house, the east and west houses being side rooms, and the south house door opening to the north, so it is called the inverted seat. When a family has money or a large population, they can build a compound with front and rear courtyards.

In the early years of the Republic of China, with the opening of the Forbidden City, pedestrians could cross East and West Chang'an Street. In this way, Beijing has a latitude that intersects at right angles to the central axis that runs through the north and south and traverses the east and west. The longitude and latitude intersect in front of Tiananmen, forming a large cross coordinate, from which the streets and alleys develop outward. The opening and expansion of several new arterial roads led to the development of hutongs. By the 1940s, there were more than 3,200 streets and alleys in Beijing.

The design and construction of Beijing courtyards is relatively easy. The materials used are very simple and do not require steel bars and cement. They are blue bricks and gray tiles, combined with bricks and wood. It is a mixed building. Of course, the wooden structure is the main standard structure, and it is light in weight, such as In the event of an earthquake, it is rare to be knocked down.

Surrounding areas, mainly in Beijing, use quadrangle courtyards, which are symmetrical with the central axis. The main door opens in the southeast direction of the south, and the main door is not opposite to the main house.

The main gate of Beijing’s courtyard opens to the southeast. This is determined based on Feng Shui theory. This is only done around Beijing, but not in other places.