Shikumen – shanghai & Hutong – Beijing

wiki:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hutong;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shikumen

Two unique cities, with two very different traditional housing styles.The most famous and distinctive buildings in China.

The origin of Shanghai Shikumen buildings can be traced back to the 1860s. In 1860, the Taiping Revolution led by Li Xiucheng advanced east, conquering a string of important towns in easternChina, causing an influx of refugees from southernJiangsuand northernZhejianginto the foreign settlements inShanghai. To accommodate this inflax of refugees, local merchants were encouraged to invest in housing for these people. To use the limited land more efficiently, the houses built were in most cases rows of Shikumen-style buildings

The term "hutong" appeared first during the Yuan Dynasty , and is a term of Mongolian origin meaning "town". Hutong, A quick addition: '胡同' is not actually a Chinese word originally; it comes from the Mongolian word for a water well, which is pronounced something like "hutuk" today.

At the turn of the 20th century, the Qing court was disintegrating as China's dynastic era came to an end. Many new hutongs Beijing, built haphazardly and with no apparent plan, began to appear on the outskirts of the old city, while the old ones lost their former neat appearance.

Following the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, many of the old hutongs of Beijing disappeared, replaced by wide boulevards and high rises.

Today, many of Beijing's ancient hutongs still stand, and a number of them have been designated protected areas.

Shikumen-style buildings have certain elements of the west, but most of the design and layout is in line with that of the “Jiangnan” area of easternChina.

After the early 1900s,Shanghai's households became smaller in size and the residents' living patterns underwent major changes. Smaller units, without wing rooms and suitable for small households, appeared, together with somewhat larger units with one parlour and one wing room.

After the 1930s,Shanghaifaced a housing shortage, so the owners of Shikumen-style buildings rented out some of the rooms. Since then most Shikumen-style buildings have had their original layouts altered and became mansions housing more than one family.

Since the mid-20th century, the number of Beijing hutongs has dropped dramatically as they are demolished to make way for new roads and buildings.

the typical Shikumen buildings of old Shanghai seem to be telling people beautiful stories about the history and culture of the city.

Hutongs represent an important cultural element of the city of Beijing. The quaint, almost village-like atmosphere has drawn increasing numbers of young people to set up bars and coffee shops in the last couple of years.