Modern Hutong experience: A piece of Beijing's past

Over the years, as this city developed, most families shifted from living in neighbourhoods known as hutongs--traditional residences connected by narrow alleyways to living in modern apartments.

Beijing. Over the years, as this city developed, most families shifted from living in neighbourhoods known as hutongs--traditional residences connected by narrow alleyways to living in modern apartments.

"We are less than one kilometre away from the Forbidden Palace and many of the siheyuans or courtyards in the hutongs have dated back centuries. As we discover though many on the street are old and fell to disrepair, we found one that is a real gem to explore."

Peter Chen is in the business of transforming cherished remnants of history to fit with modern living and redevelops them into inns, offices, club houses and homes. Essentially he has become a real estate developer for this niche market.

" I try to preserve its local flavor in the design. But also keeping in mind the contemporary demands of modern living." Peter Chen said.

In this particular converted courtyard, an additional two floors have been added to the original one storey property. A refurbished courtyard can more than double in price and holds tremendous investment value.

Courtyards often command rental rates up to twice that of Beijing's luxury serviced apartments which are leased at over 240 rmb per square metre on average per month.

"For a 400 square metre courtyard, rent is about 2 million RMB per year. So the rental is clearly 4 to 5 times of regular apartments of the same size." Zhang Yong, GM of Xinbaisheng Progerty Mgt, said.

Many of these refurbished courtyards are out of reach for ordinary Chinese. But that has not hindered those with deeper pockets seeking a more traditional side of Beijing.

"Because of the environment here, we really want to use our time to get to know the people, and Beijing specifically, is one of the most Chinese cities that i know. It has a great hutong life and makes Beijing Chinese and we wanted to be here. So the story goes, this was the home of the last Emperor's wet nurse." Thomas Reemer, Hutong House Renter said.

Tucked away behind these walls, a courtyard can buy privacy away from the Beijing crowdedness. It is the experience of living as close to China's rich history, the way it once was back during the time of Puyi the last Emperor.