Dating back to the Mongol Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), hutong are traditional Beijing lanes that served as passageways between various siheyuan (courtyard houses). Over time, the name has come to refer more broadly to the style of housing and the neighborhoods in which the traditional gray-brick courtyard dwellings are found.

These extensive stone mazes hold hundreds of years of history deep within their cracks and crevices and are famous for their irregular design and layout. Today, however, they are increasingly rare as block after block of hutong have fallen to the wrecking ball in Beijing's relentless campaign to modernize.