Beijing is known as a large and busy city. But if you walk down one of its main streets into a small alley （巷），you may find something different—Beijing's hutongs!
People say they live in hutongs，but in fact，they live in the buildings on one side of the hutongs. Hutongs are the alleys between houses.
Beijing has been China's capital city for over 700 years. As the city grows，the number of its people and houses is becoming larger and larger. Now there are more than 6，000 hutongs in Beijing. If all of them were connected end to end
Among all these hutongs，there are certainly some exceptional ones. While most of them are straight，some are curved（弯曲的）. Jiuwan Hutong is the one with the most curves. It's only about 390 meters long. Its name means nine curves，the narrowest hutong in Beijing is called Qianshi Hutong. It is only 40 cm wide at its narrowest point. In this hutong，only one person can pass at a time.
Beijing people love hutongs because they bring them a lot of fun and relaxation. In the hutongs，people can enjoy the sun，sing songs and play chess with their neighbours. They can talk with others and listen to some stories
Hutongs are not only a symbol of Beijing's culture，but also an important part of China's national culture. So people try to keep them well as historical places of interest.
