BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Living in a courtyard in a hutong only about 300 meters from the famous Yonghegong Lama Temple, Wang Man, 31, has a sense of traveling between ancient and modern Beijing, often passing historical sites on her way to her workplace, which is an example of modern architecture.
Born in Xi'an, the capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Wang with her husband Lin Yuyang started their life in a Beijing hutong in April 2020, and then they moved to the courtyard.
"Daily contacts in the hutong's neighborhood, the convenient transportation, and a variety of restaurants and cafes with foreign flavors attract me to live here," said Lin from Taipei in southeast China.
What the young couple has experienced is exactly the daily life of millions of Beijing's residents, which were made possible under the city's protection and development efforts.
In 2021, the municipal legislature passed a revised regulation specifying that heritages including hutongs should be preserved, encouraging further development and utilization of the historic cultural blocks.
According to statistics released by the local government, as of November 2020, the capital city is home to over 21.8 million people, about 38.5 percent of whom are from outside Beijing -- on China's social media platforms, those people are recognized as "New Beijingers."
Being called "Uncle Li," the landlord of the courtyard Wang lives in is about 64 years old and has been living in Beijing for more than 60 years. In 2015, he renovated his property, which soon became a starting point for him to enjoy a transcultural life with people from different cultural backgrounds living in one courtyard.
Since 2015, over 25 tenants have rented his courtyard, including youngsters from other provinces, as well as people from the Republic of Korea, Italy, and Australia.
Li recalled memories when he invited a British tenant to have a taste of the persimmon grown in his courtyard. The British man was surprised by the yellow juice of the Chinese fruit.
"What is that?" the British asked.
"It is a sweet Chinese fruit," Li replied.
As a Chinese old saying goes, "the neighbors to whom we bid good day are better than kinsfolk far away." Tenants in the courtyard gradually fell in love with life in the hutong, in which they could experience more Chinese tradition compared to living in a modern apartment.
"Life in a hutong makes me recall my childhood," said Wang, who grew up in Xi'an, a city home to two items of the UNESCO World Heritage List: the Silk Road's Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor and the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor.
Beijing, however, boasts seven items listed, with the Central Axis of Beijing in the process of applying for inscription.
The Central Axis of Beijing is 7.8 kilometers long, starting in the south of the city from the Yongding Gate and ending with the Drum Tower and Bell Tower in the north. Most of the essential buildings in the old city of Beijing are constructed along this axis.
"The protection of Beijing's world heritage is also for the improvement of residents' lives, showing ideas of sustainable development of the city," said Lyu Zhou, a professor with the School of Architecture, Tsinghua University.
"For the city of Beijing, I am still a new learner and willing to live here for a longer period of time," said Lin. ■
