{"id":280,"date":"2020-05-20T19:53:25","date_gmt":"2020-05-20T19:53:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ireneeng.com\/?p=280"},"modified":"2020-06-08T19:01:16","modified_gmt":"2020-06-08T19:01:16","slug":"beijing-siheyuan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ireneeng.com\/?p=280","title":{"rendered":"Beijing Siheyuan \u56db\u5408\u9662"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I was in the main courtyard at home. The festoon door behind led to the front courtyard and the gate.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Siheyuans (quadrangles or courtyard dwelling) is an architectural style that could be found throughout China. They’re particularly prominent in Beijing. With the Forbidden City<\/a> being the largest siheyuan in the country, it sits at the center of the city. My childhood home, which is mere one mile west of the Forbidden City, is one of the siheyuans that made up the old town. Our modest homes are surrounded hutongs, the sprawling and vernacular narrow lanes that lattice the heart of the capital. Siheyuan, is one of the identities that Beijing enjoys. Crumpling and lacking modern amenities, however, China’s run to be the second economy in recent decades has given the dilapidated siheyuan a second life. The astronomical market value for a siheyuan gives it a new name, nicknamed Fortune of Four Walls. (Four rentals in West City District \u897f\u57ce\u533a in Beijing<\/a>: the \u00a5100,000 (about $14,141) a month for the 2,153 sq ft2  <\/sup>siheyuan.) Touring the hutongs is a to-do for tourists and some times, we Beijing natives would enjoy. High end restaurants use name such as Hutong from Hong Kong<\/a> to New York<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I grew up in one and spent idyllic childhood, if not privileged, there with Yeye and his concubine whom I called Nainai<\/a>.<\/p>\n