Beijing’s Dongming Hutong by Houhai: Delightful Stories of a Tiny Lane

Nestled beside Beijing’s famous Houhai Scenic Area lies a charming little lane—Dongming Hutong. Though short in length, it has become a fascinating spot to explore thanks to its unique history and irregular shape.

Where is Dongming Hutong and What Does It Look Like?

Dongming Hutong is incredibly easy to find, with its northern entrance facing the beautiful Houhai Lake directly. Composed of three smaller branch alleys, it is highly irregular in shape. Its western starting point is Deshengmen Inner Street; it leads south to Yangfang Hutong and north straight to Houhai Lake. Stretching a mere 155 meters in total with an average width of 3 meters, it is a narrow little lane.

The Interesting Evolution of Its Name: From “Dog’s Tail” to “Dongming”

The most intriguing thing about this hutong is the evolution of its name, which is like a mirror reflecting the historical changes of Beijing.

• Qing Dynasty: Gouweiba (Dog’s Tail) Hutong. In the Qing Dynasty, the lane’s winding and twisting terrain resembled a dog’s tail, so local people gave it a vivid and affectionate colloquial name—Gouweiba Hutong. In the old Beijing dialect, it was pronounced with a pleasant retroflex ending, “Gouweiba’r”.
• Republican Period: Guanyin Temple Hutong. In the Republican period, a Guanyin Temple in the hutong grew in influence, so the lane was renamed with the more formal title of Guanyin Temple Hutong.
• 1965 to the Present: Dongming Hutong. In 1965, Beijing carried out a rectification of place names. To give the lane a more elegant name, it was officially renamed Dongming Hutong, taking the meanings of “East Sea (referring to Houhai)” and “Brightness”. This name has been in use ever since.

A “Treasure” in the Hutong: The Former Site of Guanyin Temple

The origin of the hutong’s former names lies with that Guanyin Temple, whose former site is at what was once No.21 Dongming Hutong (now Courtyard No.16). First built in the Wanli Reign of the Ming Dynasty, more than 400 years ago, the temple was quite a large complex with a mountain gate, a front hall, a rear hall and other structures.

After 1949, the former temple site was repurposed: it served as a neighborhood committee and even a workshop for a street factory, gradually blending in with the ordinary residential courtyards around it. Today, if you visit the spot, you will find Courtyard No.16 with a handwritten house number after turning a right-angle bend. The courtyard walls are low, with overlapping eaves. An ancient pagoda tree stands at the hutong entrance; when the wind blows, its leaves flutter gently, and pale yellow pagoda tree flowers fall down like raindrops, resting on the gray old roof tiles—painting an exquisitely quiet and beautiful scene.

 Life in Modern Dongming Hutong

Today, several mansions enclosed by tall walls stand quietly in Dongming Hutong, seemingly used for commercial office purposes. On the side facing Houhai Lake, however, several distinctive cultural and creative shops have opened, adding a touch of casual modern vibrancy to this ancient hutong.

Standing at the northern entrance of the hutong, you can cross a bridge to reach Shuiquan Nunnery on the opposite side, and on the other side of Deshengmen Inner Street lies Xihai Lake. It can be said that Dongming Hutong is a delightful connecting node between this beautiful water area and the daily life of the old urban district.

The Inspiration from a Tiny Lane

From the down-to-earth local name of “Dog’s Tail”, to the renaming after a temple, and then to the elegant name it bears today, the evolution of Dongming Hutong’s name is like a brief history of Beijing itself. It tells us that even a tiny 155-meter-long hutong in Beijing bears the marks of ordinary people’s life joys, religious beliefs, and the changes of the times. As the ancient Guanyin Temple has turned into a quiet residential courtyard today, and as creative shops open under the old pagoda tree, this hutong continues to tell Beijing’s stories in its own unique way.