Beijing’s Xiaoshiqiao Hutong: A Mansion-Style Hotel and Its Century of Stories

West of Beijing’s Old Gulou Street lies a quiet little lane named Xiaoshiqiao Hutong. Stretching 303 meters and running east to west, it curves slightly at the western end, leading to Dashiqiao Hutong and Xinkai Hutong.

The name “Xiaoshiqiao (Small Stone Bridge)” has been in use here since the Ming Dynasty and remains to this day.

What has made this hutong famous, however, is a storied mansion within it—the present-day Zhuyuan Hotel (No.24 Xiaoshiqiao Hutong). Like a weathered elder, this courtyard has witnessed the historical changes of the late Qing Dynasty, the Republican period, and the People’s Republic of China.

The First Owner: Sheng Xuanhuai, “the Father of China’s Industry”

This medium-sized siheyuan with a garden was first owned by Sheng Xuanhuai, a minister of the late Qing Dynasty. A prominent figure of the Westernization Movement and a remarkably capable man, he was hailed as “the Father of China’s Industry”. He created 11 “China’s firsts” in his lifetime, such as founding China’s first civil joint-stock enterprise—the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company
—and the country’s first telegraph office.

Sheng Xuanhuai’s mansion was exquisitely designed, divided into eastern and western sections: the east was the residential area, with rooms connected by winding corridors; the west was a garden featuring rockeries, a flower hall, and long verandas. It combined the grandeur of northern mansions with the elegant delicacy of southern gardens.

 Changing Fortunes: From a Japanese Collaborator to a New China Leader

After Sheng Xuanhuai, the mansion changed hands several times.

• During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, it was home to Wang Mengtai, a high-ranking official holding a post in the puppet government.
• In the autumn of 1952, after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Dong Biwu, one of the important leaders of New China, moved into the mansion. He was extremely fond of bamboo and planted numerous green bamboos in the courtyard. Later, the courtyard was renamed “Zhuyuan (Bamboo Garden)” after this grove of bamboo.
• Finding the courtyard too large, Dong Biwu gave the eastern part to the Ministry of Culture, which later established the Kindergarten of the Ministry of Culture there.
• Subsequently, Kang Sheng, another historical figure, also resided here.

 Today’s Look: A Serene Garden Hotel

In 1979, this storied mansion was transformed into Zhuyuan Hotel, open to the public. It is a serene garden-style siheyuan hotel, blending the grace and delicacy of Jiangnan gardens with the dignity and grandeur of northern gardens.

The author of this article recalls being able to visit it freely many years ago, a memory that left a deep impression. At present, however, the hotel is under renovation and temporarily closed to the public.

 The Other Side of the Hutong: A Dormitory for Cultural Scholars

Across from Zhuyuan Hotel, Courtyard No.11 Xiaoshiqiao Hutong is a dormitory for the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the Palace Museum. The renowned Shan Shiyuan, former Vice President of the Palace Museum and a distinguished expert on ancient Chinese architecture, once lived here.

 A Small Hutong, A Modern History

From the private mansion of a late Qing industrialist, to a residence of national leaders, and now a foreign-related hotel; from a collective dormitory for cultural scholars nearby, to the home etched in the author’s memories.

With a single mansion and a few families, Xiaoshiqiao Hutong condenses more than a century of social changes in modern China. As you walk through this hutong and gaze at the grove of green bamboos personally planted by Dong Biwu, you may feel history and daily life intertwining here in quiet.