Hutongs (a Mongolian word meaning "water well" - many homes like this were built around wells thus providing a constant source of water) are the traditional living arrangement in Beijing. They are courtyard style houses clumped together that make a maze of alleyways leading from one Hutong to another. To the untrained (i.e. western) eye it does look like a mess of houses surrounded by walls, with access to a particular courtyard only possible by first having to negotiate the labyrinth successfully ...   more »

Beijing (literally meaning "North Capital") is a bizarre location for a city, let alone the capital of the biggest emerging economy and future superpower. It was not built on a river or by the sea (like a lot of towns and cities) and receives an incredibly small amount of rainfall in the winter and autumn, suffers from severe dust storms in the spring and is extremely hot in the summer. How is it that this place has risen to greatness, given that everything points towards it being not altogether ideal? The answer lies in Feng Shui, something that the Chinese take incredibly seriously ...   more »