Beijing Roast Duck

Beijing Roast Duck is reputed to be the most delicious food Beijing offers. Eating Beijing Roast Duck is regarded as one of the two things tourists must do while in Beijing . The other one is climbing the Great Wall.

The duck is served in slices. The chef will slice the whole duck into 100 or 120 slices, with an equal portion of skin and meat in four or five minutes, after showing you the whole duck. The duck is usually accompanied with special pancakes, hollowed sesame bun, green onions and sweet sauce. There are two famous roast duck restaurants with a history of over one hundred years, representing two different schools of roast duck. One is Bianyifang Roast Duck Restaurant; the other is Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant.

Beijing's Hutongs and Quadrangular Courtyard

Hutongs , of which most were built at Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties (almost 800 years ago), are typical ancient city lanes in Beijing. In order to establish supreme power, the emperors of these dynasties arranged the residential areas according to the etiquette systems of the Zhou Dynasty. So the royal palace -- the Forbidden City, with surrounding hutongs, was in the center of Beijing .

Regular hutongs are near the palace to the east and west and arranged in order along the streets. Most of the residents living in these types of hutong were imperial kinsmen and nobles. Most simple and rough hutongs are located far to the north and south of the palace. The residents were merchants and other ordinary people.

Quadrangles are the main buildings in the hutongs . They are building complex formed by four houses around a quadrangular courtyard. The size and design of quadrangles can signify the social status of the residents. The big ones, with roof beams and pillars carved and painted magnificently, and a front yard and back yard, lived high- ranking officials and rich merchants. However, the simple ones with small gates and low houses were ordinary people's quadrangles. Hutongs are actually passageways formed by many closely arranged quadrangles of different sizes.

The longest hutong: 6.5 km long

The shortest hutong: 25.23 m long

The widest hutong: 32.18 m wide

The narrowest hutong: 44 cm wide

The most zigzagging hutong has nineteen winds.