It runs east-west, connecting Taiping Bridge Street and Xisi South Street. This is an alley that existed in the Yuan Dynasty, and it is one of the three major downtown areas in metropolis (the other two are the Bell and Drum Tower and Dongsi South dengshikou Avenue). At that time, there were rice market, market, horse market, sheep market and camel market. "A corner of the sheep market" is the sheep market. "Jiaotou" refers to the market position of "the place where people gather". In the Ming Dynasty, it belonged to Xian Yi Square, a famous mutton alley.
Depart from Qianmen Street, cross the gallery headlines and Beihuo vermicelli Hutong, and come to another mutton Hutong (later changed to Wu Yao Hutong). If we count from the "provincial east city" at the main entrance of the metropolis in the Yuan Dynasty, the commercial prosperity of Qianmen has lasted for 700 years, especially after the middle of the Qing Dynasty, and the outside of Qianmen is extremely lively. "There are rows of shacks and department stores, which are more prosperous than the previous generation" is in the Qianlong Dynasty.
At that time, commercial streets with their own characteristics had been formed on both sides of Qianmen Street, such as Jade Street (two corridors), Snack Hutong (doorframe Hutong), Shi Jia Hutong, Qianshi Hutong with banks and banks, etc. On the map of Beijing in the 15th year of Qing Dynasty (1750), we can clearly see "Dengdeng Hutong", "Taner Hutong" and "Mutton Hutong", which shows that this area is a distribution center for daily non-staple food commodities closely related to people's lives.
On this map, you can also find three other mutton hutongs, which are located in the south of Caishikou and east of Mishi Hutong, and later renamed Nandaji Lane. Gong Yuanxi (now Jianguomen) was later renamed Mutton Hutong, which was crowded with hutongs. There is also the raw meat hutong in niujie, which was renamed mutton hutong in the early years of the Republic of China (there is a cooked meat hutong in the east of niujie, which was later renamed Input Hutong. There is a raw meat alley in the west.
Mutton Hu tong style
As soon as we entered the Mutton Hutong, all kinds of signboards of Baoji Douzhi Store, Rice Cake Plum, Spiced Beef and Mutton, and Muslim Hot Steamed Buns were arranged on both sides of the road. Colorful and attractive rice cakes are placed in the glass counter, and fried pine meat, sesame bean curd and rice cake lump are written on the small black board at the door of every household. Newly baked sesame seeds and steamed bread are steaming hot. People walking on the street corner with Beijing films in twos and threes took their dinner back, and impatient people ate it in the street.
"Two knives and eight ropes" refers to the livelihood of Hui people, "eight ropes" refers to porters, and "two knives" refers to butchers and cake vendors. Nowadays, you can see many stalls selling fresh beef and mutton on the streets of niujie.
Niujie's pastry snacks are well-deserved, and glutinous rice products are among the best, such as pot stickers, white rice cakes, yellow rice cakes, jujube cakes, purple rice cakes and assorted cakes. Just the types of rice cakes can dazzle you, and of course there are snowballs, aiwowo, kidney bean cakes, pea yellow, cream fried cakes, candied fruit, sugar ears, spiral noodles and so on.
Conclusion So, do you know where Mutton Hutong is? There are at least five "mutton hutongs" in old Beijing, and the oldest and most famous mutton hutong is Xisi. Also known as Input Hutong. Let's not make mistakes.