Nanluoguxiang, the centipede street

In front of you stretches Nánluógǔxiàng, one of Beijing's best-preserved hutong districts. Its straight, regular layout goes back to the city that Kublai Khan ordered built in 1267.

1A hunchback and a centipede

In Ming times it was called “Hunchback Lane”, because it is higher in the middle than at either end: notice the gentle slope. Later the name changed to the present one, “South Gongs and Drums Lane”. Eight lanes branch off on each side, so locals gave it a nickname: “the centipede street”, a long body with sixteen legs.

2The houses on the corner

The lane opening on your right is Mao'er Hutong, “Hat Lane”. Numbers 35 and 37 were the family home of Wan Rong, who in 1922, aged sixteen, married Puyi and became China's last empress. Her life ended badly: addicted to opium, she died in custody in 1946 in the north-east of the country. Neighbours called her former home “the empress's mansion”.

According to a 19th-century memoir, Hong Chengchou, the Ming general who went over to the Manchus in 1642, had his mansion on this same lane.

Before learning that he had surrendered, the Ming court believed him dead and held funeral rites in his honour, according to accounts of the time.

3What to look for

• The entrance to Mao'er Hutong, with its blue sign.
• The wooden doorways with high thresholds and carved stones on either side.
• The gentle slope of the street, the origin of its first name.