Shitou Hutong won't put on the red light anymore

Shitou Hutong was a lane of bawdyhouses. Photos: Wang Zi/GT

In more than five decades, Shitou Hutong in Dashilan region has barely changed its outlook at all. It's named for its previous status as the restoration place for stones for construction use, but really it's famous for being one of the eight famous red-light hutong in the region.

Further down this lane are two-story brick buildings representative of the style of the Republic of China (1912-1949). The first one I encountered was No. 62, and 73-year-old Mr Hu, who has lived beside it for decades, said that it was once a "luxury entertainment center" for the rich and powerful before 1949.

From the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) to 1949, this lane was the assembly place of second-class bawdyhouses. Although this place was certainly witness to the brutal treatment and suffering of the prostitutes, it is said that when the communist government shut down all the brothels in the region, the prostitutes wept with fear about how they'd manage to survive when their livelihood had been criminalized. No.62 was one of the brothels that was closed. Later a hotel occupied the space. Now the courtyard is home to multiple families from outside Beijing.

"For 50 years, the outside appearance of No.62 has not even changed a bit apart from its inside layout and its residents," Hu said. During the Tangshan earthquake in 1976, many buildings were damaged but this house stood unharmed.

"It was built with pine tree wood for its inner structure, so even if its brick skin collapses its wood structure inside will hold the building from crumbling," Hu said. "Ironically, some bawdyhouses here were substantially more stable than the residences in this area."

Shitou Hutong was also known as the former residence of Beijing Opera performers Xu Sansheng and Zhang Erkui, who inhabited No. 39 and 61, respectively.

One of the buildings was the old meeting place for Ping Ju, a local opera of north and northeast China. Now most of the residents here are immigrant workers from outside the town who squeeze in the cramped and crowded building. Understandably, none of them have any notion about the house's background. Thus, they have no sense of valuing it.

No. 39, where Zhang Erkui dwelled, is not much better than this. Now the house is completely reconstructed into a chess room for the daily entertainment of the residents.

Not far from it is No.61, where I found 50-year-old resident Zhao, who is an ardent opera fan.

"Although I didn't witness Xu or his later generations I did come across the last opera episode of this house," Zhao said. He told that when he moved in about 30 years ago the area was the performing center of opera teams from Hebei province. "There was even a note outside the door indicating its opera identity," Zhao said. That place was also a brothel at one point.

Now if you pass by No. 61 you might still hear the sound of opera, not from the real stage but from the TV in Zhao's home. Although the opera shadow is long gone in Shitou Hutong, the old fans like Zhao keeps the episode alive.

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