By Yin Yeping

Dongtangzi Hutong is known for the residences of famous academics, including Cai Yuanpei, the great scholar and the former president of Peking University, the writer Shen Congwen and the father of the contemporary medical science Wu Liande.

But the 700-meter lane wasn't always so scholarly. Back in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the lane like it's neighbor, Xitangzi to the west, famed for housing tangzi, or brothels. It didn't gain its academic reputation until the late Qing Dynasty. 

With Dongdan Beidajie to its west and Chaoyangmen Nanxiaojie to its east, if you access the west, you'll first encounter Cai's former residence at No.75. I passed by at first, as its tightly closed door was telling me that it's forbidden to visit. When I went back and knocked, the doors were opened, and I saw a huge elegant three-courtyard siheyuan inside. "This place used to be occupied by many families before it was turned into a free visiting spot for outsiders in 2009," a staff member told me. Walking though a long, newly built corridor that connects the three courtyards, there's now a house containing items related to Cai (1868-1940). "Cai rented the two unremarkable 10-square-meter rooms on the left side from 1917 to 1920 before he headed to Germany," he explained. "It was the place he lived in the longest in Beijing." Although there was no evidence telling how the rooms were furnished during that period, there were items like a bed, typewriter, and even the papers on the table for display, possibly around 100 years old from the antique markets.

Every month some 1,000 visitors knock on this door, more curious about the courtyard than Cai, of whom they know little.

Although Cai's residence has been preserved, it's perhaps too much to hope that others have too. Shen Congwei's house at No.51 was demolished about four years ago. As a great author and relics expert, Shen was particularly well-known for his publication, Xiangxi, an exclusive masterpiece for recording the original and natural living atmosphere of the ethnic aborigines in Hunan Province. Shen lived here for 30 years, but after his death in 1988, his life and works were not considered remarkable enough to preserve his house.

Next up, try knocking at No.49 for a look. Back in the late Qing Dynasty, this was historically the rudiment of the minister of foreign affairs. On its east side, now apartments, were houses for teaching Chinese people foreign languages. After 1949, the Ministry of Public Security took this for its reception, which it still is today. 

No.4 and 6 in this lane are occupied by a unique French-style building, designed by Hua Nangui (1877-1961), one of the first-generation students to study in France in the late Qing Dynasty. Yet now its shabby appearance really entitles it to be known as one of the worst preserved buildings in town. It's quite shocking to go in for a dusty and demoralizing look. The creaky stairs challenge one's courage to keep on the exploration. There are messily placed household gadgets and jumbled wood supporting the collapsing part of the building; it's not really fit for inhabitation. 

Historically, it was related to Wu Delian (1879-1960) who graduated in the UK in the 1890s with a degree in Medical Science. Later he went to Germany and France to study Bacteriology. In 1910, Wu finished his PhD at Cambridge University, one of the earliest overseas Chinese students. Two years later, he settled in at No.4. When he died in 1960, the building was presented to the Chinese Medical Association as his last wish.

Inside, I met a 40-year-old Beijinger who's lived here for 30 years. He and his parents, wife and children all squeeze into a mere 14 square meters of space. "As you can see, this house lacks basic preservation," he said. "When the ceilings, the floors and the stairs collapsed, we then fixed the damaged part only." When he first moved in, the inside buildings were tidier and cleaner. While most of the residents moved, five families still languish. In the wintertime, he and his family still have to rely on coal for heating.

But I'm still kind of glad to see that this building has not attracted attention like ostentatious No.75 or disregarded No.51. Although No.4 is not as brightly attractive as it could be, it is that old and dusty real face that brings us back to the lane's real past.

yinyeping@globaltimes.com.cn