Siheyuan in Beijing

It is famous for the hutongs in Beijing, moreover, courtyards in the hutongs are represented by the siheyuan,. The outstanding feature of a Beijing siheyuar is the "yard," a closed space formed by four rows of houses on its four sides, with only one gate leading to the outside world. if there are windows facing outside, they exist only on the southern wall of the southern house and high above the ground. It makes for a completely secluded world, once the gate is closed.
As the main style of civil residence in Beijing, the siheyuan first appeared in the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368), when Beijing became the capital city. In the urban design of the time, civil residences were required to be built in a courtyard style, in which connected courtyards formed the alleys and blocks. Though each unit was independent, these courtyards formed an organic part of the city landscape.
The closed courtyard style was inherited by later generations because it well suited the geographic characteristics of the area. Beijing, as a large city and a transport hub, had a large population of migrant people. Safety was an important factor that had to be taken into consideration. And the courtyard, with its high strong walls, locked gates and high windows, well served this purpose.
Beijing is a city that frequently endured sandstorms in the spring and icy cold winds in the winter. The limited number of windows of a courtyard prevented the sand from invading, while keeping the bone-biting cold air and wind outside. Today, many siheyuans have been torn down, and their residents have moved into high-rises. However, at night when cold winds roar, people often miss the peace of the courtyard, which once served as a haven for their ancestors.
Though closed, a siheyuan is a compact world. Once inside the courtyard, there is a screen, behind which is the chuihua gate, or the inner gate that has a decorative roof with short carved posts hanging down from the four corners. This inner gate leads to a yard, the center of the courtyard. Opposite the inner gate is the main house, flanked by a row of rooms on each side. All the doors of the rooms open into the yard. Inside the yard can be found goldfish tanks and different kinds of plants and flowers, such as plum and date trees, Chinese flowering crabapple, pomegranate, oleander, and Chinese wisteria.