Si He Yuan, one of the traditional Chinese courtyard designs, is especially prevalent in Beijing area. Si He Yuan is the common name of the traditional residence which is formed by the principal room, east and west wings and the central yard. Such kind of residence is the oldest and the most widely distributed one among all Chinese folk houses, has a history of 700 years. Beijing Si He Yuan, as a major architectural form for old Peking Men living for generations, is world famous that everyone knows about that.

Since Yuan dynasty when Beijing was formally set as the capital city, Si He Yuan together with the imperial palaces, government offices and hutongs emerged in the large-scale city contribution project. Since Ming and Qing Dynasties, Beijing Si He Yuan has experienced many vicissitudes, but the basic housing form was gradually formed, and continued to be improved to much more cater to residence requirements, and finally established the form of Si He Yuan what we see today.

Si He Yuan is famous also lying in its unique structure which is typical and representative in Chinese traditional resident architecture. Most of Chinese residences are built with an inner courtyard. In south China, the courtyard is small and the rooms around the yard are connected. This kind of structure is suitable to southern climate, and ventilation and lighting are not good enough. Si He Yuan are designed in more widely structure in which rooms on four sides are separated and only connected by corridors. Si He Yuan is a closed courtyard with only one door to the street which provides enough privacy for a family living alone. In the courtyard, rooms on four sides are all opened doors to the yard. A family live in a close courtyard, but members have separated private space and altogether share one yard. Such structure symbolizes Chinese family concept. What’s more, as the yard is so wide that people could plant trees and flowers, or raise fishes or birds.

Beijing Si He Yuan not only is a pure resident architecture, but also contains deep cultural connotations, and it is a carrier of Chinese traditional culture. Building one Si He Yuan need to concern more about Chinese geomancy, from the choice of the building site, to the concrete size of every building, all constructions have to undertake accord to the geomancy theory.

Why such kind of old Beijing courtyard exists for so many years is for the reason that it owns many advantages that other architecture is hardly to surpass. Today, when the modern Beijing is gradually constructed to be a world metropolis and dozens of skyscrapers rise in the city, Beijing citizens, especially the people who have passed the period of Peking, all cherish a special attachment to the old Beijing courtyard.

Beijing courtyard, a kind of residential area created by ancient well-working people, along with hundreds of year’s history, have left people a deep impression and left the history a rich legacy.

If interested in such kind of courtyard in Beijing, you could abandon other modern Beijing hotels, and just choose some family inns which are opened in Si He Yuan. Together with Beijing hutongs spreading around the courtyards, you could feel deeper about Beijing culture and your Beijing vacation would be more unforgettable.