Скачать или смотреть Beijing's 2nd Ring: Summer Walk & Ride Through Ancient Hutongs | 23 June 2023

23 June 2023. Beijing. Summer, blue skies, white clouds.

Route: Yonghegong Street → Guozijian Street → Andingmen Inner Street → Gulou East Street. Walking and cycling—immersive experience of summer inside the Second Ring.

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Guozijian Street's red walls always draw crowds.

Guozijian Street is Beijing's only市级 heritage protection site named “street,” and the only street with four archways. It dates to the Yuan dynasty Dade era (1297–1307)—over 700 years old. Guozijian was the highest educational institution of the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. The inscribed tablets on its glazed archway—“Huanqiao Jiaoze” and “Xuehai Jieguan”—were written by Emperor Qianlong himself.

Walking here: red walls, gray tiles, ancient locust trees shading the path. Time slows.

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Two decades of rapid urbanization have expanded Beijing to the Sixth Ring—even the Seventh.

A childhood friend says the city grows increasingly陌生. Fortunately, within the Second Ring Road, much of old Beijing remains—hutongs, ancient buildings, a chessboard layout built for walking. Most citywalk routes cluster here.

Summer in Guozijian Street: locust shade, genuinely cooling. As tech accelerates—social media, e‑commerce, digital entertainment—people grow busier, unable to pause. More are reexamining tech's role, rediscovering old neighborhoods, heritage sites, history, tradition. No wonder foreigners visiting Beijing prefer the Second Ring—this is where the city truly breathes.

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Seeing Guozijian's red walls and ancient complex, a line surfaces:

“You cannot possess both youth and the awareness of youth at the same time.”

This was where I hung out with classmates during university and after (2002–2010). Back then, none of these reflections. Now, in my thirties and forties, guiding visiting relatives—finally, I see.

Some places, you only pass through when young. Returning years later—you truly see.

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Where do we begin to understand a city?

With its red walls—Guozijian's glazed archways, its 700‑year‑old locusts.
With its hutongs—Yonghegong Street's bustle, Gulou East Street's烟火.
With its time—familiar places from youth, newly visible decades later.

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2023年6月23日，北京。夏天，蓝天白云。线路：雍和宫大街—国子监街—安定门内大街—鼓楼东大街。徒步加骑行，沉浸式体验二环里的夏天。

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国子监街的红墙，总会吸引人打卡拍照。

国子监街是北京唯一以“街”命名的市级文物保护单位，也是唯一拥有四座牌楼的街巷。它形成于元代大德年间（1297-1307），距今已有700多年历史。国子监是元明清三代的国家最高学府，琉璃牌楼上的“圜桥教泽”“学海节观”为乾隆御笔。

走在这样的街上，红墙灰瓦，古槐成荫，岁月静好。

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近二十多年的高速城市化，北京已经扩展到了六环，甚至七环。

从小生活在北京的同学说，北京变得越来越陌生了。所幸的是，二环以内的北京，虽然也有很大改造，但基本保持了原有的模样。大量的胡同和古建筑保留了下来，老城区像一个棋盘，街道的长度和宽度便于人们步行。游客如果想来一场citywalk，一般会选择二环以内。

夏天走在国子监街这样的胡同里，槐树成荫，真的清凉解暑。随着科技的飞速发展，人们越来越忙，越来越停不下来。越来越多的人开始重新审视科技，重新认识老街、旧城区、古迹、历史和传统文化。难怪老外来北京了喜欢在二环以内逛——这里才是真正有街头巷尾和浓浓生活气息的北京。

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看到国子监街的红墙和古建筑群时，突然想到一句话：

“人不可能同时拥有青春和对青春的感受。”

这里是我上大学和毕业之后（2002～2010）跟同学一起玩过的地方。当时怎么没有这些感悟？而是等到三四十岁了，有老家来的人要带着他们逛，才发现这些感悟。

有些地方，年轻时只是路过；多年后再来，才真正看见。

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我们从何处开始了解一座城市？

从它的红墙开始——从国子监街的琉璃牌楼，从那些七百年的古槐。
从它的胡同开始——从雍和宫大街的热闹，从鼓楼东大街的烟火。
从它的时间开始——从年轻时路过的熟悉，到中年时真正看见的陌生。
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