Hutong girl in Beijing

Author: Ma Qi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: Temptation is beautiful; temptation is dangerous; they are eighteen years old; eighteen is an impatient age. The background of Beijing Hutong Girls certainly has a strong sense of its era. I wanted to depict the growth experiences of five children in this special context, and I wanted to write about the disappearance of an ancient and simple life. This growth and disappearance, with their profound truth and sorrow in life, moved me deeply and inspired me artistically. These five girls walk back and forth in Douyuan Hutong, a very narrow alley. From the southern end to the northern end, and from the northern end to the southern end, there are forty-eight courtyards nestled on both sides of the small earthen road, only two and a half meters wide. They are eighteen years old. At the nearby construction site, which has not been completed for three years, young men whistle as they pass by. The wind picks up dust, swirling in the quiet air of the hutong. Temptation is beautiful. Temptation is dangerous. When does life begin? Eighteen is an impatient age.