The Hutong

The Hutong describes itself as Beijing's premier culture exchange centre. It is based in a courtyard home at 1 Jiudaowan Zhongxiang, in the Beixinqiao area of Dongcheng, and runs a busy calendar of cooking classes, tea experiences, culinary tours and day tours, along with private events, team-building and education programmes in Beijing and across China. The centre began when its founder met the courtyard's landlord while out cycling, and its stated aims are for guests to learn something new and have a great time.

Cooking classes are the core of the programme. Sessions last about two and a half hours, with morning, afternoon and evening slots, and cover a wide range of Chinese cooking: Sichuan dishes and Sichuan street food, Yunnan cooking, homemade Shanxi noodles, hand-pulled noodles, xiaolongbao soup dumplings, gourmet dumplings, baozi steamed buns and a traditional Chinese medicine cooking class. Members receive a discount on the standard price.

Tea is the other strong theme. The Hutong runs a guided tour of the Maliandao tea market and Chinese tea tasting and brewing sessions where you learn how different teas are prepared.

Beyond the courtyard, the centre lists culinary tours and Beijing day tours, and it hosts private cooking parties and catering for groups. Check the events calendar on its website for current dates, as classes are scheduled individually.

The Hutong suits food lovers, families, couples and groups of friends, as well as companies looking for team activities. A cooking class early in a trip is a good way to understand the dishes you will see on menus around the city, from the dumplings at Bao Yuan to the noodles of Shanxi at Jinyang Restaurant. Its education programmes include both Beijing-based and China-wide options for schools, and the corporate side offers workshops as well as team-building days.

Getting there is easy by metro: Beixinqiao is a stop on Line 5, which also serves Yonghegong Lama Temple station, so a class can be combined with a morning at the Lama Temple, the Confucius Temple or King's Joy on Wudaoying Hutong. Contact the centre by email at [email protected] or by phone on +86 159 0104 6127 to ask about upcoming classes or to arrange a private event.