A courtyard or sihuyuan at Nanluoguxiang, a newly commercialized hutong popular among foreign tourists and expats in Beijing. (from http://qingying.fotoky.com/)

The booming hutong economy is impacting the accommodation business in traditional courtyards. Two years ago, it cost 10 dollars to stay the night in a standard room but now it will set you back at least 30 dollars.

The annual rent of an eight sq. meter shop in a hutong was about 20,000 yuan two years ago but now the price has risen to 50,000 yuan. But shop earnings have kept pace, allowing shop keepers to continue paying the soaring rents.

Despite the high rents, businessmen from all over the country are still flocking to open outlets in Beijing's hutongs. Tea pots from Fujian, pottery from Shandong, ornaments from Tibet, can all be found in the old alleys. A business in a popular hutong can easily survive if as few as a dozen out of a thousand passers by makes a purchase.

Old alleys also attract providers of delicacies. Genuine imperial cuisine and home-style cooking are both available. Even the time-honored Tongrentang set up a branch in a hutong to provide its medicinal diet, spending 3 million yuan on the rent.

The most popular food in the hutongs is local Beijing snacks. Baodu Zhang (quick-fried tripe) opened an outlet near Yinding Bridge in the Houhai area. And since they haven't put their prices up in recent years they are becoming more and more popular.