Mao’er Hutong and the Former Gobulo Family Residence

Posted: September 13th, 2026 | No Comments »

In my work various Beijing hutongs often come to prominence – the former home of Pamela Werner on Kuijiachang Hutong by Beijing Railway Station in Midnight in Peking, or Wallis Simpson’s old Beijing digs on Shijia Hutong by Jinbao Jie. And so now with rediscovering Last Empress Wanrong’s family courtyard for my new book.

I’ve long enjoyed the calm and relatively good preservation of Mao’er Hutong (Hat Maker Lane), which runs from Dianmen Outer Street in the west to the better known touristy Nanluoguxiang in the east. It dates back to the Ming and was home to high-ranking officials and the Manchu Yellow Banner during the Qing. And there is also the compound (#35-37) of the Gobulo clan of the Plain White Banner. It was home to Wanrong’s father, the Qing high official, Rongyuan when she was born in 1906 and so her primary family residence.

Though there is no official plaque or museum to Wanrong on Mao’er Hutong her presence is remembered, though the current ongoing (and generally welcome) preservation of Beijing’s surviving hutongs has perhaps reduced it. Some years ago I remember a lot of scratched tributes to Wanrong by her old courtyard entrance which, on a recent visit this year, seemed to have been painted over. 

Anyway, here are a few photos of Mao’er Hutong showing its remaining calm nature, some fresh coats of paint and refurbishments, though behind closed doors. But who knows – Beijing’s current fetish for Hutong improvement and opening more museums may yet result in a Xuantong Empress Museum on Mao’er Hutong.

The Last Emperor of China: Twilight of the Forbidden City (Elliot & Thompson) jis out now in the UK; US in November.

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