Did Anyone Ever Live Better in 1930s Peking Than Harold Acton? Probably Not…
Posted: May 28th, 2023 | 2 Comments »A simply question – did anyone ever live better in Peking’s hutongs than aesthete extrordinaire Harold Acton – with a beautiful courtyard home, amazing friends, celebrity visitors, his dogs…it’s hard to imagine. I wrote about Acton’s 1930s home on Kung Hsien Hutong in my colerction Destination Peking (Blacksmith Books)…but thought these photos from his Memoirs of an Aesthete (so clearly images Acton himself thought showed his home to best advantage) might seal the case…
Now called Gongjian Hutong, Kung Hsien Hutong remains in a relatively decent state of repair, including its many xiongs (or adjacent side alleys) running from Dianmen Street, north to south down the side of Beihai Park. It is close to the tourist attraction of Nanluoguxiang Hutong. Gongjian is an interesting hutong as it has a bend in the lane at either end, presumably to afford some additional privacy to the lane as well as prevent it becoming a wind tunnel.
Kung Hsien Hutung in chinese is Gong-xian Hutong, not Gong-jian.
Hello! Late to this party, but my past few years immersion in Bloomsbury people led me to Harold and his memoirs. I’m a Californian native who actually lived in and off in China for an almost 2 years and his description brought me so much more color and joy about the culture than my actual time there. Yes- he definitely experienced an extraordinarily rarified life while there, but I’m so grateful he shared what he was able to do what he did and wow- what an experience.