Beijing's heart can't be found in the shopping malls of Xidan or the glass-covered skyscrapers in the modern Chaoyang district.

One has to dig a little deeper.

The dingy narrow alleys - known as hutong - have encapsulated the city's history and culture for 700 years. Hutong communities are labyrinths of dimly lit single-storey houses and can be found just south of the Qianmen Gate or around the Drum and Bell towers. They are also one of the only places one can buy a steamed baozi, a stuffed bread roll, or watch a game of xiangqi, a Chinese board game similar to chess.

"The hutong is a symbol of our tradition and community," said Xu Jianzhong, who manages his music shop out of his home in the Dazhalan hutong, which is about a kilometer south of Tian'anmen Square. "It is a way of life particular to Beijing."

A deserted hutong in the Qianmen area is to be demolished for urban renovation projects in downtown Beijing in this March 12, 2006 photo. [newsphoto]

According to a column by About.com writer Hao Zhuo, the hutong can really only be found in the capital. They were made during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties (1279-1912 A.D.) for the common people, and the small homes are symbols of Beijing's past class system. This is easy to imagine since the hutong surrounds the Forbidden City, China's imperial palace.

"You can't find this type of arrangement anywhere else," Xu said.

But one might not be able to find the hutong in Beijing in the next couple of years either.

Because of the rush to modernize the city in order to make way for the 2008 Olympics, government officials, citizens and foreigners are debating how much heritage should be preserved. Needless to say, it isn't a black and white issue.

According to statistics released by the China Daily last month, more then 40 per cent of Beijing's hutong have been destroyed since the 1980s to make room for urban roads and skyscrapers.

Shan Jixiang, director for the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, spoke about the city's rapid development earlier this month at the Second International Conference on Heritage Conservation and Sustainable Development.

"While reasonable actions are being taken to preserve cultural heritage in some instances," he said, "more often historic buildings are given up in favor of urban development, and sometimes even blindly demolished."

But the government has been trying to preserve these sites through the recent Regulation for Historical and Cultural City Protection, which was passed May 2005 and stipulates that the city will maintain its more than 3,500 listed heritage spots and also some unlisted ones that have historical or cultural value.

The law has pleased the hutong residents.

"The government needs to protect the hutong," Xu said. "Locals prefer its traditional style and being able to share food with neighbors.

"People all over the world come to see these places too."

Xu and other citizens also said they didn't want to live in tall apartment buildings, which have been replacing hutong more and more as the government tries to house the growing population.

"I like to live in hutong because of the strong neighborhoods and friendships," said Shan Xiuying, who lives in the less touristy Tongzi hutong, which is about a kilometer west of Dazhalan. "I would never want to live in a tall building. I would miss the sunshine, free space and schools near by."

Xu also said older people believe they will live longer if they sleep closer to the ground.

But even though they don't want to leave their abodes, which usually only have one or two cramped rooms, they still want reforms.

Ni Jingyuan, Shan's mother-in-law, said that some aspects of hutong life have gotten better and the "overall environment has improved because of the upcoming 2008 Olympics."

"They have paved the road in front of my house and the air looks cleaner - not as much pollution."

She said it is still an inconvenient situation though because "there is no bathroom near by."

"We must walk to a public one far away," Ni said. "It is hard for older people, especially on a rainy day."

She also said the supermarket is far away, and it can be hard lugging groceries back to her home.

Xu, who has lived in the hutong for 15 years, said the biggest problem with the alleys and biggest plus for living in an apartment is the orderliness factor.

"It is very dirty and crazy here," he said. "I meet a lot of people, but it is hard to keep my home clean."

Each one said that they didn't want too much reform, but that they know it must be hard to recognize when renovation turns into all-out modernization.

Jeff Kwasny, a backpacker from Oregon, said some of the more reformed hutong, like Dazhalan, seem more like shopping centers than cultural heritages.

"This is an easy shopping market to stumble on," Kwasny said. "It looks more modern than the smaller communities outside Beijing.

"It reminds me of other Southeast Asian cities."

Most of the shops in Dazhalan sell pirated DVDs, Marlboros or western garments. One of the nicer buildings houses a place called Rave of Night Disco Pub. Although the hutong hasn't been ripped down, Xu said something does seem to be lost already.

"Things have really changed in the last 15 years," he said. "Maybe the government will bring the tradition back to this hutong ."

The debates, demolitions and renovations won't stop anytime soon - but Shan said she thinks there seems to be some guarantee that some will survive.

"The hutong has gone through lots of changes," he said. "This place is the only place that you can meet someone new everyday.

"You can't do that in an apartment."