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Many people have visited the famous bustling commercial street, Wangfujing, but few know Fengfu Hutong, or Abundance Hutong. This ordinary hutong is unusual because of the Danshi Courtyard, where the Lao She Memorial House is located. It is different from the skyscrapers in Wangfujing and is an indication of the simple life that Lao She led.
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Back at Houhai, there’s a street called Yandai Xiejie which leads from the main road to Yinding Qiao, which bridges Houhai and separates it from Qianhai. As its name indicates, it means an oblique street which looks like a long-stemmed pipe. This street used to be a famous street selling long-stemmed pipes. Now, it is a street full of antique stores and modern bars.
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Located at Xuanwu District, Liulichang is a typical Chinese-style lane with shops bearing Ming and Qing dynasty architectural features. With brightly painted doors and eaves and gracefully curved black-tiled-roofs buildings, a little of old Beijing’s lifestyle is retained here. The China Bookstore and Rongbaozhai are the most famous antique stores in Liulichang.
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Mao’er Hutong is an interesting place because of its location, hidden in plain sight and in close proximity to well-known places, plus the fact there are four spots on this one alleyway identified as cultural relics, none of which are officially open to the public. The hutong runs west to east from Di’anmenwai Dajie to Nanluoguxiang in the Jiaodaokou sub-district. The best way to find it is from Di’anmen; it’s the first alleyway northeast of the old bridge to the east of Qianhai.
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Guozijian is located at Guozijian Street (originally named Chengxian Street), Andingmennei Street of Dongcheng District. It was once a stage for the emperor, who frequently came here to read Confucian classics to thousands of students. Chinese scholar trees line both sides of the street. Four colourfully painted archways stand each at the east and west ends of the street and the two sides of the gate of Guozijian. It is Beijing’s only street that continues to feature an ancient architectural style.
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This old Beijing lane is more like a commercial street today because of its location. The Jinyu Hutong (Goldfish Hutong), on the eastern side of the Wangfujing Street, is now a street of hotels and restaurants, while a back street on the western side has been built into a street of snack bars. The renowned Jixiang Theatre, Dong’an Market and Donglaishun Restaurant are located there.
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Originally named Dingfu Dajie in Ming Dynasty, Dinfu Jie was renamed after 1949. To the east of the street is the former location of Fu Jen (Fu Ren) Catholic University, which was founded by the Benedictines of St. Vincent Arch Abbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, of the United States in Beijing in 1925. The buildings within the campus were designed with the combination of eastern and western styles. Today, the century-old buildings are still standing along the street under the shadow of green trees.
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Ju’er Hutong,, a quiet and traditional alleyway street, has a history of more than 100 years. It is the street where a provincial governor in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) once lived and is blessed by the tranquil atmosphere of siheyuan, compounds with houses around a courtyard with old Beijing features. Today, it is a popular housing neighbourhood among foreigners.
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The Zhuanta Hutong in Xisi on the west side of the city is the oldest hutong in Beijing. In dramas written during the Yuan period, the Zhuanta Hutong is often mentioned. The area was also the home of famous playwright Guan Hanqing. The hutong has housed many celebrities, such as Lu Xun, Lao She and Zhang Hengshui.
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If the Forbidden City has been a reflection of China’s royal culture since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Dashilan area in Qianmen is that of grassroots culture over the same period. It has been a centre of old Beijing’s leading fetail markets for centuries and mirrored the true lives of local Beijingers. As the oldest commercial street in Beijing, today, Dashilan remains packed with laozihao (Time Honoured Brand businesses in Beijing)
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