Beijing: The Imperial Qianmen Avenue and the Glamorous Eight Great Hutongs

Have you ever done this? In Beijing’s well-below-zero winter, get up at the crack of dawn, braving the bitter wind, without a flake of snow, shivering in the jam-packed crowd, just to hear the March of the Volunteers play and watch the national flag rise slowly in Tiananmen Square... while the ageless lights of Qianmen Heavenly Street still shimmer in the twilight.

1. Tiananmen – Flag-Raising

If you plan to see the flag-raising ceremony, staying near Qianmen Dazhalan is a good choice – only a few hundred meters from Tiananmen Square. But you still need to be ready to rise early. In winter, the flag is raised around 7:30 a.m. Get up at 6, arrive before 7, and by then the square is already buzzing with voices. Luckily, you can still find a spot; who knows how early those in the front row must have gotten up. Glancing around, everyone is shivering yet boiling with excitement. So, years later, you’ll still clearly remember that flag-raising morning, and the companions you shared it with. After the ceremony, when the crowd disperses around 8, find a cozy place for breakfast. Then unhurriedly stroll to the National Museum, and spend the whole morning there. By the time you exit the museum, centuries of history are still swirling in your mind while before your eyes is the steaming, lively scene of everyday life – Qianmen remains as bustling as ever.

Tiananmen Square flag-raising area (restricted area)

2. Qianmen – Heavenly Street

In a broad sense, Qianmen extends from Xianyukou in the east to Tieshu Xiejie in the west, encompassing Qianmen Street, Dazhalan, and Zhushikou. From the Ming Dynasty until early PRC, it was old Beijing’s thriving commercial heart, where many famous time-honored brands were born. The area was once a suburb during the Liao and Jin dynasties. After the Yuan Dynasty made Beijing its capital, Qianmen Street was the road linking the inner city to the outskirts. It stretches from Zhengyangmen embrasured watchtower in the north to Tianqiao crossing in the south, about 800 meters long. Since Emperor Yongle moved the capital to Beijing, this was the route emperors of the Ming and Qing took to offer sacrifices at the Temple of Heaven or perform the ritual plowing at the Altar of Agriculture. A white stone imperial path about 3 meters wide was laid in the middle, with green stone on either side for officials and nobles. That’s why Qianmen Street was also called Heavenly Street. As Emperor Qianlong wrote: ‘Gentle sun and breezes tune the jade pitch; colorful banners and floral ribbons grace the heavenly street.’ The original street was destroyed in wartime; the current one was restored in 2008 according to historical specifications. After the outer city was expanded in the Ming Dynasty, Qianmen became prime real estate. The Six Ministries – Personnel, Revenue, Rites, War, Justice, and Works – were located just inside the gate on both east and west. Outsiders coming to take imperial exams or handle official business all passed through Qianmen. During civil examinations, the guildhalls and restaurants here were packed. By the mid-Ming, Qianmen’s outer area teemed with merchants and became Beijing’s most prosperous commercial hub. In the Republic era, commerce peaked, with trams and cars replacing horse-drawn carriages and palanquins; photo studios, post offices, and bookshops opened one after another. Old trades for daily necessities still flourished, blending tradition with modernity, making it one of Beijingers’ favorite spots.

3. Dazhalan – Commercial Street

Da-shi-lan (Dazhalan, with the tone changes), originally named Langfang Sitiao (Fourth Langfang Alley), was renamed during the Qing Dynasty. In the Yongle reign of the Ming, the court built lang-fang (rows of houses) outside Qianmen as shops, gradually turning the barren area into a bustling place. Over time, streets formed, numbered with the langfang prefix: from Langfang Toutiao to Langfang Sitiao, giving the earliest street names. Under the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing, to tighten night security in the outer city, a curfew was imposed and every street had to erect a barricade (zhalan) at its entrance, opened and closed at fixed times. Because Langfang Sitiao was full of shops and wealthy merchants, they pooled funds to build a taller, sturdier barricade. Hence, ‘Dazhalan’ (Great Barricade) gradually replaced Langfang Sitiao. On the Qianlong-era Complete Map of the Capital, this area was already labeled Dazhalan. In the late Qing, the Zhengyangmen East and West Railway Stations were built beside the gate’s embrasured tower, further boosting commerce. After becoming a commercial center, Dazhalan gathered Beijing’s best shops; when outside-established brands entered Beijing, they also chose Dazhalan first. Today’s Dazhalan, though largely reconstructed, still preserves the late Ming / early Qing pattern of three vertical and nine horizontal lanes. If you take a pedicab, the driver will tell you the street’s history, reciting names both familiar and obscure: Wang Mazi knives, Zhang Yiyuan tea, Liubiju pickles, Neiliansheng shoes, Ruifuxiang silks, Ma Juyuan hats… These old brands still line the street. Though not as glorious as in their heyday, they now carry an added significance of cultural heritage.

Sunlight Shines into the Hutong

4. Eight Great Hutongs – Romance and Pleasure of the Capital

Once you arrive at Dazhalan, you can’t miss the legendary Eight Great Hutongs. Broadly, it refers to the Dazhalan area outside Qianmen; narrowly, it designates eight alleys north of Zhushikou Street and south of Tieshu Xiejie, with Shaanxi Lane (Shanxi Xiang) being the most famous. From its very naming, ‘Eight Great Hutongs’ has been associated with brothels, later synonymous with red-light districts. Statistics show that by the late 1930s, there were 117 registered brothels here, with over 700 courtesans, all beautiful, literate, and arts-trained—proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, dancing, and tea ceremony. Through a century of wind and rain, the Eight Great Hutongs, amidst song and dance, degenerated as opium flooded in. Yet in those turbulent times, two exceptional women emerged—women we admire and pity. Most of us remember only their names: Sai Jinhua and Xiao Fengxian.

5. Sai Jinhua – ‘Second Master’

In the Suzhou article (on Pingjiang Road’s Hong Jun Former Residence), we spoke of Sai Jinhua at the pinnacle of her life. Though a concubine to a top scholar, she traveled to Europe as the wife of an envoy, mingling with the elite, which later gave her the ability to save an entire city single-handedly when she lived on Shaanxi Lane. In 1900, the Eight-Nation Alliance stormed Beijing, hunting Boxer rebels, plunging the city into bloodshed. Sai Jinhua, already reduced to a courtesan, nonetheless took on a diplomat’s role: using the German she learned in Europe and the diplomatic skills she absorbed around her husband Hong Jun, she negotiated with the Allied forces and eventually secured a truce, sparing countless citizens. People then honored her as ‘Sai Erye’ (Second Master). Though official histories might not confirm this, the story is widely told—and I choose to believe it.

The Shanglin Immortal Hall where Sai Jinhua and Xiao Fengxian once plied their trade

6. Xiao Fengxian – General Cai E

Xiao Fengxian: mention her and General Cai E comes to mind. When they first met, Xiao Fengxian was working on Shaanxi Lane. At that time, Cai E was trapped in Beijing under Yuan Shikai’s surveillance. Xiao Fengxian helped him evade Yuan’s spies, flee to Tianjin, then cross to Japan and eventually return to Yunnan via a roundabout route, where he organized the National Protection Army against Yuan. Yuan’s dream of becoming emperor was shattered, but Cai E died from overwork. Xiao Fengxian never imagined that sending the general away was their final farewell. ‘Do not believe that beauties always meet an ill fate; from dust and wind, a chivalrous heroine rises.’ ‘A rare phoenix feather among mortals, this person is like an immortal pearl or dewdrop.’ This was Cai E’s description of Xiao Fengxian—and surely also the heroine he saw in his heart. With such praise, her brave act of righteousness was worth it all.

Interior layout of Shanglin Xianguan

Dazhalan’s commercial street is still lively, its old shops enduring. The Eight Great Hutongs remain, and the families living there are warm and tranquil. Flowers on windowsills, an old bicycle by the door, winter sunlight spreading across the ground and into the hearts of passersby—as if the turmoil and chaos had never happened. Only Shanglin Xianguan on Shaanxi Lane still keeps traces of those years, softly retelling the poignant yet sweeping lives of those two chivalrous women to anyone who passes by.

Sunset in a Dazhalan Hutong

7. Liulichang – Culture Street

After the Eight Great Hutongs, walk north through Yingtao Xiejie and you reach Liulichang. This translucent-sounding name originates from glazed tiles (liuli wa). As early as the Yuan Dynasty, an imperial kiln for glazed ceramics was here. After Emperor Yongle made Beijing the capital, the kiln was expanded to meet construction needs. Later, the kilns moved to Mentougou’s Liuli Qu, leaving only the name and a new chapter as a cultural street. During the Shunzhi reign of the Qing, Beijing instituted separate residential zones for Manchu and Han. Most Han officials lived near Liulichang in the west, so guildhalls from all over the country were built one after another. Booksellers set up stalls and shops; officials and exam candidates gathered to browse book markets. The book markets from Qianmen, Dengshikou, and Chenghuangmiao all relocated here, making Liulichang the largest book market in the capital. Alongside bookstores, stationery shops, antique and painting dealers, and other cultural trades flourished. Practically every major cultural figure who lived in Beijing during the Republic era visited Liulichang. Over centuries, countless antiquities passed through here until the government issued heritage protection laws in 1950. In the late Qing, a teacher-training school—today’s attached school of Beijing Normal University—was built on the site. In 1927, the factory bridge was demolished, splitting the street into East and West Liulichang. In 1980, a white marble bridge reconnected them. Ma Weidu’s Guanfu Museum was first located on Liulichang. Today, Liulichang still sells the Four Treasures of Study and antiques and paintings, though it’s quieter than its heyday, somewhat forlorn amid the urban bustle. There’s a decades-old Beijing-style eatery on Liulichang: Lao Huji Noodle House. Despite the name, it’s a full restaurant, serving noodles and more. The Former Residence of Ji Xiaolan is less than a kilometer away; if time allows, you can visit. If dusk is falling, head to Nanluogu Xiang to enjoy the night view and savor a copper hotpot—the coziest winter evening.

China Bookstore inside Liulichang

8. Nanluogu Xiang – Chessboard Residences

Nanluogu Xiang’s layout dates to the Yuan Dynasty. Its terrain rises in the middle and dips to the north and south, resembling a hunchback, hence the old name ‘Luogu Xiang’ (Hunchback Alley). It was the city center of Yuan Dadu. During the Ming and Qing, this area was filled with dignitaries’ mansions; after the Qing fell, it declined. On Qianlong’s Complete Map of the Capital, it was renamed Nanluogu Xiang. In Dadu’s layout, which followed the principle of ‘ancestral temple left, altars right, palace-facing front, market rear,’ Nanluogu Xiang was part of the rear market. Using it as an axis, the east was Zhaohui Ward and the west Jinggong Ward. Eight hutong branch off symmetrically on each side, forming a fishbone or centipede pattern, hence also called Wugong Xiang (Centipede Lane). ‘Li’ and ‘fang’ were fundamental residential and urban planning units in ancient China. In pre-Qin times they were called li or lü; by the Northern Wei, fang appeared. Tang Chang’an, the world’s largest city then, had 108 fangs. When Dadu was planned, the li-fang system continued, with 50 fangs separated by broad, straight streets like a chessboard. Tang’s fangs have vanished; after 800 years, Dadu has changed greatly. Only Nanluogu Xiang staunchly preserves the historical remnants of the li-fang pattern. It is the largest, highest-grade, richest source of chessboard-style traditional residences from Yuan Dynasty hutong courtyards, and the most charming old Beijing neighborhood.

Side hutong in Nanluogu Xiang

Dwellings in Nanluogu Xiang

9. Other Tips

1. After watching the flag-raising, those not interested in the museum can visit the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall.

2. Dazhalan has many old and famous eateries: Menkuang Hutong Luzhu, Xiaochang Chen, Baodu Feng, Donglaishun, Sijiminfu...

3. The stone carvings at the entrance of Shanglin Xianguan on Shaanxi Lane are still there. The name has changed several times but it always operates as a hotel, inn, or hostel. I once stayed there years ago; the main layout is still fairly intact.

4. Bei Men Mutton Hotpot near Nanluogu Xiang is one of the better choices around—expect a wait at mealtimes, but the meat, sauces, and snacks are all delightful.

5. Nanluogu Xiang is very close to Fangzhuanchang No. 69, the old shop for zhajiangmian (noodles with fried sauce). If you have patience, queue up; if not, try the new branch at the street corner. It’s nothing astonishing, just the authentic taste of Beijing zhajiangmian, also available in many restaurants.

In the rivers and lakes, there is no final parting; only meetings yet to happen.

Thank you, every lovely reader, for taking the time.

One cup of wine, one vast world; one person, one far-off horizon.

If I happen to meet you, it’s no coincidence—it’s me waiting for you.

Photos by Xiuli, Guihua, Yushu Text by Yushu

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