Nanluoguxiang () is a narrow alley that gives its name to an old part of the
Beijing
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Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
city centre with traditional
architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...
both new and old. The neighborhood contains many typical narrow streets known as
hutong
''Hutong'' () are a type of narrow street or alley commonly associated with northern Chinese cities, especially Beijing.
In Beijing, hutongs are alleys formed by lines of ''siheyuan'', traditional courtyard residences. Many neighbourhoods wer ...
. It is located in the
Dongcheng district.
The alley itself is approximately 800m long, running from East Gulou Street in the north to Di'anmen East Street in the south.
History
Nanluoguxiang was built in the
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fif ...
and received its current name during the
Qing Dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
, around 1750. In recent years, the area's hutongs have become a popular tourist destination with restaurants, bars, live music houses, coffee shops, fast food and souvenir shops, as well as some old
siheyuan
A ''siheyuan'' (; IPA: ɹ̩̂.xɤ̌.ɥɛ̂n is a historical type of residence that was commonly found throughout China, most famously in Beijing and rural Shanxi. Throughout Chinese history, the siheyuan composition was the basic pattern used ...
associated with famous historic and literary figures.
Nanluoguxiang Station of Beijing Subway opened in 2012 and is located near the south entrance of the alley.
Gallery
File:Beijingreddoorpic2.jpg, A traditional red Chinese door with Imperial guardian lion
Chinese guardian lions, or imperial guardian lions, are a traditional Chinese architectural ornament, but the origins lie deep in much older Indian Buddhist traditions. Typically made of stone, they are also known as stone lions or shishi (). ...
knocker resembles the number 8 (good luck or fortune in Chinese culture
Chinese culture () is one of the world's oldest cultures, originating thousands of years ago. The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia and is extremely diverse and varying, with customs and traditions varying grea ...
)
File:Guanghuatemplepic1.jpg, Guang Hua temple (广化寺)
File:Beijing_drum_tower.JPG, The nearby Drum Tower (鼓楼)
See also
*
Nanluoguxiang Station
References
{{Dongcheng District, Beijing
Streets in Beijing
Dongcheng District, Beijing