The 570-year-old Xianyukou Street has just reopened to the public after a three-year renovation, but locals have not forgotten about its goodies.
Xianyukou connects to Qianmen shopping street opposite Dashilan and houses many of China's old brands of snacks.
On a sunny afternoon the day after opening, the street was flooded with visitors getting a taste of Old Beijing. Many shops sell Old
Beijing snacks and specialties and boast a golden plaque telling the public of their origins in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Most visitors were local Chinese who escaped the modernized Qianmen shopping street for a more authentic feel. Several shops had a queue extending out the front door and onto the street, with shoppers waiting for Old
Beijing confections, stewed liver, and even roasted meat.
The shops near the Qianmen entrance are mostly small and sell authentic specialties from a bygone era. As the street continues, more polished restaurants with servers clad in white shirts and vests make an appearance.
Not far down the street is the old Xinghuayuan Bathhouse, which stands out for its marble-white European-style arches and Romanesque pillars, adorned with Chinese details. The stunning structure, a blend of Eastern and Western influences, is not open to the public and in the process of being converted to a hotel.
The newly-paved street pays homage to its fishy past in a number of details, from fish-adorned manhole covers to brick sculptures, urban furniture, and even streetlights. The first part of its name, "Xian Yu," translates to "Fresh Fish," indicating the culinary history of the street.
Shoppers can look forward to an entire network of new shops and cafes beyond Xianyukou street; just a block away, a new Tai wan-style square is opening, with buildings refurbished in a beautiful mixture of Chinese and vintage European styles.
Massive shopping malls lacking charm and culture have sprung up all over
Beijing in recent years, but Xianyukou and its surrounding area are a refreshing departure from that trend. The shopping street embraces Beijing's hutong past, when most residences were 1-story courtyard homes connected by a maze of alleyways and the city's shops occupied 1 or 2-story buildings along narrow streets, where many locals' social lives took place.
Walking along the street, paved with bricks instead of asphalt, visitors can enjoy the variety of local eateries and quirky shops (including one selling vintage Chinese toys), but also get a taste of history from the plaques telling about the history of various buildings in the area. The polished, new storefronts mingled with historic buildings connected by outside walkways succeed in creating a unique
Beijing appeal.
While old brands and traditional snacks and crafts are disappearing from other parts of the city, they have been revived here. The popular opening of the new Xianyukou Street proves that Old
Beijing is not lost; it just needed a new coat of paint.
