Dashilan Street

Qianmen is just in the south of the Tian’anmen square. The Qianmen street also called Dashilan commercial street, It was a commercial center of Beijing more than 500 years ago. Once the business center of Beijing, the Dashilan area has gathered some of China's oldest brands.

Nowadays, the Dashanlan Area is one of Beijing’s major protected area because of its great historical and cultural value. It is representative for Beijing’s traditions and culture. You will be able to find many antiques and see many of Beijing’s oldest Hutongs.

If the Forbidden City has been a capsule of China's royal culture since the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), then the Dashilan area in Qianmen is that of grassroots culture over the same period.

Dashilan Street, the oldest commercial street in Beijing, is now more packed than ever. Besides the usual hordes of tourists, more locals are also thronging to the area for a farewell visit and a last taste of old Beijing.

Starting from May, the city will begin to convert the Dashilan area, one of the last remnants of bustling old Beijing, into a modern commercial zone selling Chinese style garments, jewellery and cuisine, as well as courtyard-style hostels, by 2008.

A prosperous business area since the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911), Dashilan is as unique to Beijing as the way the name sounds. Dashilan is how the locals say "Dazhalan" in standard Mandarin, and means big fences.

Its history can be traced back around 600 years ago when the Emperor ordered fences to be built to prevent thieves getting in the area. The fences remained for a long time, and thus came the name of the area.

It has been the centre of old Beijing's leading retail market for centuries, with the streets and hutongs around the area bustling with people and atmosphere.

In the past, this district was cluttered with teahouses, theatres, acrobatic shows, brothels, opium dens, stalls and crowds from all walks of life.

Today it has been cleaned up and is now a major shopping street. A new look replaces some of the chaos but the atmosphere of the district remains. Cinemas, video halls, karaoke bars and clubs vie with long-established traditional Chinese stores for space and attention in this intriguing little area of the capital.

No. 5 Ruifuxiang

Founded in 1893 by the Meng family, Ruifuxiang has a prestigious past and was entrusted with making the first flag of the People’s Republic. Its mission statement is to ‘cut the clouds to make garments from heaven’ and it’s crammed wall to wall with silk in a variety of styles.
Great for: getting a tailor made traditional qipao. The store offers everything from ordinary custom tailoring to high-end pieces embroidered by hand using a technique the shop has honoured since its inception.

No. 7 Xiangyihao Silk Store

This store front is by far the most spectacular on Dashilan. Erected during the reign of Emperor Guangxu, its intricate green wrought iron façade was often mistaken for that of a church.
Great for: Nothing. Unfortunately these days the Silk Store is, not to put too fine a point on it, full of crap.

No. 9 Ten Fu’s Tea

China’s most famous tea exporter has an outlet on Dashilan, and it’s big. Staff speak English and are happy to help you pick and taste tea before you buy. Their Jasmine leaves are legendary, but they sell everything from flower tea to oolong and pu’er. Expect to pay around 150RMB for 100g of flower tea.
Great for: buying a quality, long lasting tea for drinking at home.

No. 14  Zhangyiyuan Tea Shop

This shop has been around since the early 1900s; the ‘yiyuan’ part of its name deriving from a Chinese saying that ‘at the beginning of a new year, everything is fresh again’. Back then most of Zhangyiyuan’s tea was grown in Fujian province and adapted to local Northern tastes for its customers on Dashilan. Now it sells characteristically strong tea from all over China, and thankfully has kept its beautiful traditional packaging.
Great for: Buying a gift

No.15 Toy shop
This traditional but tiny folk toy shop sells an array of goods – some of them better quality than others. Bearded Peking Opera masks, paper cuts, kites and spinning diablo are all sold here, as well as hairy monkeys – an incredibly delicate Qing dynasty toy made from shed cicada skins and usually depicting the miniature primates going about various daily chores in traditional Chinese clothing.
Great for: Reminding the kids of life’s more simple pleasures

No. 24 Tongrentang

The most famous traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy in China opened its first store on the site at which it now stands in 1702 – 73 years after senior royal physician Yue Xianyang set it up. Tongrentang’s motto may concern some: ‘that no outsider witnesses the manufacturing process and our sincerity and trustworthiness are left to God’s judgement’, but it has a long history of expertise. Today it sells all manner of herbs, ‘healing’ creatures and drinkable cures, but be sure to have a consultation with a TCM practitioner before you start buying.
Great for: a quirky – and perhaps more effective – alternative to paracetamol.

No 25. Made in Paradise

This is no time honoured brand – just a modern chain that finds itself in an appropriate setting. Elegant women in traditional Tibetan clothing mill around the small space while shoppers try on beautiful silver rings, leather cuffs, pashminas and bejeweled bracelets. Incense hangs above the Buddhist shrine in one corner and almost everything is reasonably priced.
Great for: Disappearing into a mini oasis of calm for five minutes, and Tibetan jewellery.

No 31. Gao Bu Li restaurant

The famous baozi (steamed bun) restaurant from Tianjin has one of its busiest outposts on Dashilan, constantly packed with hungry shoppers looking for a quality, time honoured snack. We suggest you do too – they’re delicious.
Great for: a tasty lunch or dinner in a traditional setting

No.34 Neiliansheng shoes

We love Neiliansheng for its vast array of traditional Chinese slippers and hard-wearing shoes, all made using traditional techniques employed by the store since 1853. And you can watch the cobblers at work in the store’s window too. Expect to pay around 200RMB for the classic black numbers, and a little extra for more modern styles.
Great for: Visitors who want traditional Beijing slippers or locals who want to see a revival of shoes that were actually comfy.

No.36 Beijing Daguanlou Cinema

Before you reach the end of the road, look out for the large stone monument to the birthplace of Chinese film. When Ren Qingtai, who ran the nearby Fengtai Photo Studio, procured a copy of the first Chinese film Ding Jun Shan, this is where it debuted. Now it’s a regular (if very small) cinema, and a mini museum (entry costs 35RMB).
Great for: a historical pitstop or a modern movie screening.

Tips:
1. No motor vehicles or bicycles are allowed in this street.
2. There is no public toilet in this pedestrian street. Free toilets are provided at the west end of Dashilan Street, outside the Xiaoqijia Hutong.