Shichahai, Beijing’s Largest Historical District, Featuring Beijing’s Oldest Commercial Street
Beijing is a world-renowned ancient capital city, boasting attractions such as the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, Yuanming Garden, and the Great Wall. Among these, ‘Shichahai’ is one place that deserves special mention, although it may not have the same global recognition as the others, it remains a popular destination for tourists visiting Beijing.
Shichahai is located in the Xicheng District of Beijing, near the central axis of Beijing, and is connected to Zhongnanhai. It is Beijing’s only open-type scenic area with expansive water surfaces. Visitors do not need to purchase tickets to enjoy Shichahai.
Shichahai comprises three water areas: Qianhai (Front Sea), Houhai (Back Sea), and Xihai (West Sea). As early as the Qing Dynasty, it was a place where local people relaxed and enjoyed leisure activities and cooling off during the summer. Today, it remains a popular destination, with tourists visiting in spring, summer, autumn, and winter. In summer, visitors can go boating and paddling on the water, while in winter, ice skating is popular on the lake.
The scenery here changes with each season and has its own unique charm. The renowned Ming Dynasty writer Liu Dong and Yu Yizheng wrote about Shichahai’s spirit in ‘A Brief Record of Jingdu’. Because of its beautiful scenery, it is known as ‘the northern water town’. Today, Shichahai has given birth to many restaurants and snack shops, and bars, becoming a paradise for tourists to relax, enjoy food, and snacks.
In particular, ‘Yanqiuxie Street’ (Smoke Bag Street) is Beijing’s oldest commercial street. Although it is only 230 meters long, it gathers a large number of merchants, snack shops, calligraphy and painting stores, bars, and specialty stores. Every weekend, it is crowded with people, and traffic is congested. It is very bustling, not losing to the famous South Cuilong Lane.
As early as the Qing Dynasty, Yanqiuxie Street was a very bustling commercial street, mainly selling smoking tools, antiques, and paintings. It is said that most of the residents who lived here liked to smoke, and they always carried a smoke bag with them. So the street was named ‘Yanqiuxie Street’. Later, the shops were simply called ‘Yanqiuxie Street’.
Today, Yanqiuxie Street is a Chinese historical and cultural street. It has undergone renovations. The old street buildings look particularly simple and elegant after renovation, and it is a must-visit destination for tourists and group tours. Walking along the old street, Ming and Qing style buildings are particularly eye-catching, especially at night, with the lights of the shops on both sides open, which is very bustling.
Do you have a chance to visit Shichahai and Yanqiuxie Street when you go to Beijing? What impression do you have about it? Welcome to leave a comment.
