Signs Not Good for Continued Existence of Nanluogu Xiang

Several well-placed sources on popular shopping street Nanluogu Xiang indicate the alley as we know it will be undergoing a four-month reconstruction project beginning today, October 8 – to perhaps be reborn with far fewer of its ubiquitous streetside shops.

The alley – which in the past decade and a half has grown from a sleepy hutong with a smattering of quiet coffee shops and retail establishments to one of the hottest tourist attractions in town – seems to be suffering the same fate as Guijie: a recent visit there revealed a proliferation of security guards with batons positioned at cross streets down the length of the street, perhaps in preparation for the renovation, which may also take a good chunk of the current tenants with it.

Sources from the street's vendor community say they've heard that the area will start repaving beginning today, October 8. How long the repaving will take – and whether it will also result in any changes to its streetside retail environment – remains to be seen.

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On another note, tickets are now on sale for our October 15-16 Pizza Fest at the Zaha Hadid-designed Wangjing SOHO. Tickets are limited so buy ahead to make sure you don't miss out! Click here to purchase.