EXPLORE: Beijing's traditional culture at night

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'Great Wall Hero' is the Beijing Municipal Culture and Tourism Bureau's annual global marketing campaign. This year, the theme was Beijing by Night, and five different routes were chosen to showcase the city in the late afternoon and evening. Cultural Keys helped design the 'Beijing Through Culture' route, which takes in some of the city's cultural highlights. 

Read on to find out more about the route!

While the Chinese borders remain closed to tourists due to the country's COVID-zero policy, the Beijing Municipal Cultural and Tourism Bureau is still committed to promoting Beijing as a vibrant and exciting choice for global tourism when China reopens.

'Great Wall Heroes' is aimed at attracting people to visit Beijing in the future. As part of the campaign, which has been running since 2016, five high-profile, long-term residents of Beijing who have contributed to Beijing culture, society or business life are chosen to convey their love for the city by taking part in different tourism activities that showcase different areas of the city, and Cultural Keys' founder AJ Donnelly was among them this year! 

We helped put together a route that would highlight Beijing's traditional culture. Since many of these places close at night we had to be a little more flexible when it came to the night theme! The route is called 'Beijing Through Culture', and takes in Beihai Park, White Tower Temple and the Qianmen area, as well as visiting the shops of some inheritors of Beijing's intangible cultural heritage. 

Qianmen Street 前门大街

Running north-south from Tian'anmen Square, this was a bustling commercial area for hundreds of years, although since Qianmen Street itself was renovated and pedestrianised it has become quieter and more touristy. The buildings were rebuilt using old photos of how the street used to look in the last decades of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). The area is brightly lit at night, providing lots of photo opportunities. 

Dashilan'r Street 大栅栏街

Running east-west from Qianmen Street, this street retains some of its Qing Dynasty atmosphere, and has many of the 'time-honoured brands' that this area is famous for! These include Tongrentang pharmacy, Ruifuxiang silk store and Neiliansheng shoe shop. 

Neiliansheng 内联升

The most famous, and biggest, manufacturer of traditional cloth shoes in China, Neiliansheng have a large store on Dashilan'r Street  which is well worth a visit, with shoes for every budget! Old Beijingers used to say "Always wear hats from Majuyuan, shoes from Neiliangsheng, silk from Badaxiang and carry money from one of the four old banks". The saying reflects the importance of Neiliansheng to the idea of 'old Beijing', although in fact it wasn't founded until 1853. 

34 Dashilan'r Street
大栅栏街34号
Open 9am-8pm

Yangmeizhu Byway 杨梅竹斜街

A good place to get away from the crowds on Dashilan'r, this hutong is lined with small boutiques and coffee shops, and is especially pretty in the early morning or late afternoon. There are also a few historic buildings like Qingyunge, a small, late Qing Dynasty shopping centre. 

Caicifang Porcelain Workshop 采瓷坊

Caicifang is located in a historic building on Yangmeizhu Byway. It's a cultural experience space integrating ancient porcelain restoration, cultural displays and art experiences, with a shop opposite, but also it's just fascinating to walk around looking at all the beautiful trinkets on display! 

35 Yangmeizhu Byway
杨梅竹斜街35号
Open 10.30-6.30 

Old Beijing Rabbit Lord Shop 老北京兔儿爷

Also located on Yangmeizhu Byway is Zhang Zhongqiang's tiny shop, which is less than 3m wide, but full from floor to ceiling of ceramic Rabbit Lords, Beijing's only indigenous 'deity'. Zhang is the fifth generation in his family to make and paint these intriguing little rabbits, which make perfect gifts.

19 Yangmeizhu Byway
杨梅竹斜街19号
Open 11am-6pm

The Painters' Guild Hall 颜料会馆

This large Ming Dynasty guild hall was built by paint merchants from Shanxi Province and is now a restaurant and opera house. It's located next to the Sanlihe river (now a small park) on the edge of the Caochang Hutong area of protected hutongs, which is another great place for photos, especially in the evening. 

22 Qingyun Hutong (walk east from Qianmen Street and cross over the main road to find the area)
青云胡同22号
Open 11am til late

Beihai Park 北海公园

Now a public park, this enormous garden used to be a playground for the imperial family, and has served as the inspiration for many Chinese gardens in China and around the world. It includes temples, pavilions, a huge lake, and the centerpiece, a white stupa built in 1651. It's usually busy with tourists during the day, but at night the atmosphere calms and it becomes a relaxing place to enjoy the moonlight and the lights of the stupa reflecting on the lake.

1 Wenjin Street
问津街1号
Summer hours: 6am-9pm; Winter hours: 6.30am-7.30pm

Shichahai 什刹海

Often called simply 'Houhai' by the expat community in Beijing, this area is actually made up of three lakes: Qianhai, Houhai and Xihai, which connect to Beihai and Zhongnanhai to the south. The lakes are surrounded by historic hutongs, temples and mansions belonging to the wealthy, and is perfect to explore for the day. The area comes alive when the sun goes down and the restaurants, cafes and bars light up for the evening. Taking a boat out on the lake at sunset is a perfect way to start an evening out in Shichahai! 

Miaoying / White Tower Temple 妙应寺

White Tower Temple (also known as Miaoying Temple) is named after its stupa, built in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), which at the time was the tallest building in the city. The temple can only be visited in the daytime (last entry at 4.30) but if you climb onto the terrace of some of the hotels and cafes in the hutongs around the temple you can get a great view of the tower at sunset!

171 Fuchengmen Inner Street
阜成门内大街171号
Open 9am-5pm except Mondays

Take a look at the video below to see AJ explore the 'Beijing Through Culture' route in full!

If you'd like to visit every place, we recommend two days for the full route. Spend the first day in the Qianmen area, ending at the Painters' Guild Hall for dinner. Start the second day at Beihai and exit from the north gate and cross the road to get to Shichahai. 

Some text in this article was taken from the 'Great Wall Hero 2022 The Night is Young' Brochure by the Beijing Municipal Culture and Tourism Bureau. Cultural Keys was very honoured to have worked with them on the 'Beijing Through Culture' route. To find out more about the bureau, please follow their Offcial WeChat Account.

What do you think of this route? Where else is great for experiencing the culture of Beijing in the evening? Let us know in the comments section on our website (click the read more button below), or on our social media pages on Facebook (@CulturalKeysChina) or Instagram (@CulturalKeys). We always love hearing from you!

Photo Credits

- Cultural Keys

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