Back to the Past

Beijing is a city with more than 3000 years of recorded history. What is unique about it is the convergence of eastern and western cultures. Along with the rapid urbanization of Beijing, the merging of foreign cultures, and the nonstop improvement of people’s standards of living, the narrow streets and lanes have gradually disappeared and the traditional structures of courtyard dwellings have successively been taken down.

Old Beijing is a typical consumer city. In the Yuan Dynasty, the commercial district of Beijing gathered at Xisi, Dongdan, and in front of the Drum Tower. During the Ming Dynasty in the time of Emperor Yongle and the construction of the inner city, the rows and rows of bungalows on Qianmen Street served as stores and paved the way for a commercial city. There is more than 580 years of history here.

“Hutong Zhang", which stretches over 100 meters of Old Beijing Street, deals with the 3000-year-old cultural scene of Beijing. It is a reproduction of old Beijingers’ way of life in the capital at that time. The entire structure includes the 140+ old and famous shops, the 10+ lane gate towers and the 10+ decorated arches of shops and streets. In the construction of the streetscape, you can see many traditional vehicles; the clay people indicate hundreds of commoners, officials and people related to commerce, etc.

When Old Beijing residents fell ill, they would often visit a traditional Chinese doctor who mostly treated patients in their own homes. The reputation of these doctors earned them different ranks. The “Four Famous Doctors” all had large and spacious homes. Haiziwang (King of the Children) featured in this model was one of the well-known doctors who used to live in a large home.

Haiziwang(King of the Children) [Gao Zhijian]

Originally called Sunchon Chinese School, the school was built in 1906. Now it is the key middle school in Beijing.

The 4th middle school of Beijing[Gao Zhijian]

Zhonghua Press is responsible for publishing many of China’s ancient books, and is also one of the oldest publishing houses in China. Now it has three divisions: Shanghai Dictionary Publishing, Taiwan Zhonghua Press, and Mainland Press. The company is based in Beijing.

Xing Sheng Rong was a leather and fur store located on Qianmen Street. It first opened in the Manchu Dynasty. Leather and fur was big business at the time, and all of it was sourced from the butcher shop in Beijing.

Shuangshun Tailor Shop sometimes had no regular store, but operated from within a compound. They drew business with the help of a sign outside the gate. Shuangshun was famous for its good quality and innovative styles and became the biggest tailor store in Old Beijing.

Water is very important to a city; without water, a city would not be able to engage in production. So when designers established Beijing city, they chose a place near a source of water.

Wanchang Tin Shop: People in Old Beijing commonly relied on tin for their daily lives. Wanchang became a very famous tin shop due to its good skills and service. It was located on the west side of Qianmen.

Yuanfengtai Cotton Shop sold both raw cotton by the weight and cotton wadding of different thickness. Cotton was the main material to protect Old Beijing residents against the cold in winter.

Shengxifu Hat Store: Toward the end of the Qing Dynasty and in the early days of the Republic, hat stores in Beijing only sold court, felt and fur hats. As time went on, hat stores began to sell bowler, cloth and straw hats. Shengxifu was one of the stores that carried a wide variety of hats. First opened in 1936, it was located on the east side of north Xidan Street. As a branch of the Shengxifu Hat Store Tianjin, it was known for its fine workmanship and quality of hats.

History begets society, society creates history. A truly civilized and flourishing society should remember its own history, and leave records for the next civilized society. To remember one’s history is to realize the meaning of society.

Old Beijing was modest yet its legacy was never lost; it is mellow yet pungent. Those ancient times have long since yellowed with age. We cannot allow the memories it imparted us to fade away. This place bears the weight of far too many memories and emotions. The entry of Western culture is undeniable.

Scirpt & Video: Yu Chenkang