One of the best persevered areas in Downtown Beijing, Nanluoguxiang is famous for its hutong and courtyards (siheyuan) but it is also now famed for the cafes and bars and clothing and handcraft shops that line its hutong laneways. Dubbed “another bar area besides Houhai, Workers’ Stadium and Sanlitun,” Nanluoguxiang is featured by its fusion of the modern and old, East and West.

Nanluoguxiang has a 768-metre-long south-north central lane, with 16 hutong meandering east and west of off the central lane, giving each side eight hutong. This was the typical hutong layout of the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368). With a history of more than 700 years, Nanluoguxiang is one of the capital’s oldest hutong areas and has been one of Beijing’s 25 cultural and historical protection areas since 1990. It is up to you to push open the wooden doors to the shops and discover fine silk shawls and various handicrafts designed by local artists. Among the popular shops is the t-shirt store Plastered. Its British owner has Chinese characters of the famous Beijing dish gong bao ji ding, or kung pao chicken, printed on white t-shirts and it sells well.

Creativity is a major attraction of Nanluoguxiang as many shops are owned and run by local designers and artists. Places like Le Tian and Shi Jie specialize in handmade potteries. At 55 Nanluoguxiang you may ask craftsmen to make old Beijing paper-cut works in accordance with your own design. Clothing shops like Shanghai Tailor offers custom-made outfits.

If you begin walking from the Pass By Bar at the southern end, you will find more than 30 cafes and bars, clothing and handcraft shops along Nanluoguxiang’s central lane. Unlike the streets of Houhai, bars and cafes at Nanluoguxiang are quieter, providing less-expensive food and drink. Most of them are decorated in a traditional Chinese style that matches well with their surroundings. Some make good use of the courtyards to create a comfortable and lively atmosphere.

Walk north of the Pass By Bar and you will encounter The Central Academy of Drama, the alma mater of countless Chinese TV and film stars such as Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). Pedicabs are often found waiting outside its gates that serve visitors to the area. Posters of the First Beijing International University Students Drama Festival are still displayed around the academy. Some believe the tranquil hutong and the artistic drama academy determine the basic tone of the bars and shops there.

To explore the hutong and the locals’ daily lives, visitors are advised to range widely from the central lane into the hutong. Hei Zhima Hutong (Black Sesame Hutong) is one worth visiting. The No. 13 and 17 courtyards in this hutong are the former residences of imperial officials. The structure of a typical siheyuan is easily seen. Beside the two sides of the stone steps in front of the large, high main gate, there stand two stone lions on two large blocks of stone. These were signs of high social status families during feudal times. The two stone lions were brought to safeguard a whole family and to symbolize their social status, while the two large blocks of stone were built to help dignitaries mount and dismount horses. The residents’ social status could also be judged from the top part of the main gate, with different patterns near their roofs. Shigu, stones made in the shape of drums put beside the main gates, are also an important parts of the siheyuan culture. Inside the main gate, a “screen wall” was used to protect the family from evil spirits. The higher social status the residents had, the more complicated were the residents’ structures. In addition, in large families, strict rules decided who lived in which room. Some families in the hutong offer simple but authentic Beijing foods and drinks.