Beixin Warehouse

Beixin Warehouse

Beixin Warehouse is a cultural relic protection unit of Beijing Municipality.

Destination Introduction

Beixin Warehouse is located at No. A16, Beixin Warehouse Hutong, Dongcheng District. It served as a granary during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

During the Yuan Dynasty, the area around Dongzhimen was once a river channel. In the mid-Ming Dynasty, water transport was still possible, and granaries such as Haigang Warehouse and Beixin Warehouse were established here to store grain transported by water. Hence, the southern gate was called Haigang Warehouse, and the northern gate was called Beixin Warehouse, with the structure forming a “日” (sun) shape. In the early Ming Dynasty, government granaries had strict systems for income and expenditure, and containers for receiving and distributing grain were also strictly regulated. In addition to covering various government expenses, some of the grain stored in Beijing’s official granaries during the Ming Dynasty was also used for price stabilization and disaster relief. After the Eight-Nation Alliance entered Beijing in 1900, they forcibly occupied the granaries. The history of grain storage in the official granaries of the Ming and Qing dynasties came to an end.

Location: No. A16, Beixin Warehouse Hutong, Dongcheng District

The granary buildings of Beixin Warehouse are built of brick, with each storage unit (cao) consisting of five rooms. Each unit is 23.6 meters wide and 17 meters deep. There were 49 granary units in the early Qing Dynasty, which increased to 85 by the 32nd year of the Kangxi reign (1693). Seven granary units remain today and are key cultural relics protected at the municipal level in Beijing. Transportation Information

Accessible by subway and multiple bus lines.

Dongcheng District, Beijing

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Municipal Cultural Relic Protection Units in Beijing