Xiangfeng Alley

Xiangfeng Alley

Xiangfeng Alley is located in the old city area of Jinan, stretching from Pingquan Hutong in the east to Furong Street in the west. It is the narrowest alley in Jinan, with a width of just 80 centimeters. Originally formed by the gap between the walls of two adjacent houses, it was commonly known as “Wall Gap Alley.” Later, its name was playfully changed to Xiangfeng Alley, a homophone that carries the auspicious meaning of inviting a phoenix to fly here for good fortune. Back when the Qing army captured Jinan, they captured Prince De Zhu Youxu, set the Prince’s Mansion on fire, and gradually turned the large area to the west of the mansion—including Zhuoying Lake—into civilian-use land. Zhuoying Lake also came to be known as the Prince’s Pool. Some wealthy individuals recognized the value of this spring-filled area and managed to purchase land here to build houses, eventually forming streets such as Xigengdao Street, Xiyuanmen Street, Wei Family Hutong, and Prince’s Pool Street. At that time, the houses built along the eastern section of Xiangfeng Alley were so close together that the passage was only wide enough for one person to walk through. On the south and north sides of the alley were two businessmen from Zhangqiu who traded in the Jinan area. They built their houses facing each other across the alley. Realizing that continuing to build as those to the east had would make the alley even narrower, both proposed to “make way”—meaning they would each build their houses slightly farther back. As a result, after these two houses were built, all subsequent constructions in the western section of the alley also “made way,” eventually widening the path somewhat. People later started calling the alley “Make-Way Alley.” However, people from Zhangqiu pronounced “让 (ràng, to yield)” as “浪 (làng),” so “Make-Way Alley” became known as “Wave-Wave Alley.” To give the alley a more pleasant name, someone suggested calling it “Wall Gap Alley,” since it was originally formed by the gap between two walls. This name stuck for many years. Later, a cultured individual in the alley proposed that since there was a Qifeng Bridge nearby, why not use a homophone of “Wall Gap Alley” and call it “Xiangfeng Alley” (literally “Soaring Phoenix Alley”) for good luck. The name remains to this day, and a stone tablet engraved with “Xiangfeng Alley” from the first year of the Xianfeng reign of the Qing Dynasty can still be found embedded in the wall of a house in the alley.