Beijing Shaanxi Lane

Beijing Shaanxi Lane

From the Qianlong era to 1949, the top-tier Qingyin xiaoban (elegant singing houses) were all located in Shaanxi Lane. These weren’t merely brothels; the women here often entertained guests by drinking tea, dining, playing musical instruments, singing, composing lyrics, and more. Among the courtesans of old Beijing, there was a distinction between “Southern troupes” and “Northern troupes.” The “Southern troupes” — women from regions like Yangzhou, Suzhou, and Hangzhou — were highly cultured, excelling both in beauty and talent. They could play instruments like the guqin, chess, calligraphy, painting, as well as traditional wind and string instruments, had a basic grasp of poetry, and most could even cook exquisite dishes. In contrast, the “Northern troupes” from north of the Yellow River were far less refined. Sai Jinhua and Xiao Fengxian were both from the Southern troupes (Xiao Fengxian’s Yungu troupe was at No. 22 Shaanxi Lane, now the Shaanxi Lane Hotel).

Inside were restaurants, bathhouses, pharmacies, teahouses, and opium dens, as well as tailors for the poor, fortune-tellers, ragpickers, and street performers playing gramophones. The “two halls and one academy” — meaning members of the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Imperial University of Peking, both old and new elites — frequently visited this area. Notable figures included Yuan Keding, the second son of Yuan Shikai; the celebrity Yang Du; Cai E, Governor of Yunnan; and Yin Changheng, Governor of Sichuan. In 1923, when Cao Kun ran for president, the price of votes was set in the Qingyin xiaoban of the Eight Great Lanes.

The Yixiangyuan Courtyard, once home to Sai Jinhua, is now a dormitory for employees of the Beijing Leather Company. It houses seven families.

Shaanxi Lane is located in Dashilan Subdistrict, Xuanwu District, Beijing. It is a north-south alley, starting from West Zhushikou Street in the south and ending at Tieshu Xiejie in the north, with a total length of about 500 meters.

Shaanxi Lane

Shaanxi Lane has a long history. According to the sketch collection "Beijing Hutong Sketches by Xu Ying," in the early Ming Dynasty, a large number of merchants gathered in the area outside Qianmen, engaging in trade and storage. This lane became home to many Shaanxi-based timber merchants who stockpiled wood, hence the name Shaanxi Lane. In modern times, with the flourishing of Beijing’s southern city culture, it became one of the busiest spots in southern Beijing. When mentioning the lively areas of old southern Beijing, people often cited: “Front Gate Street and Dashilan, Stone Lane and Shaanxi Lane” (these four places are all connected and can be explored from north to south). Today, walking around Shaanxi Lane, you can still see mostly two-story buildings made of blue bricks (these were originally theaters, teahouses, or brothels, but have now mostly been converted into residential compounds or hotels).

The best-preserved structure today is the “Deshou Pharmacy” on the west side of the lane’s southern entrance. It follows a front-shop-back-factory architectural style. This pharmacy is also one of Beijing’s historic and longstanding brands, known for products like “Niuhuang Jiedu Pills,” “Dashanzha Pills,” and various traditional Chinese patent medicines such as pills, powders, ointments, and elixirs.

As one of the earliest designated individual markets in Beijing after the reform and opening-up, especially since the 1990s, the southern entrance once featured an archway named “Shaanxi Lane Stall Market.” It was bustling with various stalls and vendors, making it one of the liveliest alleys in Beijing at the time. However, in the 21st century, with the city’s regulation of scattered vendors and the urban redevelopment of the Liangguang area (from Guang’anmen to Guangqumen), many long-time residents moved out. Nowadays, Shaanxi Lane has gradually lost its former vibrancy.

Attraction Location

Xicheng District, Beijing

Source: Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development