Dashilan Commercial Street

Dashilan Commercial Street

Dashilan Commercial Street is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

Dashilan: Dashilanr is a well-known commercial street located outside the Front Gate in Beijing. It now also broadly refers to an area encompassing Dashilan Street, Langfang Toutiao, Liangshidian Street, and Meishi Street. Located in the historic center of Beijing, Dashilan is a key section of the southern central axis. It sits south of Tiananmen Square and west of Qianmen Street, stretching 275 meters from its eastern to western entrance. Since 1420 (the 18th year of the Yongle reign in the Ming Dynasty), after more than 500 years of development, it has gradually evolved into a bustling commercial street lined with shops. The Dashilan area hosts 36 stores across 11 industries.

Restored to its early Republican-era appearance, Dashilan boasts a history of nearly 500 years and was once a thriving commercial hub. It emerged in the Yuan Dynasty, was established in the Ming Dynasty, and flourished from the Qing Dynasty to the present. In 1900, the Boxer Rebellion reduced the entire street to ashes in a single fire, but it quickly regained its vibrancy after being rebuilt. According to Xu Pingfang, an expert from the Institute of Archaeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, this restoration was based on the look of the early Republican period. The origins of Dashilan date back to the first year of the Hongzhi reign during the Ming Dynasty. At the time, Beijing had a “curfew” in place. To prevent thieves from hiding in alleys and lanes, the imperial court approved the installation of wooden fences at many street intersections. Historical records from the Qing Dynasty’s “Qinding Lingdian Shili” indicate that 440 outer-city fences were approved in the seventh year of the Yongzheng reign, 1,919 inner-city fences in the 18th year of the Qianlong reign, and 196 fences within the Imperial City. Dashilan was originally known as Langfang Si Tiao (Fourth Lane of Langfang). Its name derived from the fact that the fence in this particular hutong was exceptionally well-crafted, long-lasting, and relatively large, drawing the attention of the city. Over time, the name “Dashilan” came to refer to the lane itself.

Address: No. 6, Dashilan Street, Qianmen Street, Xicheng District, Beijing

Type: Featured District

Recommended Visit Duration: 30–60 minutes

Phone: 010-63109680

Official Website: http://www.dashilar.org/

Opening Hours:

Open all day

Ticket Information:

No admission fee required.