Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Guanyin Temple
Beijing's
hutong
are full of now-defunct little temples that were once the centre of
the local community, some of which have been transformed into restaurants and
homes. Dazhalan Xijie was originally called Guanyinsi Jie (
观音寺街
) after its
temple, but all that remains of it is this plaque on a wall.
Long Live the Revolution!
There are precious few physical reminders of the Cultural Revolution left in Beijing,
despite the fact that this incredibly turbulent period of Chinese history only ended in
1976. But look carefully at the
house
(
27 Yingtao Xijie
) here and you'll see the fading
red characters for 'Long Live the Revolution' (
革命万岁
) daubed on the wall.
Red Light Peking
The maze of narrow lanes running off Dazhalan Xijie were notorious for being old
Beijing's red light district. There are only a few reminders of this racy past left and
one is the splendid-looking
Leo's Courtyard
(22 Shanxi Xiang
陕西巷胡同
22
号
)
. It's
now a backpacker hostel, but was formerly one of the most upmarket brothels in all
Beijing.
