Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BEIJING'S UNDERGROUND CITY
On Dongdamochang Jie, a narrow alley just southeast of Qianmen, lies an interesting win-
dow into Beijing's not-so-distant days of communist paranoia. A faded English sign is all
there is to show that this was one entrance to the
Underground City
, a warren of bunkers
constructed under Beijing during the 1960s. Built by “volunteers” at the behest of Chair-
man Mao in response to the perceived nuclear threat from the Soviet Union, it once had
entrances all over the city, a control centre in the Western Hills and supply arteries big
enough for trucks to drive down. Fortunately it was never put to use, and wouldn't have
been much use even if it were - it was too close to the surface to offer protection against
any but the smallest conventional bombs. Today the tunnels have all fallen into disrepair,
and their entrances sealed off.
Dazhalan Lu and around
大栅栏路
, dàzhàlánlù • Qianmen subway (line 2)
There were fears for
DazhalanLu
, one of Beijing's most famous old shopping streets, during
the Qianmen area's pre-Olympic round of renovation. Mercifully, this street - pronounced
“Dashilar” by any good Beijinger - was spared the wrecking ball, and it remains one of the
city's best places to shop. At its eastern extremity, on the junction with Qianmen Dajie, are
flagship branches of Beijing's two biggest tea chains,
Ten Fu
and
Zhang Yiyuan
.
Heading
west, and hidden in a maze of souvenir shops, you'll soon come across
Ruifuxiang
, a vener-
able fabric retailer;
Tongrentang
, a vaunted Chinese pharmacy with an international reputa-
tion; the
Beijing Silk Store
; and
Neiliansheng shoe shop
.
At the end of the pedestrianized area, Dazhalan Lu narrows and you enter a district of
shabbiness that remains typical of Chinese metropolitan life but is vanishing from Beijing;
you'll come across cobblers, knife sharpeners and dubious masseurs, stone lions flanking
sagging courtyard doors, and furtive fruit vendors keeping an eye out for the police. You'll
notice, with nose as well as eyes, the profusion of
public toilets
- the old
hutong
build-
ings have terrible plumbing. If you keep going straight, you'll eventually rejoin the traffic at
Nanxinhua Jie. Head off either side and you're likely to get lost - not an unpleasant experi-
ence if you're not in a hurry.
Liulichang Jie
琉璃厂街
, liúlíchăng jiē
If you need something to aim for at the end of your walk, you could do worse than aim for
LiulichangJie
, a street to the west of Dazhalan Lu. Literally meaning “glaze factory street”,
