A stroll through the Liulichang culture street

After finishing my cooking class where I learned how to prepare Hand Pulled Noodles, I took the subway and headed to the Liulichang, the oldest culture street of Beijing which is only 750 metres long street. It is located in the Xuanwu district in downtown Beijing, south of the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square and has a long history which goes back till the late 13th century. Liulichang means Colored Glaze Factory and in fact, during the Yuan and the Ming Dynasty there was a Colored Glaze Factory where the glazed tiles for the palaces, temples and residences were produced. Nowadays it is a picturesque street which is famous for its ancient books, paintings, calligraphy, rubbings, ink and ink stones.

Calligraphy sold by street vendours

Already inside the street overpass there were street vendours selling calligraphy. I continued to the Liulichang itself where I strolled through the many shops. Unfortunately most of the shop owners only presented their goods only inside their shops not in the streets and the majority of them didn’t allow visitors to take photos.

Antique shop entrances in the Liulichang street

Portrait in one of the shop windows in the Liulichang street

So I took a walk through the neighbourhood where I encountered the locals living there and got a great insight into local life.

Street sceneries in the Hutong in the Liulichang Culture district

In the evening I met my friend Mill from the US who lives in Beijing. We headed to a local Restaurant for dinner and had great talks and lots of fun together. One week later we did a hiking excursion along the unrestored Gubeikou section of the Great Wall. That’s the best part of travelling for me: spending time with friends who I have met abroad and experiencing the local life and culture.

[box type=”info”] How to get to the Liulichang Culture street: Take subway line 2 till Hepingmen, Exit D and walk 500 metres South.[/box]