Old Beijing Walking Tour

 BJ-71

Tian’anmen Square
Qianmen old Street
Dashilan Area
Allays between Dashilan and Liulichang Antique street
Liulichang antique Street

Depart your hotel(Time is flexible)
Your exploration begins with a visit  to  the largest city central Square–Tian’anmen square,You will spend sometime to explore the surrounding buildings with our guide.Then walk to the  famous Qianmen Shopping street.
Qianmen Street, after one-year-long reconstruction, has been reopened in 2009, and it has reproduced the old Beijing’s look and feel.
Qianmen Street has history of more than 570 years. It was called Zhengyangmen Street during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and finally named Qianmen Street in 1965.
With its latticework of horizontal alleys, the north-south Qianmen Street prospered as a commercial strip as early as Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368). By the time of Emperor Jiajing, the 12th Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) emperor, the street was dotted with guild halls built by different localities, to provide housing to citizens intending to take the imperial exams.

Dashilan

Dashilan is a business street with more than 580 years of history in the Qianmen area. Regarded as the “essence of Beijing” it depicts a vivid and prosperous picture of old Beijing. After reconstruction, this 1.26-km area will retain many buildings and their antique flavor

Contunue to Dashilan street and walk through the local Hutong allays to  Liulichang Culture Antique Street.Liulichang bear the appearance of a Qing Dynasty market street, is known throughout China and the world for its ancient books, calligraphy, paintings, rubbings, ink stones and ink.
In Ming and Qing times, Liulichang was a favorite haunt for scholars, painters and calligraphers that gathered there to write, compile and purchase books, as well as to paint and compose poetry. By the Kangxi period (1661-1722), Liulichang had become a flourishing cultural center and was described as having “homes and buildings lined up like fish scales.” During the Qianlong period (1736-1796), the street was even more prosperous. There one could find “rooms filed to the roof beams with all kinds of books,” “a street filled with treasures and trinkets,” and the “quintessence of all the markets in the capital concentrated in one street.” When Emperor Qianlong decided to revise the Complete Library of the Four Branches of Literature, he ordered scholars from the project, and Liulichang became a center for research in textual criticism. For visiting scholars, a book-buying trip to Liulichang’ s over 30 bookstores was one of the pleasure of a stay in Beijing.
WAlk along the Liulichang Antique Street

DEPARTURE TIME & LOCATION
PICK-UP LOCATION
The pick up location is in your hotel’s lobby,your guide will hold a sign with your name writen on

Notes
It’s a heavy day with a lot of walking. So be sure to wear comfortable shoes and have a good sleep the day before
This is an exclusive private day Tour. Once your tour is confirmed, that tour will no longer be available to anyone else except for your own traveling party.
The walking tour only with the English speaking guide,the guide can meet you in your downtown hotel’s lobby,then you either taxi or subway to the start point–tian’anmen square,please pay your own transportation,and entrance fee to all the sites if you require to go inside,otherwise the walking tour only passby the sites
The Tour is around 4 hours,if you want to extend the tour after 4.5 hours,it is 100rmb(15 USD) per hour for our English speaking Tour guide
With All Shopping stops, Discover Beijing Tours have no commition with the sellers,please negociate price during the tour on your own(with our guide’s bargain suggestion)