Hutong: New Hutong Hangout?
By admin on 2015-01-30

A street sign indicates the entrance to Qianliang Hutong at the east entrance of the street on Dongsi Beidajie.

Beijing's Qianliang Hutong first gained recognition during the Ming Dynasty, when a mint was built on the street. Now, the street is departing from its more recent residential peace with a few breakout stores and restaurants.

During the Qing Dynasty, the hutong continued building upon its Ming roots, gaining its modern name "Qianliang," meaning "money and grain," and also housing one of the factories for the national mint.

Qianliang's history isn't all fun and gold. The street is also notable as the place where the warlord Yuan Shikai, imprisoned Zhang Taiyan, an early revolutionary.

In the following years, the 536-meter-long Qianliang Hutong became a peaceful residential street tucked behind the bustling Wangfujing area.

Now, businesses are slowly springing up in the old hutong, making it a likely prospect for a future hutong shopping street.

Xinjiang-style restaurants featuring roast lamb are currently the main restaurant options on the street, but the real culinary treat is just outside the western entrance of Qianliang Hutong: Jun Qin Hua.

Jun Qin Hua, a Guizhou-style restaurant situated just outside the western entrance of Qianliang Hutong, serves up impressively delicious spicy dishes.

Jun Qin Hua is a tiny restaurant featuring authentic Guizhou dishes. There are just six tables on the first floor, and a few on the second are only used during busy times. While the place does not look impressive, spicy food lovers will not leave disappointed.

About halfway down the street is Treescape, an unassuming café with a surprisingly bright and spacious interior. Coffee here is a bit more expensive than at Starbucks, but there are plenty of books to peruse, and the interior is comfortable and lacks the congestion that plagues coffee chains. A variety of café food, including sandwiches, is also available.

Although a pair of murderous dolls from a series of horror movies greets guests at the door of the X405 Factory, friendly hipsters staff the quirky little bar.

Chucky, the evil doll from an American horror movie series, and his bride guard the front window at X405 Factory, but visitors need not be concerned. Actually, X405 Factory is a friendly though quirky little bar run by local hipsters and decorated with a random collection of pop culture relics.

For amusement, look for the Jinhongxiang Pool Hall towards the east end of Qianliang. The narrow, deep billiards room is popular with the locals for its reasonably priced games, around 15 yuan per person per hour. In the summer, the front doors are thrown open, providing fresh air circulation that many of the city's underground pool halls lack.

Xiaomu Arts and Crafts has a collection of interesting and original home décor items.

Qianliang's merchandise is perhaps the category needing the most improvement. While the Xiaomu Art and Crafts store provides interesting home décor items, other stores on the street are limited to convenience stores and photo shops.

While Qianliang cannot yet be compared with the bustling businesses in the Nanluoguxiang or Wudaoying hutongs, the appearance of a few, original businesses show promise for the development of the street.

However, while its life as a shopping and business street is still in its infancy, Qianliang hutong continues to have a thriving local life. Visitors should take advantage of the opportunity to visit family-run establishments with traditional birdcages sitting outside their entrances, while they walk through the hutong.

Qianliang Hutong's Treescape café has a bright, spacious interior and an entertaining collection of books.Jinhongxiang Pool Hall on Qianliang Hutong offers reasonably priced billiards games