Da Zha Lanr: Shop Like An Old Beijinger

For Beijingers, shopping is a serious part of life, somewhat as sports to athletes. For several hundred years, Beijingers have been coming back to the same street of shops near the famous Beijing Emperor Hotel to buy their daily supplies and special items.

To attest, an old Beijing saying goes somewhat like this: buy shoes at Nei Lian Sheng, hats at Ma Ju Yuan, fabrics at Rui Fu Xiang, and tea at Zhang Yi Yuan, which are all famous brands nestled on the ancient street of Da Zha Lan. 

Right near the Forbidden City, it’s very easy to find Da Shi Lan and the shops that have been in business for hundreds of years.

Simply walk south from the Beijing Redwall Hotel, past Tian’anmen Square, and you’ll be there in five minutes.

Being the oldest commercial street in Beijing, the history of Da Zha Lan traces back 600 years ago to the early Ming dynasty. Meaning ‘big fences’, the street might be as unique as it sounds.Nearly 600 years ago, worrying the rampant thefts in Beijing, an emperor ordered fences to be built to prevent the ill phenomenon. Fences erected around Da Shi Lanr were taller and stronger than elsewhere, and thus gave the area this name.

Today the street hasn’t changed much: teahouses, theatres, tailor shops, silk stores, restaurants and handicrafts shops nestled against each other like they were several hundred years ago. They stands in a parade of ancient buildings that immediately bring you back in time!

The Shops

Nei Lian Sheng

The 160-year old shop Nei Lian Sheng near the Beijing Hwa Apartment Hotel sells handmade cloth shoes. Their shoes are famous for the excellent craftsmanship and unmatchable comfort.

In the past, the major patrons of shoes made in Nei Lian Sheng were offials working in imperial palace nearby. Not only were the shoes made with excellent finish, but the name suggested something that everyone hoped to fulfil: spiralling up to be the top-ranked officals.

Today, workers apply the same techniques used a hundred years ago to make customized shoes. The late Chinese leader Deng Xiao Ping loved the comfort of Nei Lian Sheng shoes and ordered many pairs here.

Ma Ju Yuan

The hat shop Ma Ju Yuan was built in 1817. Originally a small hat stall, the shop came to make the ‘red turf hat’ worn by Qing government officials.

That might explain why old Beijingers deemed owning a hat made in Ma Ju Yuan an honor or a privilege.

All over the years, this hat shop has served customers such as princes, religious figures as well as foreign leaders. Even today, Beijingers prefer to buy their hats at Ma Ju Yuan like they have been doing over the past century.

Rui Fu Xiang

Established in 1891, the shop sells all kinds of top-quality fabric: cotton, silk, woolen cloth, and so on.

The shop supplied the cloth that made China’s very first flag, which was raised in its nation-founding ceremony in 1949.

Tailors of the shop make some of the most gorgeous cheongsams you are likely to find in Beijing. Many visitors to Beijing are amazed by their products and can’t resist owning one of their own to show off before friends back home.

Zhang Yi Yuan

In 1900, Zhang Yi Yuan came into business. Since then, customers have been keeping coming back for some of the best tea they can find in Beijing. Every year, they buy tea directly from plantations. They only sell tea nurtured in a completely natural way and picked at just the right time.

They bring into play some exclusive techniques to process tea leaves, and made them the favorite of numerous tea lovers. Their special jasmine tea is now sold at a low price.

Da Guan Cinema

Da Guan Cinema, Beijing’s first cinema, was established in 1905. It even makes itself a name in the Guinness Book of World Records as the cinema with the longest time of being in business.

Today, the cinema maintains its original decor, and as old Beijingers used to do half century ago, you can order a cup of tea while watch your favorite movie. There has been increasing number of people coming in each day for a unique experience of enjoying a movie in Beijing’s oldest cinema.