Experience Old Beijing at Bars in Hutong

If one walks into the Nan Luogu Xiang lane in Beijing， the tranquil atmosphere inside the lane will make one forget about the hustle and bustle in the street. The long， narrow lane is shaded by luxuriant tree， under the early afternoon sun， where rows of Siheyuan， or quadrangle houses built in traditional Beijing local style， stretch far on both sides of the lane. At the entry of the lane， some old ladies are chatting with each other， while not far away some tourists are sitting here and there around some wooden tables in front of a bar house， bathing in the afternoon sun.
　　Nan Luogu Xiang lane， located in the city's downtown area， or as the old Beijingnese called it， “the foot of the imperial city”， is becoming a good place for local residents to go to in their spare time.
　　The lane is actually situated at the northern part of the Forbidden City. It starts from the Di'anmen Dongdajie and stretches to Gulou Dajie. With a history of over 700 years， it is a typical example of the “chessboard” symmetric street building formula popular in the Yuan Dynasty.
　　Preserved by the Beijing municipal government as a mirror of the old Beijing city， the lane is now dotted with over 30 bars， cafés， restaurants and small handicraft shops， all attracting people in their unique style.
　　For Zhang Qiaowen， a Canadian Chinese， his home is not far from here. As he is now studying religion at Peking University， he would visit the lane every day during the recent week-long May Day holiday. The bar he went in very often was called the “Xique Café”， or magpie café， where he normally spent half a day， sipping tea while surfing on the Internet. “I like to come here because it's quiet and everything is easy to get，” said Zhang. To him， the tranquil atmosphere here makes the lane different from most other bar streets that are usually noisy. Also， he said the “Siheyuan here is very well protected and displays the Old Beijing's city feature.”
　　For Li Fei， who has just finished her postgraduate examination， the lane is an ideal place for her to relieve the pressure of the exam. She happened to find the place by map and when she arrived with her friends， she felt the trip was totally worth it. “It is so different here from the street outside. When everybody in the street seems to be in a hurry， you will calm down once you enter this lane. It is indeed a good place to relax，” she said.
　　At the Shalou Café， old-style furniture is neatly placed in the room. “Most of our customers are young people，” said the café manager， “they mostly work in Beijing and would like to come here at night for relaxation.” He said the bars and cafés inside the lane were mingled with residential houses. For residents living here， they don't like the lane to be too noisy， and for most tourists， they come here to enjoy the quietness of the lane. Therefore most bars here are usually quiet.
　　The Guoke Bar， or guest bar， which is located at the southern end of the lane， has been running business here for nearly seven years， and has now become a must for backpackers from home and abroad. A waitress said the bar received some 150 guests every day on average. Manager Haiyan said she had chosen the place to open her business because she liked the family atmosphere here.
　　When this reporter went into the Laowu Bar， he saw a musician surnamed Mr. Ke， who was absorbed in enjoying the country music being played in the bar room. He said as most bar streets in other places become more and more commercialized， he cherished the cultural atmosphere here， where people often come to experience the old Beijing culture.
　　According to a rough estimation from the Jiaodaokou Community Office in Dongcheng district， where the lane is located， some 8，000 people visited Nan Luogu Xiang during the recent May Day holiday.