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Guangzhou · CN

Shang Xia Jiu Bu Xing Jie

Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street (上下九步行街) is the beating commercial heart of old Xiguan in Guangzhou's Liwan District—and the place that set the template for the whole country: when it opened in September 1995, it was hailed as China's first purpose-built commercial pedestrian street. For more than a millennium this has been where Guangzhou did business, and today a stroll of roughly 1,200 metres under continuous arcade rooflines still delivers the most concentrated dose of street-level Cantonese life in the city. What makes it compelling is the blend of architecture, food and memory. The covered qilou (arcade) buildings fuse Lingnan and European detailing into a single shaded corridor lined with time-honoured restaurants, century-old bakers and bustling snack stalls, living up to the Cantonese proverb "Eat in Guangzhou, but savor in Xiguan." It is an easy, free and highly walkable introduction to the city—especially rewarding when paired with the restored heritage lanes of nearby Yongqing Fang and Enning Road.

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Guangzhou · CN

Shang Xia Jiu Bu Xing Jie

Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street (上下九步行街) is the beating commercial heart of old Xiguan in Guangzhou's Liwan District—and the place that set the template for the whole country: when it opened in September 1995, it was hailed as China's first purpose-built commercial pedestrian street. For more than a millennium this has been where Guangzhou did business, and today a stroll of roughly 1,200 metres under continuous arcade rooflines still delivers the most concentrated dose of street-level Cantonese life in the city. What makes it compelling is the blend of architecture, food and memory. The covered qilou (arcade) buildings fuse Lingnan and European detailing into a single shaded corridor lined with time-honoured restaurants, century-old bakers and bustling snack stalls, living up to the Cantonese proverb "Eat in Guangzhou, but savor in Xiguan." It is an easy, free and highly walkable introduction to the city—especially rewarding when paired with the restored heritage lanes of nearby Yongqing Fang and Enning Road.