The famous Shangxiajiu Commercial Street is located in Liwan District or Xiguan, the old city in Guangzhou. It starts from Shangxiajiu Road to the east and stretches to No.10 road to the west. It traverses Baohua Road and Wenchang Road, with a total length of 1,237 meters. There are more than 300 shops in the section. It integrates the old Xiguan cuisine culture, Lingnan cuisine culture and Lingnan folk customs together. The buildings beside Pedestrian Street are all Qilou, which are specially designed for Guangzhou people to enioy their shoping without worrying about rain and hot sun.
History of Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street
Shangxiajiu actually means two roads, formerly called Shangjiu Fu and Xiajiu Fu. From Renmin South Road to Enning Road, it has a total length of more than 1,000 meters, including No.10 road. According to historic records, as early as the 6th century, the Shangxiajiu area had been a commercial gathering venue. It was also one of the earliest sites for cultural and goods exchanges between China and foreign countries in Guangzhou. In the Song Dynasty, the area along Xiajiu Road was called Xiuyi Square, forming the earliest commercial market in Xiguan. By the Ming Dynasty, with the excavation of Daguan River, the area developed into a main commercial street fair in the west of the city.
Cultural characteristics
With the increasing commercial atmosphere of Shangxiajiu Road, a number of professional fairs and exhibitions have also emerged around. Over the past 100 years, It played an important role in the development of Guangzhou as a business city in history.
Tourists could find traditional Xiguan houses along the street like Xiguan Big House. Xiguan Big House is a traditional folk residential building with typical Lingnan characteristics built by rich and powerful businessmen in the late Qing Dynasty.
While wandering in the pedestrian street, people can also enjoy the Hualin Buddhist Temple, Five-Eyed Well, Wenta Pagoda, Xiguan Big House Protected Zone, Ancestral Temple of the Chen Family, Renwei Temple and the Shamian Island.