Nanluoguxiang(South Gong and Drum Lane), one of the best preserved historical areas in downtown Beijing, is famous for its hutong and siheyuan courtyards, as well as the bars, cafes, clothing and handicraft shops there.

This 768-meter-long south-north central lane has 16 hutong branching off the central lane, giving each side 8 hutong. Located between Gulou Dong Dajie (Drum Tower East Street) and Di'anmen East Street, this quaint street boasts many cool shops offering silk shawls, handicrafts designed by local artists, and trendy T-shirts featuring images of everything.

Nanluogu Xiang (South Gong and Drum Lane, Nanluogu Alley) is among one ofthe oldest hutongs around and has a history of over 800 years. This 800-meter long North-South alleyway is filled with bars, cafes, restaurants, artsy little shops,souvenir shops and cute boutiques. It's worth to spend an hour or two walkingthrough the little alley ways and hutongs around it.Location: Nanluoguxiang is situated at Beijing’s Dongcheng District, near theDrum Towerwith its northern end at Gulou Dongdajie (Drum Tower East Street,鼓楼东大街) (Walk East along Guloudong Dajie about 10-15min past the DrumTower and look out for the street sign pointing the way to the hutong on yourright-hand side.) and the southern end of Nanluogu xiang can be found at Di’anmen Dongdajie (地安门东大街).

Where to Shop in Nanluogu Xiang

Plastered T-Shirts(No. 61 Nanluogu Xiang, 134-8884-8855), a quirky t-shirt store by British designer Dominic Johnson-Hill that brands itself as "Beijing's original T-shirt brand".The Pottery Workshop(23 Nanluoguxiang) for unique but trendy China gift.

Grifted(32 Nanluogu Xiang, 010-6406-2716): smart and sassy souvenirs such as quirky T-shirts, retro notebooks and prints of works from Chinese contemporary artists.

Upstair's Lamu (117 Nanluoguxiang, 010-64035609) disticintive boutiquefor women's clothes and jewelry.

Cloth Shop (10 Nanluoguxiang,010-6400 4212) offers fashionable clothproducts at reasonable prices.