 The Xianyukou area lies at the heart of what in the Qing Dynasty Westerners called the "Chinese City" and the Chinese called the "Outer City", as opposed to the "Tartar City", or "Inner City", which lay to its north.. The "Inner City", comprising the present-day Xi Cheng and Dong Cheng Districts, was largely reserved for habitation by Manchu, Mongols, Chinese bannermen, and government offices. The "Outer City", where Xianyukou is situated, was added on to the old city of Beijing and enclosed by the extended city walls in the 1550's under the Ming Dynasty. When the Manchu established the Qing Dynasty, they forced most Chinese residents of Beijing to relocate to the Outer City, which then became the commercial part of the Beijing, with shops, restaurants, places of entertainment, inns, provincial guild halls, etc. This gave a very different flavor to the two main parts of the city—the one more imperial, more official, and the other more bustling, more commercial. Therein lies the charm and historical significance of Xianyukou and other parts of the "Outer City".
Read more... |
