Tunxi Old Street
屯溪老街 · Tunxi District, Huangshan, Anhui, China
A Huizhou merchant street that dates back to the Song dynasty, about 1,273 meters long, lined with well-preserved Ming and Qing Huizhou-style shops with homes and workshops behind, and still a busy shopping street.
Know before you go
- Do not bargain and then walk away without buying
- do not block shop doorways while taking photos
- do not carve on the walls of historic buildings
This article is Not yet verified. Please check official announcements for prices, opening hours and dates.
Stories & people
Stories & people
Legend
Modeled on Lin'an's streets
According to one account, Huizhou craftsmen who had helped build Lin'an (today's Hangzhou), the Southern Song capital, returned home and built shops in the style of the capital's streets, and the old street gradually took shape. The story is often told to explain the street's orderly rows of shops.
History
A merchant's 47 shops
In the Ming dynasty, a Huizhou merchant paid to build 47 shops to attract traders from elsewhere. By the Qing dynasty, the street had become a hub for goods moving into and out of Anhui.
Legend
"An Oriental Ancient Rome"
An American professor who visited the street reportedly called it "an Oriental Ancient Rome." The remark is still repeated today to describe how intact its old buildings are.
Culture
Culture & customs
Background
Tunxi Old Street lies in the center of Tunxi District, Huangshan, Anhui, with Mount Hua to the north and the Xin'an River to the south. The street is about 1,273 meters long, including a pedestrian shopping section of about 895 meters, and is paved with maroon flagstones. It is lined with two- and three-story Huizhou-style shops with stone bases, brick walls and tiled roofs, shopfronts facing the street and homes and workshops behind. Shops sell antiques, calligraphy and paintings, the Four Treasures of the Study and tea, and some have traded for over a century. The street dates back to the Song dynasty; in the Ming dynasty Huizhou merchants built shops here to attract traders, and in the Qing it became a hub for goods moving into and out of Anhui. In 2009 Tunxi Old Street was named one of the "Famous Historical and Cultural Streets of China," together with Guozijian Street in Beijing and Pingjiang Road in Suzhou. The Tunxi Museum on the street shows Ming and Qing furniture on the ground floor and calligraphy, paintings and porcelain upstairs; the four-story Wancui Tower focuses on inkstones, study supplies, relics and artworks.
Local customs
- Stroll the flagstone street and look at the horse-head gables and carved gateways
- browse century-old shops for Hui ink, She inkstones, brushes and tea
- see the exhibits at the Tunxi Museum and Wancui Tower
- sit down in a teahouse for a cup of Huangshan Maofeng
- walk the lantern-lit street after dusk.
Etiquette & taboos
Etiquette & taboos
Don’t DON'T
- Do not bargain and then walk away without buying
- do not block shop doorways while taking photos
- do not carve on the walls of historic buildings
Locals appreciate DO
- Ask the price before handling goods
- ask permission before photographing shops or shopkeepers
- speak softly when tasting tea
Plan your visit
Practical info
Travel tips
- The street is open all day and free to enter, while shops keep their own hours
- allow at least an hour. Crowds are heavy on holidays, so watch your belongings
- Hui ink and She inkstones vary widely in price, so buy from reputable shops and ask for a receipt.
- From Huangshan North Station or Huangshan Station, take a city bus or taxi to the street
- if driving, park as directed and walk in. It is good all year: in spring you can add a trip to nearby rapeseed fields, autumn is clear and crisp, and evening strolls are liveliest in summer and autumn.
Photos
Photos
lienyuan lee · CC BY 3.0
Gisling · CC BY 2.5
