ZHANG XU

Yandai Xiejie, or Tobacco Pipe Oblique Street, lies north of Di'anmen (Gate of Earthly Peace) and in front of the Drum Tower. It's the oldest street of its kind in Beijing. Running northeast to southwest, the 232-meter-long lane is shaped like the stem of a tobacco pipe. The pipe's mouthpiece is at the street's eastern entrance, while the western part turning south toward Yinding Bridge (Silver Ingot Bridge) appears to look like a pipe bowl, hence Yandai Xiejie's name.

According to ancient maps of the capital city, Yandai Xiejie was known as Drum Tower Oblique Street over 200 years ago. Local annals show that it was renamed Yandai Xiejie during the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), as vendors along the street mainly sold smoking sets alongside paintings, calligraphy, jade and other antiques.

In those years, most of the Manchu people who lived in the north of Beijing smoked long-stemmed Chinese pipes or water pipes, which spurred the development of the city's tobacco industry. Drum Tower Oblique Street's residents had a head for business and opened pipe shops one after another. Gradually the street's name was replaced with Yandai Xiejie.

Today, tobacco pipes and smoking sets can still be found for sale. Myriad pipes with beautifully carved patterns, including long-stemmed Chinese pipes and water pipes made of ox horn or jade, and all kinds of bags and boxes for holding tobacco are everywhere.

Modern Yandai Xiejie has developed into a hub for antiques, art and handicrafts. Various small shops, each with their own unique style, dot the street. Most of them sell traditional costumes and ornaments from Chinese ethnic groups like the Tibetan and Naxi. Even for non-buyers, the window shopping is fascinating. "It's a very romantic place," commented French tourist Philippe Langlois. "Strolling along this street is just like taking a tour of a traditional Chinese folk art museum."

Seal cutting and inscription shops are also on Yandai Xiejie. "This unique traditional Chinese art has a history of over 3,000 years," explained engraver Cai Bangzhong. "Some foreigners came to me, wanting both their English and Chinese names engraved on the seal to bring back home as a memory of their time in China."

Gift One - Creative Chinese Gift Shop, a Taiwan lifestyle brand, displays and sells souvenirs, along with hosting cultural exhibitions and lectures occasionally. "Our shop inherits the historical treasure of Yandai Xiejie, and provides travelers from all over the world with souvenirs symbolic of China's traditional and innovative sides," said Byron Ku, the store's sales director. No wonder Yandai Xiejie was deemed as a "Chinese Historical and Cultural Street" by the government last November.