Da Zha Lan, pronounced as Da Shi Lar by the local people, was an ancient business street of Beijing in hutongs. Located outside the Qianmem Gate, it takes dozens of steps to walk from southwest of Tian’anmen Square to its east end. The prosperous of the ancient capital nurtured its business. Now, the old street is famous for all kinds of antique-flavor stores. So many people come here to experience the relics of ancient prosperous. Every day 150, 000-160,000 people come here. If on weekends or public holidays, the rate increases to more than 200,000.  

Da Zha Lan was originated in the Yuan Dynasty (1721-1368) and was finally built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) by local people with wooden fences at both ends of the street. Since the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Da Zha Lan was enlarged and the business street became prosperous day by day. Since then, the hutong gained its name, Da Zha Lan. 
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History favored Da Zha Lan, but wounded it at the same time. The lane was burn down and repaired for severe times in history. In 1900, the fences suffered two fires. In 1960s, it was repaired for the first time because of the built of the first asphalt road in Beijing. So it becomes more convenient for the development of business. In 1990s, in order to win the First Pedestrian Street of Beijing, the fences was repaired once again. In 2000, iron fences were added by the Beijing municipal government, little by little the street become hustling and bustling.

Although the business street has a history of more than 580 years, most of the ancient architectures were well preserved. Many old famous shops and time-honored brands in oldBeijing still provide good products. There is a saying widely spread in Beijing that if you want to watch sideshows, you’d better go on the overbridge; if you want to go shopping, Da Zha Lan is the best place. Wearing the hats of Ma Ju Yuan, putting on the shoes of Nei Lian Sheng, having the silk fabric of Rui Fu Xiang, these are all the prosperous scene of this business stress in old Beijing.
 
Ma Ju Yuan: A hats shop, (Ma Ju Yuan is in fact the name of the shop owner) has a history of more than 185 years. In the Qing Dynasty, this shop made hats for government officials, made by good material and exquisite workmanship. Common people would like to show off their wealth by wearing the Ma Ju Yuan hats. Ma Ju Yuan offers hats meet the needs of people in all walks of life. You can see the hats of China’s different minorities here too. Even some leaders of western countries once had their hats made in this shop.

Nei Lian Sheng: The shoes store, which is put on the list of State-Level Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008. Nei means work in the royal court; Lian Sheng mans be promoted. The headquarter is in No.34 of Da Zha Lan. This store only made court boots in the very beginning. Shoes here are still popular toddy not only because it made by hand, but also because it is comfortable and healthy to wear. Shoes for children, adults and for men or women are all available. Some visitors buy one of them as a souvenir.

There are many other old and famous stores in old Beijing still open and many of them have been renewed. Rui Fu Xiang is a silk store. There were altogether eight old-fashioned silk stores with ‘Xiang’ (means auspicious) in their names but now only Rui Fu Xiang still remains. Liu Bi Ju is a pickle shop which was first opened in the Ming Dynasty offers all kinds of delicious pickles. In its name, Liu Bi meaning the six basic daily necessities in life: fuel, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar. Apart from those, visitors can also drink tea in Zhang Yi Yuan, buy traditional herbal medicine in Tong Ren Tang and try Beijing snacks in Qing Yun Ge.

The lane was not only the commercial center of old Beijing, but also the center of entertainment. During the most prosperous time, there were five Beijing Opera theaters. Besides, the first cinema of Beijing, Da Guan Lou Cinema is not far from the west entrance of Da Zhan Lan. The first film in China showed in this cinema .It is an important witness of the development of China’s movie industry. 

Tips: 
1. No admission to motor vehicles and bicycles in the entrance of the street.
2. There is no public toilet in the pedestrian street. At the west end of Da Zha Lan, outside the the Xiaoqijia Hutong, free toilet is provided.