| Ghost Street 簋街 |
| 17:11, July 17, 2008 |
Ghost Street (Guijie--簋街/鬼街)
The 1.4-km-long east-west street in eastern downtown Beijing was used for peddlers who sold groceries 60 or 70 years ago. The fair usually started at midnight and ended in early morning, and those peddlers who were dimly lit up by kerosene burners, looked like ghosts.
But for becoming more auspicious, the Chinese character for ghost was replaced by another character of the same pronunciation, which stands for a food basket.
However, many of the restaurants still carried on the tradition and are open around the clock.
Dozens of restaurants stand on both sides of the wide street and the busiest time is between 6 p.m. and 4 a.m. The dining is cheap, and the food popular with common Chinese.
Spicy foods set the tone. Several old restaurants are well known for dishes such as hot and spicy crayfish, and roast fish with chili sauce.
Don't bother dressing up. Shorts and slippers are okay and don't be timid about speaking loudly as you may have to compete with guests at tables next to you.
How to get there? Get off subway Line 2 at Dongzhimen station and you will find yourself at the east end of the street. Get off subway Line 5 at Beixinqiao station to come from the west end.
Source： China Daily |
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