Sanfang Qixiang (; Foochow Romanized: ; ) is a historic and cultural area in the city of Fuzhou. Its name is derived from the three lanes (; Foochow Romanized: ) and seven alleys ( Foochow Romanized: ) that comprise the area.
History
The district is bisected by the north-south modern pedestrian thoroughfare Nanhou Street () and roughly centered around the intersection of Nanhou Street and Anmin Alley. It is bounded by Bayiqi Road () to the east and Tonghu Road () to the west. It is also bounded by Guanglu Lane to the south and Yangqiao Road () to the north.
Covering a total area of , it is celebrated as an architectural museum of Ming and Qing dynasty buildings, including numerous National Designated Monuments such as the historic residences of notable figures. Due to the high number of rich, famous and powerful residents, counting 400 in total over the past few centuries, this area has been dubbed the "Beverly Hills of imperial China". Since 2015, it has been designated as a 5A-Rated Tourist Attraction by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
The area is considered a classic example of the "residential ward" or lǐfāng system (), a traditional form of urban planning dating back as early as the Tang dynasty. Thanks to its status as a "living fossil" of such a system, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in 2013, and later designated a National Historic and Cultural Street by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and State Administration of Cultural Heritage in 2015. Owing to the extraordinary efforts to protect the historic fabrics from Sanfang Qixiang Administration, it was awarded an honorable mention of the 2015 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards.
Areas Three Fang Yijin Lane () Wenru Lane () Guanglu Lane ()
Seven Xiang Yangqiao Alley () Langguan Alley () Ta Alley () Huang Alley () Anmin Alley () Gong Alley () Jipi Alley ()>
Notable residents Zhang Jing Lin Zexu Chen Baochen Zheng Xiaoxu Shen Baozhen Sa Zhenbing Liu Guanxiong Yan Fu Lin Shu Bing Xin Lu Yin Lin Huiyin Lin Juemin Wong Tsu Shu Chun Teng Deng Tuo
References