An Early Bar Street
Between the west gate of the Temple of Heaven and the north entrance of the Altar of Agriculture was imperial land either forbidden to the common man or visited only by the intellectual and leisured class. At the time of the Republic, it became a lively if squalid entertainment district called Tiān Qiáo (天桥, ‘heavenly bridge’), the most vibrant corner of the capital, and mentioned in almost every novel written about Běijīng in the 1920s and ’30s.
Its vibrancy survived Běijīng’s loss of status when Nánjīng became the capital in 1927. Containing over 300 shops, restaurants, and other establishments, it came to encroach on the Altar of Agriculture site and to occupy land around the north wall of the Temple of Heaven and the broad green space running south between the two. Recent demolitions of 20th century sprawl have recreated the parkland at least either side of a broad highway from Qián Mén down to the now partly rebuilt Yǒngdìng Mén (永定门).
The area was named for a small bridge that crossed a stream that ran across the top of both altar enclosures. The bridge was used by the emperor on his way to either site but was pulled down in 1907, a few years before the area was opened to the public.
As the economy of the city changed following the demise of the Qīng, some other commercial areas shrank or became less appropriate for street vaudeville as a succession of governments tried to impose what they considered a more modern morality (just as today). So the acrobats, strongmen, magicians, sword swallowers, story-tellers, and sing-song girls moved down here, joined eventually by three theatres.
Buskers such as the ‘Eight Eccentrics’, who put on particularly spectacular street performances, have entered into folklore. One man disguised himself as a donkey ridden by his wife, and another drew a bow with his teeth (in order to sell supposedly strength-building medicine).
In 1918 an amusement park opened within the enclosure of the Altar of Agriculture, and in 1926 the government pulled down the altar’s outer wall and sold off land to commercial enterprises.
Despite the tawdry entertainments and malodorous streets attracting the lowest class with a few coppers to spare, foreign women from the Legation Quarter were not averse to bargain-hunting for fabrics and second-hand furs in an area that became a centre for recycling everything from rags upwards.
When the trolleybus company decided to make Tiān Qiáo the terminus for several lines, the area’s success was assured. Most businesses were assumed to be doctoring their goods, sales staff were rapacious, alcohol was adulterated, and there were scams galore: in short, it was little different from commerce at modern Běijīng markets and bar streets.
What remains of Tiān Qiáo can now be found along Nán Wěi Lù (南纬路) opposite the west gate of Tiān Tán. The area now has several theatres offering cabarets of opera, acrobatics, and other traditional entertainments, sometimes accompanied by local snacks, as well as one modern theatre with visiting performers from overseas. Some of the theatre architecture and one clock tower date back to the Republic, and there are monuments to the ‘Eight Eccentrics’ that set out their skills.
The nearby Natural History Museum is now the only thing resembling a carnival sideshow.
Next in South of Qián Mén: Húguǎng Guildhall
Previous: Táorán Tíng Park
Main Index of A Better Guide to Beijing.
For discussion of China travel, see The Oriental-List.
