Húguǎng Guildhall 湖广会馆
虎坊桥十字路口西南角
Ornate 19th-century Běijīng opera theatre
Part of A Better Guide to Beijing’s coverage of South of Qián Mén
The building is a short walk south down Nán Xīnhuá Jiē from the Liúlichǎng ‘antiques’ street, on the southwest corner of the junction with Zhūshìkǒu Xī Dàjiē, and also houses the Běijīng Traditional Opera Museum (北京戏曲博物馆, Běijīng Xìqǔ Bówùguǎn).
This is one of the last remaining of Běijīng’s more than 400 guildhalls, formerly meeting places and temporary residences for people from the same province, county, or city, or who practised the same trade. The museum is entered from the east side, and the box office for performances is just north of the entrance, along with a Húnán restaurant.
Built in 1807 by the combined effort of officials from Húnán and Húběi Provinces, the hall was converted to a theatre with a capacity of about 300 in 1875, then renovated and reopened in 1996. The museum in the side hall has costumes, instruments, and props, along with a group portrait of seven performers, including superstar Méi Lánfāng on the right. Several old 78s displayed are on the Victor label with the HMV dog, no doubt drawn to the horn on this occasion by the very high-pitched sounds.
The impressive theatre is a big, square, dark-red space, with the usual arrangement of square tables at the stalls level, and surrounding balconies. Sun Yat-sen held a Nationalist Party meeting here in 1912 and gave speeches at other times.
Běijīng is famous for having only ‘bitter water’, but the well inside one pavilion traditionally has ‘sweet water’, but only at exactly 2pm. One courtyard doubles as an aviary in summer, with parrots, peacocks, finches, and two extraordinary mynahs that fluff up their feathers, bow, and greet you in English and Chinese, ‘Hello, nǐ hǎo, nǐ hǎo’.
▶ Húguǎng Huìguǎn, Hǔfáng Lù 3, t 6351 8284, www.beijinghuguang.com, 9am–5pm. ¥10 for the museum. m Hǔfáng Qiáo (Line 7). b to 虎坊桥路口西: 5, 特5, 6, 48, 57, 70, 102电, 105电, 603, 687, 715. To 虎坊桥路口南: 7, 14, 15, 23, 34, 66, 70, 102电, 105电, 603.
To book opera performances here and elsewhere, see Běijīng opera. Related: The Zhèngyǐcí Theatre (证乙祠剧场, Zhèngyǐcí Jùchǎng) is a beautifully restored Míng dynasty theatre, more than 340 years old, not too far away in Qián Mén Xī Hé Yán Jiē (前门西河沿街), which is a turning to the right as you walk north, immediately before you reach m Hépíng Mén. This is also occasionally open to visitors in the daytime. Opera star Méi Lánfāng’s house can also be visited on the In the Depths of Many Flowers walk.
For more on guildhalls see Joining the Club and from the Húguǎng Guildhall follow the walk, Out Clubbing.
Next in South of Qián Mén: Joining the Club (story)
Previous: Běijīng Natural History Museum
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