Beijing Arrivals

“Old Beijing”- People often talk about the city as if it once existed in a pure and untouched version. But in reality, Beijing has always been a city shaped by waves of migrants.

It is difficult to find a better example of this than “Dashilar”, just southwest of the Qianmen Gate. For hundreds of years this area of Beijing was the ever-simmering melting pot of the capital.

Dashilar was the place where people would first enter Beijing. Through hard labor, personal relations, money, skills or whatever they brought with them, newcomers would find their way into the urban society.

Beijing Arrivals is a combined Walk and Talk. We will start out in our hutong gallery with a brief introduction to Dashilar, then we will explore the different districts of the neighborhood and visit a couple of families that we have worked with in our ongoing Oral history project.

3 hours walking tour in Dashilar Area