Qinghefang Old Street

Hangzhou


At the southern end of Zhongshan Zhonglu is this touristy, crowded and bustling pedestrian street, with makeshift puppet theatres, teahouses, and gift and curio stalls selling everything from stone teapots to boxes of lóngxūtáng (龙须糖, dragon whiskers sweets), ginseng and silk. It’s also home to several traditional medicine shops, including the Huqing Yutang Chinese Medicine Museum, which is an actual dispensary and clinic.

The pedestrianised area continues on the adjoining Southern Song Imperial St (南宋御街, Nan Song Yu Jie), which runs along one of Hangzhou’s historic thoroughfares and is also packed with shops and cafes.