San Fang Qi Xiang in Fuzhou: The Separation of History and Modern Life

San Fang Qi Xiang (Three Lanes and Seven Alleys) (三坊七巷) in Fuzhou is the largest existing downtown historical and cultural blocks in China. It is celebrated as the living fossil of the “residential ward” or Lifang System, a traditional form of urban planning dating back as early as Tang dynasty. With the South-North Nanhou Street as the central axis, it has three lanes on the west and seven alleys on the east. 

San Fang Qi Xiang against the modern cityscape of Fuzhou (image from internet)

As the historical residence of many notable figures, ranging from renowned politicians, industrialists, ideologists to literati, who had made profound impact on the China’s modern history, San Fang Qi Xiang has been dubbed as “half of China’s modern history” or “the Beverly Hills of Imperial China”. Boasting more than 200 examples of architecture from Ming and Qing dynasties, it is also regarded as a living architectural museum of Ming and Qing dynasty buildings.

Although the central axis has been turned into popular tourist attraction, the back lanes and alleys on both sides are so deadly quiet that there is no trace of the hustle and bustle of the modern city. The noble and influential families were thrown out and replaced by the peasants and workers after the communist party took power in 1949. As a result, the former residences of famous literati and merchants were brusquely subdivided into squatter homes — one room might end up accommodating 2-3 families. San Fang Qi Xiang became dilapidated and an urban slum.

In the late 2000s, San Fang Qi Xiang underwent significant redevelopment after being recognized as an important cultural heritage site that could draw in tourists. Residents were relocated to apartment flats in the outskirts of Fuzhou, leaving empty historical residences glistening in their new coats of white paint and glazed wood.

While San Fang Qi Xiang has transformed into one of Fuzhou’s most well-known tourist destinations, it has been deprived of the vitality and soul that is the essence of a historical neighborhood. Quiet and empty when the tourists leave in the late evening, San Fang Qi Xiang is like a deserted and isolated relic surrounded by modern skyscrapers right at the heart of downtown Fuzhou. Despite its attempt to reveal the exquisite life of the rich and famous in imperial China, it is at once so close to and yet so far away from the modern life just across the street.