FUJIAN- A number of journalists from some Asian and Pacific countries visited “Three Lanes and Seven Alleys”, which is a historic and cultural area in Fuzhou, the capital city of Fujian province, in China, during their one-week travel to this province.

The visit to Fujian was organized by the China International Press Communication Center (CIPCC), in collaboration with China Global Television Network (CGTN), and CCTV+, a video news agency belonging to the state-owned China Central Television (CCTV).

The journalists visited Three Lanes and Seven Alleys wonderful area at the first night of their stay in Fujian and were really astonished and impressed by the beauties of this historical region.

Every single place at this area has an interesting history and visiting all those historical spots at night was somehow an unjoyful mysterious experience. 

Sanfang Qixiang literally Three Lanes and Seven Alleys, as previously mentioned, is a historic and cultural area in the city of Fuzhou.

Its name is derived from the three lanes: Yijin Lane, Wenru Lane, and Guanglu Lane, and the seven alleys: Yangqiao Alley, Langguan Alley, Ta Alley, Huang Alley, Anmin Alley, Gong Alley, and Jipi Alley.

Covering a total area of 0.38 square kilometers (0.15 sq mi), it is celebrated as an architectural museum of Ming and Qing dynasty buildings, including numerous National Designated Monuments such as the historic residences of notable figures.

Because of the high number of rich, famous and powerful residents, counting 400 in total over the past few centuries, this area has been dubbed the 'Beverly Hills' of imperial China.

Since 2015, it has been designated as a 5A-Rated Tourist Attraction by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The area is considered a classic example of the “residential ward” or lifang system, a traditional form of urban planning dating back as early as the Tang dynasty. 

Thanks to its status as a “living fossil” of such a system, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in 2013, and later designated a National Historic and Cultural Street by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and State Administration of Cultural Heritage in 2015.

Owing to the extraordinary efforts to protect the historic fabrics from Sanfang Qixiang Administration, it was awarded an honorable mention of the 2015 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards.

Photo: The yard of a historical house in Sanfang Qixiang historic and cultural area in Fuzhou City, Fujian Province (By Mahnaz Abdi)