VERIFIED2026.09.11Temple of Heaven, Xiannongtan & Liulichang · 39.894°N 116.376°E
No ticketing
The antiques-and-calligraphy street outside Hepingmen — a Yuan-dynasty glazed-tile kiln site ('liuli chang') that became the book and curio market for exam candidates lodging nearby under the Qing, and by the 1700s the empire's centre for old books, rubbings, brushes and ink. What you walk today is a 1980s reconstruction in Qing style, 800 m of grey two-storey shopfronts split by Nanxinhua Street into an east street of curios and a west street of the serious old names: Rongbaozhai, China Bookstore, Daiyuexuan brushes. Free, always open, and honest about what it is: a place to look and learn, not to find a bargain.
AdmissionNo ticketingPublic street, no ticketing; shops keep their own hours
HoursStreet at all hours (city page); shops ~9:00-17:30 (Rongbaozhai page)Verified · 2026-09Source ↗
LandmarkSouth of Hepingmen, either side of Nanxinhua St, 1 km west of Dashilar
AddressLiulichang East St and West St, XichengVerified · 2026-09Source ↗Navigate ↗
EntranceLine 2 Hepingmen station, Exit D, then 300 m south down Nanxinhua St to the crossroads where the two streets begin; Line 7 Hufangqiao is 500 m south-west
Last verified 2026-09-11
Beat the crowds
Quiet almost always — the street is a browsing street, not a queueing one. The Spring Festival fair (first week of the lunar year) is the only crowd; most shops close early on Sundays and for lunch.
Language
Rongbaozhai and China Bookstore have some English-speaking staff and bilingual price tags on rubbings and prints; the curio dealers on the east street work by calculator.