Ancient Culture Street 古文化街

About Ancient Culture Street

Its best-known traditions include Yangliuqing New Year prints and the painted clay figures associated with Clay Figure Zhang. The temple at the center connects the commercial street with the city's maritime past and worship of Mazu. Treat the shopping architecture and the historic religious buildings as different layers: the precinct opened in 1986, while the temple's history reaches much further back.

The area developed around Gongnan Street (宫南大街) and Gongbei Street (宫北大街). During the grain-transport era, these streets housed banking businesses and provided a gathering place for sailors. Commerce later moved to Tianjin's concessions, and the streets gradually became an area of ordinary housing. Renovation on New Year's Day in 1986 introduced more than a hundred small buildings in Qing-style forms, creating the modern precinct. In 2011, the area was included in the city's historic-cultural district planning as Ancient Culture Street Historic and Cultural District (古文化街历史文化街区).

Shops along the street sell old books, folk items, musical instruments and traditional crafts. The area also functions as a market for New Year goods, and the Tianjin Huanghui festival (天津皇会) is held here during the Spring Festival period each year. On 8 May 2007, the Ancient Culture Street tourist area was approved as a national 5A tourist attraction (国家5A级旅游景区).

What to look for

• Yangliuqing New Year prints and painted clay-figure crafts in the shops.
• Tianhou Temple, the Mazu shrine anchoring the street.
• The Qing-style storefronts and gates arranged along Gongbei and Gongnan avenues.

Location & getting there

Getting to Ancient Culture Street

Approach Ancient Culture Street along Gongbei Avenue or Gongnan Avenue in Nankai, on the west bank of the Haihe.

• Set the temple or a particular street gate as your destination if meeting others in the precinct.