Why is Guijie Street a dining street?

Guijie, located in Dongzhimen, starts from Yonghegong Street in the west and ends at the Second Ring Road in the east. It is the representative of Beijing's food culture and the symbol of fashionable catering.

friends who don't know Guijie may think Guijie has a long history, but it isn't. It only rose after 1981s, and it has nothing to do with the bronze ware Gui.

So why did Guijie Street develop into a food street instead of a cultural street and a clothing street? There's a story in it.

In the Qing Dynasty, Dongzhimen was specially used to transport timber to and from Beijing, so it gradually became an endless cemetery in Dongzhimen, and a coffin shop and a bar room street were formed in Dongzhimen.

In the past, vendors here often stood by in the middle of the night and used kerosene lamps to get the light. In the distance, the lights looked dim, and the coffin shops and bars everywhere around them felt a little creepy, so it was called a ghost market.

After the market tide began, many shops from all walks of life opened here. Strangely, almost all of them suffered badly, and even the only state-owned department store closed down.

Only the business of opening restaurants is very successful, and the restaurants here are almost empty during the day, but at night they are very busy and prosperous.

With the formation of the night market, Guijie Street has become a household name in Beijing, and many people have seen the huge business opportunities behind it. Even the government has changed from the initial exclusion to the later support. Finally, the District Commercial Committee named it "Dongnei Catering Street".

Because the word "ghost" is indecent after all, the staff of the district committee began to think about renaming Ghost Street, but most of the bosses here disagreed, fearing that it would break the geomantic omen and affect the business.

By chance, the staff found the word "Gui" in the dictionary, which is different from the word "Ghost" in pronunciation, and it can also be touched by eating, so they began to publicize it, and also made a big bronze statue of the word "Gui" at the bridge head on the Guijie side of Dongzhimen overpass, so there is the current Gui.

Now you know why Guijie Street is less crowded during the day and full at night, and it is open 24 hours a day.