Beijing's Guijie was founded by Xiaolin Hot Pot, a thriving food street that emerged after the 1980s and has nothing to do with ancient history, nor with the bronze gui.

The origin of Guijie dates back to the 1980s, when China was in the early stages of reform and opening up, and the smell of big pots of rice was still very strong, and the place to eat was the public cafeterias of state-owned enterprises, and there were no state-run restaurants in Dongdan and Xidan, not to mention individual restaurants.

But the power of social change has shown its first signs, Li Xiaolin is looking at the prospect of the upcoming construction of embassies and trade zones outside Dongzhimen, "and when they are built up, I am sure that this is the main road. At that time there is no need to worry about the source of customers." He chose to work as an individual restaurant.

Expanded information;

In Beijing, a household name in the food street Guijie, in fact, said Guijie now people will think of the above there are a lot of let us linger in the delicious food, but why is it called Guijie, this is in the mouth of the older generation of people, and is not a gourmet paradise.

Gui Street is located in Dongzhimen, east of the second ring road Dongzhimen overpass west, west to the east end of Jiaodaokou East Street.

Legend has it that during the Qing Dynasty, each city gate in Beijing had its own specialized purpose and was not to be used arbitrarily. For example, when the court sent out troops, it took the Desheng Gate, and when executing prisoners, it took the Xuanwumen Gate, and so on.

The Dongzhimen Gate was specially designed to transport timber into Beijing and dead people out of the city. Older people who live in Dongzhimen can still remember playing games at the gate when they were young. Along the gate tower, you could see a straight road inside the city, and across the street was the Drum Tower. On the other side of the city is an endless cemetery.

Because Dongzhimen belonged to the urban and rural areas at that time, the original morning market was naturally formed inside the gate, where vendors selling miscellaneous vegetables and fruits started squatting and selling in the latter part of the night, and then dispersed in all directions during the dawn period.

These vendors use kerosene lamps to get light, and the light is hazy from a distance, plus the coffin stores and bar houses that can be seen everywhere around the area, which gives people a creepy feeling. Therefore, this place is called "Ghost Market".

Source: Baidu Encyclopedia - Guijie