Hangzhou Louwailou was founded in 1848 AD (the 28th year of Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty), which has a history of 160 years.

The founder of Louwailou is Hong Ruitang, a fallen scholar who came to Hangzhou from Shaoxing to make a living.

He and his wife Tao Shi Xiuying moved from Shaoxing East Lake to Qiantang after the death of their parents, and settled by the Xiling Bridge at the foot of Gushan Mountain. They made a living by rowing and fishing - because the couple came from Shaoxing, a land of plenty, and cooked

He has expertise in fresh fish and live shrimps.

Louwailou first picked out the best shrimps and cooked them for sale. Later, he realized that there were no restaurants in the Xilingqiao area, so he opened a smaller restaurant after saving a little money.

He took three words from a poem by Lin Sheng, a poet of the Southern Song Dynasty, and named his shop "Lou Wai Lou".

In the beginning, the building outside the building was “just a bungalow”, a very inconspicuous lakeside shop.

However, because the owner of the shop is good at business and cooks delicious dishes based on Hubei delicacies, and especially attaches great importance to socializing with literati, the literati in and around Hangzhou regard coming to the building outside the building for a drink as a tourist attraction on the lake.

The first choice at the time, therefore, the business became increasingly prosperous and the reputation gradually spread far and wide.