# Beijing Road, Guangzhou > Beijing Road (北京路) is Guangzhou's main pedestrian shopping street, in Yuexiu District. Glass panels in the paving show 11 layers of older roads, from the Tang dynasty to the 20th century. It's free and open around the clock; shops keep roughly 10:00–22:00. Allow an hour, ideally in the evening. Metro: Gongyuanqian or Beijing Lu. Web page: https://yesgo.io/china/guangzhou/beijing-road - City: [Guangzhou](https://yesgo.io/china/guangzhou), China - YesGo score: 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 1 h - With kids: Fine with kids - Entry: Free — it's a public street, no tickets - Hours: Street always open; most shops roughly 10:00–22:00, some dessert shops until 23:00 - Ancient road: Under glass in the middle of the street, outside Guangzhou Department Store and the children's bookstore - Address: 北京路步行街, Yuexiu District (越秀区), Guangzhou - Metro: Gongyuanqian (Lines 1 and 2), Exit C or D; Beijing Lu (Line 6), Exit B - Nearby: Dafo Temple in a lane off the street; Tianzi Wharf where the road meets the river - Time needed: ≈ 1 hour for a stroll; 2–3 hours with dinner and the temple - Paying: Alipay or WeChat Pay linked to a foreign card, plus some cash; Russian-issued cards don't work - Coordinates: 23.12570, 113.26371 - Facts checked: 04.11.2026 ## Key facts - **11 layers** — of road surface under the glass, from the Tang dynasty to the Republic of China (source: Chinese Wikipedia, '北京路千年古道遗址'; Sina News, September 2002; The Paper) - **2002** — found in July during street repairs; the rescue dig took over two months (source: Chinese Wikipedia; Sina News, September 2002) - **Free** — the street and the ancient-road windows are open to anyone at any hour (source: Wanderin China; eastchinatrip.com) - **1966** — the street was renamed Beijing Road; before that it was Yonghan Road (永汉路) (source: Chinese Wikipedia; chinanews.com, 2014) - **1997** — went car-free at weekends in February; fully pedestrian from 1 January 2002 (source: Chinese Wikipedia; Sina, October 2001) - **Song & Ming** — base of the Song-era Gongbei gate tower (拱北楼) and a Ming drum-shaped gate stone (source: Chinese Wikipedia; The Paper) - **Protected** — the ancient road and Gongbei tower remains are Guangdong provincial heritage sites (source: Chinese Wikipedia; The Paper) - **双门底** — Shuangmendi, 'below the double gate' — the old name of the middle section from the 13th century (source: Chinese Wikipedia) - **3 lines** — serve the street: 1 and 2 at Gongyuanqian, 6 at Beijing Lu (source: Chinese Wikipedia; Wanderin China) - **惠福东路** — Huifu East Road — the food street crossing Beijing Road (source: Wanderin China; intotravelchina.com) > **Look down: the old road is under your feet** The best thing on Beijing Road is easy to walk straight over: **glass panels** set into the paving, with excavated roads from past centuries beneath them. There are two viewing sections — outside **Guangzhou Department Store** (广州百货大厦) and outside the children's bookstore. Come while it's light: the layers are clearer, and the evening crowd makes it hard to stand still over the glass. ## What is Beijing Road? Beijing Road (北京路, Beijing Lu) is Guangzhou's oldest shopping street and one of the best-known pedestrian streets in southern China. It runs north–south through **Yuexiu District**, the heart of the old walled city, down towards the Pearl River. Despite the name, it has nothing to do with the capital — it was simply renamed Beijing Road in 1966. Earlier names tell its story. From the 13th century the middle stretch was called **Shuangmendi**, 'below the double gate', after a gate tower of the old city. When the walls came down in 1920 it became **Yonghan Road** (永汉路). It went car-free at weekends in February 1997 and has been fully pedestrian since 1 January 2002. Today it's mainly shops and people: national chains, toy and blind-box stores, boxed Cantonese pastries and tea, and **qilou** arcade buildings whose covered walkways shade the pavement. Underneath sits the oldest part of the city — the excavated palace of the Nanyue kingdom is a few blocks away, and the street has been old Guangzhou's main axis for centuries. Our take: Beijing Road isn't a quiet historic quarter, it's an open-air mall with a lot of history underfoot. Don't come for the shopping — you'll find the same chains in any big Chinese city. Come for the road under the glass, Dafo Temple round the corner and an evening of Cantonese snacks in the side streets. ## The ancient road under glass In July 2002, workers repaving the street hit sandstone slabs and old city-wall bricks. A rescue excavation of more than two months uncovered **11 superimposed road surfaces**, spanning the Tang, Southern Han, Song–Yuan, Ming and Republic of China periods. The deepest layers lie more than 3 m below today's paving. Instead of filling it in, the city covered the dig with **walk-on toughened glass**. The result is a cross-section of the street: each era laid its road on top of the last, from stone slabs to Song-dynasty brick — and shoppers walk over a thousand years of history without breaking stride. In the southern part of the street the same works revealed the base of the **Gongbei gate tower** (拱北楼) from the Song dynasty, together with a Ming drum-shaped stone that once stood at its gate. The ancient road and the tower remains are now protected together as a Guangdong provincial heritage site. How far back the street goes is debated: some local articles date roof tiles in the lowest mud to the Western Han. We stick to what you can see under the glass — Tang to the 20th century. Give it 15–20 minutes. ## How to get to Beijing Road 1. The easiest way is the metro to **Gongyuanqian** (公园前), an interchange on Lines 1 and 2 in the city centre. Guides recommend **Exit C** or **D** — check the station's exit map for 北京路. The pedestrian street starts a few minutes' walk away. 2. From the south, **Beijing Lu** station (北京路) on Line 6 is handier; guides say Exit B brings you straight into the pedestrian zone. 3. From Guangzhou Railway Station or Guangzhou South (high-speed trains), Line 2 runs direct to Gongyuanqian. 4. From [Canton Tower](https://yesgo.io/china/guangzhou/canton-tower), take Line 3 to Tiyu Xilu and change to Line 1 for Gongyuanqian — about 30 minutes. 5. From Baiyun Airport, take Line 3 from Airport North (Terminal 2) to Tiyu Xilu, then Line 1 to Gongyuanqian. Airport South station has been skipped since 7 May 2026, while Terminal 1 is closed for renovation. 6. By taxi or DiDi, show **北京路步行街, 越秀区** — Huadu District in the north of Guangzhou has another Beijing Road. Cars can't enter the pedestrian zone, so you'll be dropped on a road at its edge. 7. At the gates, contactless foreign Visa or Mastercard cards work at marked gates (unofficial); Alipay's Guangzhou Metro QR code works too, or buy a single ticket at the machine. ## Things to do on and around Beijing Road - **The ancient road** (北京路千年古道遗址) — 11 layers of paving from the Tang dynasty to the 20th century, under glass in the middle of the street. - **Gongbei gate tower remains** — a Song-dynasty base and a Ming gate stone in the southern section. - **[Dafo Temple](https://yesgo.io/china/guangzhou/guangzhou-dafo-temple)** (大佛寺) — a working Buddhist temple on Huixin Middle Street (惠新中街), a couple of minutes off the main drag. Unofficially it's lit up in the evening. - **Nanyue Kingdom Palace site** — the excavated Western Han palace, part of the Nanyue King Museum on Zhongshan 4th Road, just north of the street. Unofficially free with a WeChat booking, Tuesday–Sunday 9:00–17:30, closed Mondays. - **Qilou arcades** — two- and three-storey shophouses with covered walkways, the classic old-Guangzhou streetscape. - **Tianzi Wharf** — where the street meets the river; Qing officials were welcomed here, and evening river cruises leave from it today. ## Where to eat near Beijing Road The pedestrian street itself is mostly chain cafés; for real Cantonese food, step into the side streets. The main one is **Huifu East Road** (惠福东路), which crosses Beijing Road towards its southern end and is lined with snack shops and dessert places. Education Road (教育路) is another good bet. What to order: **cheung fun** (肠粉), silky rice-noodle rolls with shrimp or beef; **tong sui** (糖水), Cantonese sweet soups and desserts such as double-skin milk and ginger milk; and slow-braised beef brisket. Save a proper dim sum meal for a separate slot — on weekends and holidays the teahouse queues can be long. Menus are often Chinese-only, so a camera translator app helps. Almost everywhere takes Alipay or WeChat Pay by QR code, and both accept foreign Visa and Mastercard cards once linked; carry some small yuan notes too, as cash must be accepted but change can be short. ## Opening hours and when to go Beijing Road is a public street, so it never closes and there's no ticket. Most shops open at around **10:00** and close at about **22:00**, with some dessert shops going until 23:00 — these are unofficial times from travel guides, and individual shops set their own. The best plan is late afternoon into evening: look at the ancient road while it's still light, then stay for the lights, dinner and a river cruise from Tianzi Wharf. Avoid weekend evenings and the national holidays, especially Golden Week in early October and Chinese New Year, if you don't like crowds. ## Beijing Road, Canton Tower or a river cruise? | | Beijing Road | Canton Tower | Pearl River cruise | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Price | Free | From ¥150 (unofficial) | Prices vary widely | | Time needed | 1–3 hours | ≈ 2 hours | ≈ 50–70 minutes | | Best time | Evening; daylight for the dig | An hour before sunset | After dark | | What you get | Old town, archaeology, food | The city from above | Lit-up riverbanks and the tower | Canton Tower and cruise figures are unofficial and come from YesGo's pages on them. All three fit into one evening: Tianzi Wharf is at the river end of Beijing Road. ## Is Beijing Road worth visiting? Yes, on a first trip to Guangzhou, if you want old Guangzhou in a single evening: a thousand years of roads under glass, Dafo Temple, Cantonese street food and a walk down to the river — all free and within a few minutes of each other. Skip it if you want quiet streets and heritage without neon: Beijing Road is shopping and crowds first, especially at weekends. For calmer old Guangzhou, head to [Shamian Island](https://yesgo.io/china/guangzhou/shamian-island) or the [Chen Clan Academy](https://yesgo.io/china/guangzhou/chen-clan-academy). > **Holiday crowds and pickpockets** During Golden Week in early October, Chinese New Year and on weekend evenings, the street is packed and you'll move with the flow. Keep your phone and wallet in a front pocket or a zipped bag, and agree a meeting point with your group — it's easy to lose each other. ## Before you go Tick off what's ready — your ticks are saved in this browser. - [ ] Alipay or WeChat Pay set up with a foreign card, plus some cash - [ ] Offline map or a local map app — Google Maps is blocked - [ ] 北京路步行街, 越秀区 saved for the taxi driver - [ ] Arriving in daylight to see the ancient road - [ ] Camera translator app for menus - [ ] Nanyue Palace booking, if you want to go in - [ ] River cruise planned for the evening ## Historic places in Guangzhou compared Every Guangzhou place with history that YesGo has scored. - [Dafo Temple](https://yesgo.io/china/guangzhou/guangzhou-dafo-temple) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free - [Beijing Road](https://yesgo.io/china/guangzhou/beijing-road) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free - [Shamian Island](https://yesgo.io/china/guangzhou/shamian-island) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · Free, open 24 hours - [Yuexiu Park](https://yesgo.io/china/guangzhou/yuexiu-park) — YesGo score 40/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · Free; Zhenhai Tower ≈ ¥10 - [Temple of the Six Banyan Trees](https://yesgo.io/china/guangzhou/six-banyan-temple) — YesGo score 38/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free - [Chen Clan Academy](https://yesgo.io/china/guangzhou/chen-clan-academy) — YesGo score 36/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · ¥10 ## Old Guangzhou in half a day: academy, temple, street and river The Chen Clan Academy first, then Dafo Temple and Beijing Road for the ancient road and dinner, and a river cruise from Tianzi Wharf to finish. Add it to your route and YesGo will work out the timings and transfers. 1. [Chen Clan Academy](https://yesgo.io/china/guangzhou/chen-clan-academy) — YesGo score 36/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · ¥10 2. [Dafo Temple](https://yesgo.io/china/guangzhou/guangzhou-dafo-temple) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free 3. [Beijing Road](https://yesgo.io/china/guangzhou/beijing-road) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free 4. [Pearl River](https://yesgo.io/china/guangzhou/pearl-river) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · ≈ ¥90–220 boat; riverside free ## Don't confuse Beijing Road in Yuexiu is not in Beijing, and it's not the other Beijing Road in Guangzhou's Huadu District up north. If you're looking for the capital's famous shopping street, that's Wangfujing. ## Tips - See the ancient road in daylight and come back after dark for the lights — the glass is hard to read at night with the crowds on top of it. - Staying nearby? Hotels around Gongyuanqian or Beijing Lu stations put you one metro line from the railway stations and a single change from Canton Tower. - Photograph the glass without flash, at an angle — straight down you'll mostly get reflections. - Book the Nanyue Palace site in advance on WeChat with your passport details; unofficially it's free and closed on Mondays. - Taxis can't drive into the pedestrian zone — agree on a pickup point on a side road before you part ways with friends. - A guided walk makes sense if you want the stories behind the old city rather than just finding the dig and the temple yourself. ## Questions ### Is Beijing Road in Guangzhou free? Yes. It's a public pedestrian street, open 24 hours, and the ancient road under glass is free to look at too. ### What are Beijing Road's opening hours? The street never closes. Most shops open roughly 10:00–22:00 and some dessert shops stay open until 23:00 (unofficial). ### Which metro station is Beijing Road? Gongyuanqian (Lines 1 and 2), Exit C or D, at the north end; or Beijing Lu (Line 6), Exit B, from the south. Exit numbers come from travel guides — check the station map. ### What is Beijing Road famous for? It's Guangzhou's oldest shopping street, with 11 layers of earlier roads — Tang dynasty to the 20th century — on show under glass in the paving. ### How old is the road under the glass? The oldest visible layer is from the Tang dynasty, over a thousand years ago; the newest is from the Republic of China, the early 20th century. It was found in 2002. ### What else is there to see near Beijing Road? Dafo Temple in a lane just off the street, the remains of the Gongbei gate tower, the Nanyue Kingdom Palace site to the north and Tianzi Wharf on the river. ### Where should I eat on Beijing Road? In the side streets: Huifu East Road (惠福东路) and Education Road have Cantonese snack shops — try cheung fun rice rolls, tong sui desserts and beef brisket. ### Is it better to visit Beijing Road during the day or at night? Both, ideally: arrive late afternoon to see the ancient road in daylight, then stay for the lights and dinner. Weekend and holiday evenings are very crowded. ### How long do you need on Beijing Road? About an hour for a walk and the ancient road; two to three hours with Dafo Temple and a meal. ### Can I pay with a foreign card on Beijing Road? Mostly via Alipay or WeChat Pay with a foreign Visa or Mastercard linked. Russian-issued cards don't work. Carry some cash as a backup. ## How we checked Beijing Road has no official website, so shop hours and metro exits come from travel guides and are marked 'checking'. The 11 layers and the Tang-to-Republic span match in Chinese Wikipedia, a 2002 Sina News report and The Paper. Some local articles date tiles in the lowest layers to the Western Han; that's unconfirmed, so we leave it out. Sources give the dig's length as 20, 40 or 44 m, and Chinese Wikipedia gives the street's length as both 1.25 km and 'over 1.5 km', so we don't quote either. Some guides say Gongyuanqian Exit C, others D; we give both. Nanyue Palace hours and Monday closing are from third-party sites — we didn't open the museum's official WeChat account. Payment and metro notes follow YesGo's shared China and Guangzhou notes; foreign-card metro gates are from travel guides, not the operator. ## Sources - Chinese Wikipedia, '北京路 (越秀区)' — former names, pedestrian dates, nearby heritage, metro stations - Chinese Wikipedia, '北京路千年古道遗址' — 11 layers from the Tang to the Republic of China, July 2002 discovery, viewing locations, Gongbei tower, heritage status - Sina News, September 2002 — the Beijing Road excavation and glass covering - The Paper (thepaper.cn) — the ancient road, Gongbei tower base and Ming gate stone - chinanews.com, 2014, and Sina, October 2001 — renaming in 1966, pedestrian street from 1997 - Wanderin China — Beijing Road guide: metro, Huifu East Road food, Dafo Temple, Nanyue Palace (8 September 2026) - intotravelchina.com — history, Nanyue Palace site, food streets - eastchinatrip.com, topchinatravel.com and gzshopper.com — free entry, shop hours, metro exits - gz.bendibao.com and ticket guides — Nanyue Palace booking, hours and closing day - Guangzhou government portal gz.gov.cn — Baiyun Terminal 1 and Airport South station closure from 7 May 2026 - Wikidata Q10902438 --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.