Guozijian Street in Beijing （北京國子監(jiān)街）

Guozijian Street in Beijing

Guozijian Street, or Imperial Academy Street, is an east-west-running alley located in central Beijing. The street, originally called "Chengxian Street", began to take shape around 700 years ago and got its current name in 1965.

With a total length of 669 meters and an average width of 11 meters, the street houses the Imperial Academy in the west and the Confucian Temple in the east. Built in 1306, the Imperial Academy was the foremost educational institution during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties (1271-1911), and was esteemed by ancient scholars. The Confucian Temple is where sacrifices to Confucius were made during the three dynasties.

Guozijian Street is the only street in Beijing featuring decorated archways, with two in the east and a further two in the west. Many single-storey houses can be found along the street, evoking the feel of Beijing's alleys in ancient times.