Beijing 9-Traditional Snack A Taste of Old Beijing

Located in a hutong at Shichahai,  Jiumen Xiaochi (Beijing 9ÐTraditional  Snack) opened at the end of June 2006, featuring traditional Beijing snacks. Twelve vendors, each with a tidy stall, offer brand-name Beijing snacks in a traditional courtyard setting. Every stall sells 10 kinds of snacks. The most popular ones are douzhi (a favourite drink of old Beijingers and good for one's stomach), rice cakes and almond soup.

It got the name Beijing 9ÐTraditional Snack from the nine gates in the wall that surrounded Beijing, including Chongwenmen, Xizhimen, Deshengmen, Andingmen and more. Its Chinese name jiumen refers to these nine gates, and in ancient Beijing the name Nine Gates was synonymous with the city. So its name bears the connotation of a place with all the Beijing snacks. Handed down generation by generation, many of these Beijing snacks have a history of 100Ð200 years. Almost every day, it is easy to find an elderly person behind each stall making or instructing others how to make the snacks. They are the inheritors of these Beijing snack brand names.

Walking through its stalls, customers will happen upon a public dining space. For even more peace and quiet, 16 separate rooms have been prepared, each bearing the name of a city gate, such as Fuchengmen or Fuxingmen. One room is especially reserved for Muslims.

Hou Jia, the general manager of Beijing 9ÐTraditional Snack and president of the Old Beijing Traditional Snack Association, said: ÒBeijing has numerous hutong, and it also has numerous traditional snacks worth exploring. After three years'preparation, we are eager to maintain and develop these authentic traditional snacks, which are signs of Beijing in our eyes.

Address: 1 Xiaoyou Hutong, west of the Former Residence of Soong Qingling, Shichahai, Xicheng District

十刹海宋庆龄故居西侧孝友胡同1 号9门小吃， 人力三轮车可带入

Cost: 30 yuanÐ40 yuan/per person, US$4-$5 (lunch or dinner) Transportation and parking: a bit difficult to find and park, better take pedicabs or walk

Tel: +86 10 6402 5858, 6402 6868