Sanfang Qixiang
Sanfang Qixiang, literally Three Lanes and Seven Alleys, is a historic and cultural area in the city of Fuzhou. Its name is derived from the three lanes of Yijin, Wenru, and Guanglu and the seven alleys of Yangqiao, Langguan, Ta, Huang, Anmin, Gong, Jipi. Covering a total area of 38 hectares, it is celebrated as an architectural museum of Ming and Qing Dynasty buildings, including numerous National Designated Monuments like the historic residences of Yan Fu, Lin Congyi, Bing Xin and Lin Juemin.
Because of its more than 400 rich, famous and powerful residents, this port city was known as 'Beverly Hills' of imperial China.
Thanks to its fame as a living fossil of traditional Chinese urban wards of Li and Fang that date back to as early as Tang Dynasty, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in 2013, and later designated a National Historic and Cultural Street by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and State Administration of Cultural Heritage in 2015. Owing to the extraordinary efforts to protect the historic fabrics from Sanfang Qixiang Administration, it was awarded 2015 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards as Honourable Mention.
