Nanluoguxiang Lane to ban street-facing food sales

Nanluoguxiang Lane, a popular tourist attraction in Beijing for snacks and cultural products, will no longer allow street-facing window sales of ready-to-eat food and beverages, effective Tuesday.

The new rule is part of a package of measures to "revamp the area's outlook," which also include not providing disposable cutlery. A total of 166 food and beverage merchants along the 787-meter-long, 8-meter-wide hutong are adjusting their store layouts to comply with the new rules.

The move came in response to the large amount of rubbish and unlicensed vendors triggered by over-commercialization, the area's management commission said.

During the peak tourism season this summer, an average of 30 metric tons of garbage was thrown into trash bins every day in the block. Cleaning workers often had trouble navigating among the bustling crowds, and as hardworking as they are, the bins would sometimes quickly fill up again, leaving some garbage piling up in the street corner.

Authorities hope that the new measures will help reduce the amount of garbage. "The change from street-facing window sales to dine-in, and the shift from disposable cutleries to reusable ones can help keeping the garbage out of the lane, and reduce the total amount," said Wu Hongcai, an official of the Jiaodaokou subdistrict, which administers the area.

Some merchants said they are adjusting their businesses to comply with the new rules. "We will serve ready-to-eat food from counters inside the store instead of from street-facing windows," said Guo Yongqiang, manager of a roast duck eatery that has been operating in the lane for more than two decades.

Li Xusheng, a tourist to the area, said that he prefers to eat inside a store. "The scenic area is a very bustling place, and eating out on the lane is not sanitary," he told Beijing TV.

The Nanluoguxiang Lane is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Beijing. Built more than seven centuries ago, the lane is scattered with old residences of celebrities and shops of local snacks and cultural products of old-time Beijing vibes. According to a report by China Central Television last week, more than 100,000 people visit the narrow lane every day during the summer tourism peak.