Ancient Culture Street (古文化街)

Here is the promised post about Ancient Culture Street. This is an entire area, actually a street and several side streets, of market stalls and stands, selling just about every kind of souvenir you can imagine. Paintings. Jade carvings. Jewelry. T-shirts. Bags that say "I China." Mao memorabilia. Papercuts. Chops. You name it, they've got it. In recent years, the whole area has undergone a kind of overhaul, complete with traditional-style building facades and statues commemorating important historical and mythological figures. There are even some vendors who dress in traditional (sort of) Qing-era clothing and hats, with false queues hanging down their backs.

Ben has compared the place to historical Dodge City tourist attractions, and I think that's pretty accurate. It's definitely for tourists, and there were several tourist groups being led through by guides while we were there. But we had a lot of fun seeing what kinds of things were for sale, and thinking about what kind of souvenirs we might want to bring home with us.

Up until the disastrously embarrassing event that brought our day to an end, we had a really great time eating, walking around, taking pictures, and even buying a few little things here and there.