Sanfang Qixiang

Sanfang Qixiang 三坊七巷, 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 衣锦, Wenru 文儒, and Guanglu 光禄 and the seven alleys of Yangqiao 杨桥, Langguan 郎官, Ta 塔, Huang 黄, Anmin 安民, Gong 宫, Jipi 吉庇. 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, Bingxin and Lin Juemin. Thanks to its fame as a living fossil of traditional Chinese urban wards of Li 里 and Fang 坊 that date back to as early as Tang Dynasty, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in 2013,^[1] 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.^[2] Owing to the extraordinary efforts to protect the historic fabrics from Sanfang Qixiang Administration,^[3] it was awarded 2015 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards as Honourable Mention.^[4]

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