China News Service, Linxia, Gansu, September 13th. Title: The old neighborhood of ethnic minorities that “does not move a single household” attracts tourists from all over the world.
Author Zhou Yiwei
Entering the Eight Lanes and Thirteen Alleys scenic area, you will see blue bricks and black tiles, lanterns hanging high, shops and stalls set up along the street, tourists walking through with cameras to take pictures, and local residents shopping for vegetables and walking around as usual. "The old alley was transformed into a scenic spot. Not a single house was demolished, nor a single old resident was moved away. The difference is that we opened a shop in front of our home." Ma Zhanxiang, a 69-year-old Hui resident in the alley, said.
Eight Lanes and Thirteen Alleys is located in Linxia City, Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province. There are eight mosques in the area. Local residents "live around the temples and do business around the squares." Thirteen streets and alleys extend along the eight mosques, hence the name Eight Lanes and Thirteen Alleys. Eight ethnic groups, including the Hui, Han, and Dongxiang ethnic groups, live here, with the Hui ethnic group accounting for more than 98% of the population.
In 2015, Linxia City launched an ancient street residential protection and renovation project. The original residents will not be relocated, the original street pattern will not be destroyed, and the original residential style will be completely preserved. Today, more than 5,000 households live in the lane, and there are more than 450 shops and stalls along the street, gathering Hezhou food, ethnic costumes, time-honored brands and other diverse business formats.
Ma Zhanxiang's shop is located on the street, with a front store and a backyard. It mainly sells various Linxia specialty products. In his opinion, the biggest changes brought about by the alley reconstruction are the renovation of houses, smoothing of alleys, and the implementation of livelihood projects such as coal-to-electricity and electric heating. "The houses are still old, but they are more comfortable to live in. Residents have opened shops and stalls in front of their homes, and the alleys have become more lively."
Ma Zhanxiang feels the changes in passenger flow more deeply. "Two years ago, most of the visitors came from Gansu Province and surrounding provinces. Now tourists from Jiangsu, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan and even foreign countries come. Our eight-treasure bowl tea, wheat bran vinegar and fried noodles are very popular."
"When old residents stay, they are 'producing' tourism experiences. What tourists see is our nation's 'living culture', not 'culture in a museum.'" Ma Xiaoyan, a 60-year-old Hui resident, grew up in the alley when she was a child. Later, she went to work elsewhere in the city, and now she has returned to the alley to set up a stall.
She believes that the original residents living on the original site make the alley full of fireworks. "The ethnic minority customs also add cultural charm to the alley, preventing it from turning into a cookie-cutter antique commercial street."
Retaining residents is the first step, and making tourists willing to come is the key. The Eight Lanes and Thirteen Alleys Scenic Area regularly carries out immersive live performances such as "Hospitality", "Hezhou Story" and "Return to the Tea-Horse Mutual Market". It also launches intangible cultural heritage performances in the Eight Lanes Small Theater, national tide parades, pop-up performances and other activities. It also has eight public welfare exhibition venues that are open all year round to facilitate tourists to watch and play while walking.
Cui Zhiyu, manager of Linxia Bafang Thirteen Alleys Scenic Spot Management Co., Ltd., said that the scenic spot continues to optimize its commercial layout, introducing local catering, new tea drinks and other diversified business formats, and new business formats such as featured cultural and creative products and featured B&Bs are constantly emerging to enrich tourists' consumption choices. In addition, the scenic spot continues to improve its infrastructure, builds internet celebrity check-in points, and is equipped with smart tour guides, wireless networks, medical emergency support and other facilities to enhance tourists' visiting experience.
"Many ancient cities and streets are trapped in a homogenization dilemma. Shops and snacks are like copy and paste, and it is difficult to distinguish regional characteristics." Zhang Xiaoxia, a tourist from Shandong, said that Eight Lanes and Thirteen Alleys are different. Residents in the alleys live their daily lives. The exquisite brick carvings and ethnic minority costumes reveal regional culture. Handmade yogurt and seasonal food bring taste enjoyment. The scenic spot is very recognizable.
Data show that as of the end of July 2026, the Eight Lanes and Thirteen Lanes Scenic Area has received 2.9498 million tourists this year, with a comprehensive tourism income of 320 million yuan. The average annual income of residents who open shops and stalls along the street has increased by more than 20,000 yuan.
Cui Zhiyu said that in the next step, the scenic spot will continue to upgrade live performances and intangible cultural heritage experience projects, dig into the connotation of Silk Road culture and Hezhou folk culture, develop study tours and immersive cultural tourism products, create unique cultural tourism IP, and enhance the core attraction of the scenic spot.
