History meets the present in Fuzhou's ancient neighborhood

Nanhou Street, axis of the Three Lanes and Seven Alleys, Nov 17, 2015. [Photo by Zhang Xiang/chinadaily.com.cn]

Three Lanes and Seven Alleys, or "san fang qi xiang" in Chinese, is a century-old neighborhood crisscrossed by ancient lanes and alleys in Fuzhou, capital of Southeast China' Fujian province, also the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road.

Covering an area of 127 hectares, the tourist attraction features the architectural complexities of the Ming and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, making it a "living fossil of the ancient city street system". With Nanhou Street as the neighborhood's axis, there are three historic lanes to the west and seven alleys to the east.

The area boasts more than 150 ancient buildings and a majority of them were former homes of prominent historical figures. Qing Dynasty imperial envoy Lin Zexu, regarded as a national hero because of his fight against the British opium trade in Guangzhou, and Yan Fu, a Chinese scholar and translator, both resided in the area.

The block of the Three Lanes and Seven Alleys has been shortlisted as one of China's sites to be included on the World Cultural Heritage list.