Huguang Guilt Hall |
Travel in Beijing | |||
First built in 1807, the Huguang Guild Hall (hú guǎng hùi guǎn 湖广会馆) is located on the south of Hufang Bridge (hǔ fǎng qiáo 虎坊桥), Xuanwu District (xuān wǔ qū 宣武区) in Beijing (běi jīng 北京). With a long history of nearly 200 years, the Huguang Guild Hall is regarded as one of the ten greatest wooden theatres of the world. It is the only existing guild hall with a theatre in Beijing. The entire complex of Huguang Guild Hall covers an area of 2800 square meters, including Opera Building (dà xì lóu大戏楼), Wenchang Pavilion (wén chāng gé 文昌阁), Baoshan Hall (bǎo shàn táng 宝善堂), Xiangxian Temple (xiāng xián cí 乡贤祠), Chuwan Hall (chǔ wǎn táng 楚畹堂) and Fengyu Huairen Hall (fēng yǔ huái rén guǎn 风雨怀人馆). The Huguang Guild Hall also contains a small museum which exhibits the theatre's rich history of Beijing opera. There is a well called Ziwu Well (zǐ wǔ jǐng 子午井) in front of Xiangxian Temple. It is so called because the water in this well is sweet at 00:00 and 12:00 a.m while it is bitter at the other time. The theatre is renowned for its magnificent interiors, which is coloured in red, green and gold, and decked out with tables and a stone floor. It is splendid and imposing with an antique flavor. Leading Beijing opera stars often give performances here. It is very cheerful to enjoy the opera while sipping tea in the theatre. Tourists also can enjoy dishes with Beijing flavor in Huguang Guild Hall. Huguang Guild Hall
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