Furong Street or Lotus Street is located in Lixia District, Jinan City. It is an old street as well as a snack street in Jinan. Furong Street is a north-south pedestrian street, named for the famous spring on the street - Furong Spring or Lotus Spring. The street starts from the south entrance of Donghuaqiangzi Street in the north and ends at Quancheng Road in the south. It is adjacent to Mashi Street to the east, connecting to Fengqiao Street, Xiangfeng Alley and Furong Alley. The bluestone pavement is 432 meters long and 4.6 meters wide.
Furong Street in history
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Furong Street was surrounded by the governmental buildings or schools. The good geographical advantages attracted merchants to do the businesses here. The famous Ruifu Xiang Shop, the first optical shop "Yishanhao" in Jinan during the Tongzhi reign period of the Qing Dynasty and the largest department store "Wen Shengxing" in Jinan were all set here at that time. The book clubs opened by the famous educators Ju Simin, Wang Zhuchen, and Xu Deyi once also settled in Furong Street. The famous painters Yu Jianhua and Yue Xiangshu once lived and run business on this old street.
Furong Street was once a commercial street for the stationery, musical instruments, antiques, calligraphy and painting. Besides, there were also workshops for copper and tinware decorations, shops of clothing, shoes and hats, and snack bars, on both sides of the street.
Most of the residents on the street were from the Zhangqiu area and own a living by trading. The prosperity of commerce pushed Furong Street into a prosperous position in Fuzhou in history.
The prosperous Furong Street
Among all the old streets in Jinan, Furong Street is the most famous one. The countless small merchants and hawkers have stalls or shops on both sides of the road. A wide variety of the local snacks can be tasted there. A constant flow of people go to Furong Street every day. Compared with other silent old streets, Furong Street is full of the commercial vitality.
In the past, it was once the most prosperous place in Jinan City, where almost all the merchants lived together with many large courtyards. But now, Furong Street is just famous for its delicious snacks and food.