Dashilan street committee has been distributing pocket maps of the area, which is printed both in Chinese and English, to domestic and foreign tourists for the first time. On the first day of the distribution, citizens lined up to pick the map even before the Chinese Bookshop opened its door. Till today, 25,000 pocket maps have been handed out from the more than 40 distribution stations.
Dashilan, which covers an area of only 1.26 square kilometers, is an area with Beijing's oldest and most complete trading market of paper money and coins, the original site of Tai Fung House, which is one of the eight great buildings in Beijing, and Guangde building, one of the oldest theaters in Beijing, ect. As an area with so many sites and alleys, Dashilan has made a lot of backpackers confused about the locations. The hand-painted version pocket maps have been thus introduced to the visitors. The small brochure, which is 7.5cm wide and 10cm long, includes the information and locations of all Dashilan heritages, former residence of celebrities, time-honored brands, hotels, bus stations, banks and hospitals.
