Zhuang Yuan Fang

Description:

• Many visitors come to China and focus solely on relics and artifacts from the purported 5,000 years of history. Here instead is a chance to see China's youth, the so-called Q generation, up close and personal. Originally filled with shops devoted to costumes, instruments, and props for Cantonese opera, only one or two of this kind of emporium remains. The rest have been taken over by innumerable fashion stores, and this street is now the place where many trends and fads are started. Unfortunately, the current fashions seem to be West Coast hip-hop-meets-East Coast bag lady. Spiky-haired teenagers puff on orange and strawberry cigarettes while others chomp on stinky fried tofu or even stinkier durian ice cream. Don't be ashamed by the fact that you are probably the oldest person in a 5km (3-mile) radius.

• © Frommer's 2013