The Arcade 海口骑楼

 The Arcade in Haikou  海口骑楼

解放路 Jie Fang Lu

中山路步行街 Zhong Shan Lu

博爱路  Bo Ai Lu

得胜沙路  De Sheng Sha Lu

骑楼是城镇沿街建筑，上楼下廊。骑楼下廊，即人行道。 骑楼下的廊，遮阳又防雨，楼下是以商业活动为主而楼上多数是住家，反映了商业文化与社会文化的地域特色。 海口骑楼老街，由得胜沙路，中山路，博爱路，新华路，长堤路和解放路组成，是海口市一处最具特色的街道景观。其中最古老的建筑四牌楼建于南宋，至今有700多年历史。2009年6月10日，首届“中国历史文化名街评选推介” 活动在北京揭晓，海口骑楼老街榜上有名。海口骑楼老街以其唯一性、独特性荣获首批十大“中国历史文化名街”称号。（四张照摄于2012年10月4日)

(photo clock-wise from top:(1) Jie Fang Lu (解放路) is undergoing re-surfacing works to prepare for yet another pedestrian walkway; (2) the exterior of the old building along this Zhong Shan Lu (中山路) is under renovation with the shops still open for business as usual as customers can walk along the arcade passage way; (3) the scene along Bo Ai Lu (博爱路) is a common sight in the Chinese dominated South-east Asian towns - where the ground floor is used for business and the top floor serves as dwelling place for the owner of the business; (4) the impressive building structure along De Sheng Sha Lu (得胜沙路) is breathtaking beauty indeed! (photos taken on 4 October 2012)

The buildings along these roads have a common structure: a covered passage way with the first floor of the building as roof; people walking along the passage can see the merchandise on display as they walk ; the passage is a perfect shelter from the sun and rain and a safer place to walk with no worry of being knocked down by vehicles.  In Malaysia this type of passage is called "Five-foot way", so named because the passage is about five foot wide.   

All the four roads are next to each other in the old Haikou quarters.  The old buildings here have a long history, some as far back as the Song Dynasty (about 700 years old); the ancient streets with the old buildings are well preserved.  These old Haikou streets have been listed in the first batch of the "Top Ten China Historical Cultural Streets Award" on 10 June 2009.