Zhihuasi temple, one of Beijing's cultural relics Photo: Yin Yeping/GT

Lumicang Hutong in Dongcheng district might not be everyone's number one lane of choice, but it has two cultural heavyweights that make it worth a visit.

One of its biggest claims to fame is that it was the location of Lumi Grain Depot. In the past, hutong were often the place where grain was stored to satisfy the needs of the royal court and armies, and to feed famished people during lean years. Due to its location near the old Chaoyang gate harbor, bags of rice were unloaded from boats and settled in the warehouses here. Lumi Grain Depot specifically was built in the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) and measured over 200 meters long, covering half the length of the lane. However, it was not the only granary, with Lumicang containing around 60 at a peak.

Speaking to 77-year-old resident Tian Shuying, we discover that not only were these granaries a savoir of Beijing in the past, but they are a savior of the lane in the present. According to Tian the hutong has been on the demolition agenda for years. The demolition office planned to raze the whole hutong, save for a small area at the eastern end where a temple still stands. "The reason for the suspension is partially because some of the old granaries here belong to the military, which is unwilling to allow them to be leveled," Tian said.

While the granaries might no longer be functional in their original sense, another person tells us that they have been rented out to various companies, such as one that restores clothes

Zhihuasi temple on the eastern end of the lane also competes for attention. The temple was built in 1443 by Wang Zhen, a dominant eunuch who was highly favored by Ming emperor Yingzong, so much so that he was given his blessing to build the temple. It was constructed according to the traditional Buddhist temple layout, and has 10 halls in three courtyards.

"Coming to the temple, there are two things that you should not miss," said Xue Jian, the director of the Zhihuasi temple administration office. "One is the zhuanlunzang (the prayer wheel), an interesting piece of equipment containing Buddhist scriptures. Another one is the traditional Buddhist music of the temple that is played by a six-monk band." Zhuanlunzang is a four meter tall rotatable machine with eight sides and an axis in the middle. Each side has 45 drawers with carved Buddha embossments. "There are only three prayer wheels like this in Beijing today," Xue said. "One is in here and the other two are in Yonghegong Lama Temple and the Summer Palace."

As for the music, today's visitors can still enjoy the old music that is played daily. "The music is formed by using instruments like flutes," explained Xue. "Since the music scores were never written down, but instead passed on by word-of-mouth, the music is very unusual and exclusive," he added. Currently the main member of the band is Hu Qingxue, the 27th predecessor of the temple's music tradition.

Chatting with Tian Shuying once again, we discover that she has lived in this lane all her life and in fact used to reside in the temple back in the 1950s when it had no surrounding walls. "Many houses around here were the property of the temple," she said. Despite close proximity to the granaries, people who lived in the lane had a tough life and the monks were no exception. "For many monks soup was the only dish they got all day every day," Tian recalled.

Times might be less tough now, but will any of this be enough to save the lane?