Shibati

Shibati is a stair: about 400 metres of road made of more than 200 bluestone steps, joining Jiaochangkou in the upper city to the lower city below. The conservation area around it covers 18.88 hectares, with a core zone of 3.89 hectares and about 161,000 square metres of building. Two explanations are given for the name: a sweet well stood exactly 18 steps from the stair, or the 200-odd steps were counted in 18 sections in Ming and Qing times. Seven streets, six lanes and eighteen named scenes were kept, and the old steps and the trees beside them survived the rebuilding.