More than a cinema

Dashilan Street was the business and entertainment hub at that time, with everyone out to make some money. Daguanlou Cinema was no exception. In addition to showing movies, snacks and beverages were sold by waiters carrying loaded trays who wandered back and forth through the audience before shows and during breaks, in much the same style as Beijing Opera Houses. In the 1930s the cinema even opened a western pharmacy in the lobby.

Despite repeated wars that swept China during the first half of the 1900s, Daguanlou continued showing movies, and witnessed the tumultuous history of the country. The theater was a trend-setter and in 1930 it became the first theater to allow men and women to sit together to watch movies. This had been banned for almost 20 years. In 1911, the government had stipulated that not only could men and women not sit together, but pornographic films could not be shown, and theaters were not allowed to stay open past midnight.

Daguanlou is more than a cinema in the eyes of old Beijing residents. It's a memory of their youth. A 79-year-old woman, Mrs. Wu, even credits Daguanlou Cinema for her marriage. Over 50 years ago she and her present husband were too shy to express their love for each other. But after watching the love story Happiness Neither in Life Nor Death in Daguanlou they agreed to marry.

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