BEIJING - It is hard to connect tasty cuisine with a thoroughfare nicknamed "Ghost Street." But this 1.5-km east-west street in eastern downtown Beijing has won the hearts of local food lovers.

"Ghost Street" [File photo]

There are many tales of how Guijie got its name. The superstitious one is that, according to old people, only restaurants could survive on this street because business was strong only after nightfall, when the hungry "ghosts" came out.

The legend might have some roots in history. In ancient times, this street was a path that people took to bring the deceased to cemeteries outside the then-walled city. A wholesale grocery fair was set up, and it usually started at midnight and ended in the early morning. The vendors, working beneath dim kerosene burners, looked like ghosts. And the coffin shops and morticians along the street added to the spooky ambience.

Today, there's no remnant of this era. Instead, about 100 restaurants line both sides of the wide street.

A more prosaic explanation comes from Sun Xuejun, head of Guijie's community committee: the street was named Ghost because it was the first place in Beijing where restaurants were open round the clock.

In any case, perhaps for luck, the Chinese character for ghost was replaced by another character that sounds the same but means food basket.

The busiest time at Guijie is between 6 p.m. and 4 a.m. Spicy foods set the tone. Several old restaurants are well known for dishes such as hot and spicy crayfish and roasted fish with chili sauce.

Nights here belong to locals. They come in shorts and slippers, order a full table of red hot dishes or steaming hot pot with bottles of cold beer and talk as if competing with others at the next table.

According to Sun, the street has undergone some changes for the sake of the Olympics. Servers were trained to use simple English and taught about foreign customs, hygiene was improved and English menus were provided.

It is easy to find the street. Get off subway Line two at Dongzhimen station and you will find yourself at the east end of the street. Get off subway Line five at Beixinqiao station to come from the west end. It is about two blocks south of Lama Temple, the famous Tibetan Buddhist temple and popular tourist site.

The restaurants we list here are unique but not the only good ones. If you wander along the street, you may find something much more to your taste.