Yabaolu (Chinese: 雅宝路; pinyin: yǎbǎolù, Yabao Road) is a street and area in Beijing, China, running from Chaoyangmenwai to Jianguomenwai. The south part of Yabaolu is home to Beijing Children's Hospital. On the west side of Yabaolu lies Ritan Park.
Yabaolu, "elegant treasure road," is one of the many Old Beijing place names to have been beautified. The original name was yaba hutong, "Mute-man's Alley,".[1]
The northern area of Yabaolu is sometimes unofficially named Russiatown or Russian Market, since the neighbourhood has a high population of semi-resident Russian traders from Siberia. Like many ethnic enclaves, it has its own unique culture imported by its residents. The focal point of the district are several large clothing markets. Business signs are mostly in Russian and written in Cyrillic, a surprise to many tourists. For a former Russian area in Beijing, see Li-Fan Yuan.
After the Beijing Olympics several large modern shopping centres, such as Chaowai-Men, You-Town, have been developed - some to cater more to retail shoppers than wholesale traders.[2][3][4]