Fan Tan Alley 2

While it's narrower at both ends Fan Tan Alley widens out in the the middle of the block. There are shop entrances on both sides.

Photographers love doors and this one in Fan Tan Alley has got to be the most photographed door in the city. It's got everything - color, texture, location (fractional address), nice lozenge-shaped panels and brass fittings. Fittingly, it's the entrance to a photographer's studio.

There are shops of all kinds but for me the most fascinating are those selling Chinese artifacts and curios. Here's one room of a favorite shop of mine that has about 7 or 8 similar rooms connecting to it in a winding maze that eventually leads to Fisgard Street. I could spend hours here (this shop also has some interesting artifacts from the history of Fan Tan Alley on display.