Beijing reopens historic Qianmen shopping street one day before Olympics
7/8/2008 17:18
The Olympic host city today reopened one of its oldest commercial areas as
the latest cultural and tourist attraction, one day prior to the Games.
After
a massive refurbishment lasting over one year, the Qianmen Street in the heart
of the city was opened to visitors. A dozen local brand-names originated from
Qianmen in the past century, such as the Quanjude roasted duck restaurant and
the Zhangyiyuan tea house, were reopened to business the same day.
Along with
the Great Wall and Tian'anmen Square, the Qianmen Street is one of the
"must-see" places listed in many tourist guides.
The area is expected to
display Beijing's historic and cultural heritage to visitors from all over the
world, which is also in line with the Olympic spirit to encourage cultural
exchange and mutual understanding, said Wang Chengguo, spokesperson of Beijing's
Chongwen District where the street locates.
Qianmen Street lies on Beijing's
historic central axis just south of the Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden
City, the imperial palace from the mid-Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) to the end of
the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
The commercial street took shape about 570
years ago and reached its peak of importance in the 1920s and 1930s, garlanded
with restaurants, theaters, silk stores and tea houses. It was still a famous
shopping area even before the refurbishment, despite its rundown conditions and
over-population.
The street was closed for the face-lifting project in May
2007, with old buildings demolished and road surface newly paved. A tramway was
also restored after it was discontinued in the 1960s.
But the tramway along
the 840-meter street will not be operational during the Olympics because Olympic
marathon runners will pass along the street, Wang said.
Xinhua
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