Chinanews, Beijing, Sept 24 – With one year's renovation, Qianmen Street has finished the repairing work and will be opened to the public before the Olympic Games are held in Beijing next year.

 

Many well-known old shops that have enjoyed a good fame in China for more than a century are all located in the traffic-free street, making it a good place to Chinese as well as foreigners to experience the genuine taste of traditional Chinese culture.

 

Qianmen Street has a history of over 600 years. After renovation is done, the 800-meter-long street will be stored to its architectural style in the 1920s-1930s. Dozens of famous traditional commercial brands, such as Quan Ju De roast Beijing duck restaurant, Pian Yi Fang roast Beijing duck restaurant, Yue Sheng Zhai Muslim flavored foods and Du Yi Chu dumplings, etc, will all be located in Qianmen Street.

 

The surface of the street will be built with grey stone slabs, just like when it was made as a royal street during the Ming and the Qing dynasties. Things that were commonly seen in Qianmen in the past, including trams, the Wu Pai Lou (the ceremonial arch that served as the symbol for Qianmen Street), and the stage, will all reappear in Qianmen after the renovation. The commercial area of the street will cover 80,000 square meters, and about 300 shops will be located there in total, most of them dealing with catering, retail sales or clothes sales business.

 

Qianmen Street is regarded as the oldest street in Beijing. It was built in the Yuan Dynasty and existed through Ming, Qing, and the Republic of China period. Built in the central axis in Beijing, it was once nicknamed the "heaven street" or the "golden street". Before being put to practice, the renovation scheme had been repeatedly modified by scholars. With 300 million yuan of renovation fund, the Chongwen district government hopes that it can build Qianmen Street as the largest, traditional-style commercial street in Beijing.