Qianmen Street Reopening the old dream of Beijing

As part of Beijing's efforts to refurbish old city areas ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games, the massive redevelopment of Qianmen Street, which began in late 2002, finally darts its debut on May 1st 2008. The new Qianmen Street stretches from the southern end of Tian'anmen Square to the Zhushikou Street, measuring 845m in length. A trolley car, familiar to Beijing's senior citizens, returns to the street and becomes the only transportation vehicle on the pedestrian thoroughfare. An underground parking lot is also built to tackle the problem of parking spaces in the Qianmen area. Time-honored shops in the area, Qianmen Street's business card, receive the greatest amount of protection.

The street is about 840 meters long. Traces of Chinese history are embedded in the grey facades, elaborate wooden archway, the street ornaments of rattle drums and bird cages. The renovation was undertaken in the style of Beijing around 1910's.

History

Traces of Chinese history are embedded in the grey facades, elaborate wooden archways, rattle drum street ornaments and bird cages of this 840-meter-long street, because of its grandeur and unique design, Qianmen has long been seen as a symbol of old Beijing. It has also been a commercial center for nearly seven centuries. The Da Shi Lanr business street dates back more than 580 years. Regarded as the "essence of Beijing," it depicts a vivid picture of old Beijing.

Qianmen was a bustling area during the Ming and Qing dynasties, with brothels, opium dens and shops peddling cures, calligraphy and silk, many of which have become national brands. It displays the traditional characteristics of local architecture and merchant culture and has some of the city's only examples of curved hutongs.

With its latticework of horizontal alleys, the street prospered as a commercial strip as early as the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368). By the time of Emperor Jiajing, the 12th Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) emperor, the street was dotted with guild halls built by different localities, to provide housing to citizens intending to take the imperial exams.

Qianmen Street became even more prosperous in the early years of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) with the development of activities such as lantern fairs, theaters and teahouses. Places like the Guanghe Theater - today threatened with demolition - and the Quanjude roast duck restaurant are part of Beijing's history.

The Ming and Qing Dynasties' Qianmen Street was burnt down to ashes in 1900 when the Allied Forces of the Eight Powers ransacked Beijing. Physically, there is nothing left for us to retrieve. The final plan is based on historical photos, and the aim is intend to form a new Qianmen Street in the mould of the 1920s to 1930s.

New Old Dreams

Good to See Trolley Cars Back on Qianmen Street

Two old-fashioned trolley cars, that should be familiar to Beijing's senior citizens, are seen driving down the street April 23rd 2008. They are the only transportation vehicles allowed on the pedestrian thoroughfare. Painted in the old style, the cars are nicknamed dangdang cars by the old Beijingers, because the driver sounds a bell at the head of the car to alert pedestrians. The sound of the trolley brought back some wonderful childhood memories for some local residents.

Cite - "When we were still little kids, we always tried to form a good relationship with the driver on the trolley cars so that we could ring the bells for them. This was great fun. It's good to see trolley cars back on Qianmen Street."

As the main form of public transportation along Qianmen Street, decisions on trolley car ticket prices have been closely followed. From start to end, a trip on the trolley will take about 10 minutes to travel down the 840 meter track. At present, there are three stops planned for the trolley; the car will start from Wupailou and pause at Xianyukou and Zhushikou. Although the price of a ticket has not yet been finally confirmed, representatives have announced that prices will not fall below 4 yuan. Rumor has it that in order to control the number of guests that may travel via trolley, ticket prices may hit double digits.

Parking Lot

An underground parking lot is also planned for the redesign of Qianmen Street to accommodate transportation needs. Approximately 1,000 cars will be able to park in the lot once completed. At present, the engineering plans for the lot, to be located on the southern portion of the street, have been completed, and groundbreaking will begin shortly.

In addition, as there are no public toilets on Qianmen Street, the stores, buildings, and other facilities located on the street will all be equipped with restrooms for visitors, free of charge, according to Chongwen District representative Zhou Yongming.

Landmarks

This is the Beijing's largest wooden archway. Upon passing through the archway at the north end of the Qianmen Street, visitors, technically are on the street. The archway is a faithful reproduction of the original, based on old photos and historical archives. According to history, Chinese emperors traveled down Qianmen Street to visit the Temple of Heaven.

• Wupailou & Zhengyang Bridge

Qianmen's Wupailou (the Five Archways of Zhengyang Gate), Beijing's largest, is located at the street's northern end. The Wupailou is a huge, wooden, decorated archway, through which visitors must enter to officially traverse on Qianmen Street.

Wupailou, first built in 1419, has been renovated five times. Each renovation completely changed the outlook of the gateway, especially the fourth one in the 1920s to 1930s. Old Beijing residents are most familiar with the way Qianment looked during this most prosperous period.

The renovation of Wupailou was planned according to historic pictures and documents in order to rebuild the archway as close to its original design as possible. Even the words "Zhengyang Qiao" (Zhengyang Bridge) written in gold across the archway was arranged according to the original look.

Actually, a real Zhengyang Bridge should be built here according to historic blueprints; however, due to current traffic conditions, this is impossible. Planners can only build a regular, straight bridge in its place, allowing visitors to visually absorb a shadow of the grandeur of the previous bridge.

• 834 Meter "Chariot Path"

As a finishing touch of the renovation, the path of the Emperors is recreated down the center of Qianmen Street with green and white marble. According to historical data, Qianmen Street was the path ancient Chinese emperors took to visit the Temple of Heaven. As such, during the renovation, a 2.925 meter wide, 834 meter long cobblestone path was recreated in the middle of Qianmen Street, whose entire width is 21 meters. 2,000 square meters of white stones and 18,000 square meters of green stones were used.

Shopping

As an old saying goes in Beijing, "Majuyuan on your head, Neiliansheng on your feet, Ruifuxiang on your body and Sidaheng in your pocket," which vividly reflects the Beijing people's relationship with the old brands. Shopping in Qianmen Street is always full of surprise - for cloth, one would go to Ruifuxiang. The store is famous for its silk and satin. For shoes, Neiliansheng. It is known for its cloth shoes and is now the biggest producer of handmade cloth shoes in China. For hats, Majuyuan; for watches, Hengdeli; and for tea, Zhangyiyuan.

Thirteen businesses that had operated in the area for centuries has returened. They include a famous Peking duck restaurant, a silk clothing store and a Muslim food shop that cooked meat for an 18th-century Qing Dynasty emperor.

Time-honored Brands

Ruifuxiang Silk - Since 1862

Establishment Ruifuxiang Silk Store was established by Meng Hongsheng, descendant of Mengzi (Meng ke, Chinese Confucian philosopher). Meng Hongsheng was from Zhangqiu, Jiujun county, Shandong Province and he first built up his business by selling hand-woven cloth with the shop named Ranfuxiang. With thriving business, Meng Hongsheng started to set up chain stores in Shanghai, Qingdao, Tianjin, etc. and extended his business to luxury commodities such as silk, satin, tea and furs.

Meaning of the Name What is the meaning of "Ruifu Xiang"? It was said that the founder of Ruifu Xiang cited the literary quotation of "Qingfu Return Currency". Fu is an insect in ancient time and the baby insect coated with blood of its mother could fly back. Qingfu represented copper coin in ancient times. Therefore, the name of the store involves deep consideration. The founder of Ruifu Xiang hoped the store could make rolling profits.

Business Ruifuxiang wins great popularity among customers with genuine goods at a fair price and excellent services. The colored cloths of Ruifu Xiang, made from high-grade white cloths with little shrinkage and no color fading after watering, are welcomed most by most working people, especially peasants.

History In 1900, Ruifu Xiang was destroyed after the Eight Power Allied Forces invaded Beijing. However, it was rebuilt soon. The new Ruifu Xiang was also famous for genuine goods and new and modern colored cloth. Ruifu Xiang had its own designed color patterns, sent designated people to select materials and factories and also printed its products with the words of Ruifu Xiang Hong-ji. Quality cloth, silk and satins of Ruifu Xiang won great acclaim from national and international tourists. The Chinese Traditional Clothing Show held by Ruifu Xiang is a typical example of the combination of culture and commerce.

After the liberation of China, the first Five Starred Red flag raised in Tian'anmen Square was made of Ruifuxiang silk. In 1954, Ruifu Xiang first carried out the new joint state-private ownership, incorporated its five shops into one and became a silk shop mainly selling silk, satin, woolen cloth and furs. The present Ruifu Xiang maintains its original style and feature. Patio-like building, stone carving on the door and the roof are in a good state of preservation. The Ruifuxiang shop has an area of more than 1,000 square meters.

Qianxiangyi

Located in Dashilan, Qianxiangyi has its predecessor called Hengxiang which was set up by Meng Yangxuan. In early 1900s, it was founded in Beijing with Beijing Qianxiangyi as the headquarters, and subsidiaries were set up through out China. In its full time, Qianxiangyi had over 20 silk stores all around the country, and formed a huge Qianxiangyi System making it the largest shop in China dealing with silk and cloth. During the joint public-private ownership reform after 1949, it was renamed Beijing Silk Shop. In 2000, it resumed the name Qianxiangyi after the joint-stock reform. It moved to Dashilan later due to the reconstruction in Qianmen. Qianxiangyi is the largest silk shop with most complete variety in China.

Neiliansheng - Since 1853

Neiliansheng was set up in the 3rd year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign in the Qing Dynasty or 1853 by Zhao Ting. With a workshop behind the store, it sold self-produced shoes. The name Neiliansheng indicates that people wearing shoes from this shop may win promotion and get wealth.

Neiliansheng had very thriving business after it was open. Ministers, generals and officials came in an endless stream to order or buy their court boots. For each order of court boots, Neiliansheng asked clients to have their feet size measured and try the models until they got fully satisfied with the boots. Even the boots for Emperor Xuantong in his enthronement in the Hall of Supreme Harmony were made by Neiliansheng before sent to the Minister of Internal Affairs. Zhao Ting was good at doing business. He made a record book for those noblemen and officers detailed with their preferred patters, sizes and specific shape their feet. Officers in the Qing Dynasty, to please their superiors, usually came here and order court boots for them referring to the recorded information. Court boots made by Neiliansheng was extremely popular and expensive, each pair cost dozens scale of silver.

Laotoule (Happy Oldman) is another famous traditional product from Neiliansheng. It is cotton-padded shoes for old people in the winters. It is warm, durable, and easy to put on and off, hence the name Laotoule. It is also called Cloud Cotton-padded Shoes because of the handiwork cloud patterns on the upper. Later, shoes with small round opening, reinforced cloth sole and satin or woolen vamp got popular. With light sole and looks elegant, they were suitable for those engaging in commerce and politics. This sort of shoes made by Neiliansheng had new and fine cloth used in vamp, lining and sole, and had fine quality, so was popular. Neiliansheng also made for sedan-chair bearers double-vamped shoes with eyelet which looks imposing. This sort of shoes is soft, flexible and sweat-absorbing. People wearing it may walk fast and silently. It was popular among sedan-chair bearers, wagon drivers and porters. Xiangzi, a rickshaw man in Lao She's novel loves this sort of shoes. Up till now, it is martial art masters favorite.

Since 1996, Neiliansheng held several exhibitions on shoes culture with more than 100 articles and over 400 pictures introducing the evolution of this time-honored shop and the development of world shoes industry.

Neiliansheng has improved its awareness from sole quality to brand thus explored a new way for the development of a time-honored brand. Leaders of the party and state such as Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and Guo Moruo preferred shoes with reinforced cloth sole. The golden-lettered plaques on the first and second floor of Neiliansheng Shop were inscribed by General Zhang Aiping and eminent writer Guo Moruo respectively. Neiliansheng had its shop rebuilt in 1988, while the splendid and ancient architectural style remained with golden tiles, red pillars, colored paintings.

Zhangyiyuan Tea Shop

The earliest Zhangyiyuan Tea Shop was established in the 34th year of Emperor Guangxu's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1910) at Guanyinshi, outside Qianmen by Zhang Wenqing. Yi Yuan, the name of the tea shop, originated from the saying with the beginning of another year, everything is fresh again. Evidently, Zhang applied it as a blessing for the ever prosperity of his tea shop.

Tea-farms were cultivated in Fujian Province by Zhangyiyuan Tea Shop where tea leaves were grown and baked to fit in with the tastes of the people of the capital city as well as the northerners. The scented tea drinks produced by this shop had the special features of being transparent, having a strong and pleasant flavor as well as a long lasting aftertaste. Therefore, they were on the lips of the broad masses of customers. This tea shop is famed for its goods of various descriptions, fine quality and reasonable price as well as good service and flexible approach of management. The customer is not only served with a cup of scolding-hot tea, but also offered a guided tour, in which, the required tea sample is shown before the purchase is made.

All kinds of teas are available at Zhangyiyuan Tea Shop, including the well-known Longjing, Biluochun and Silver Needle of Mount Jun as well as various kinds and grades of teas which people of the capital city and the northerners most-favored such as scented tea, black tea and health tea. Besides, Zhangyiyuan series of package gift teas are constantly recommended. All in all, more than 200 kinds of teas are provided by Zhangyiyuan Tea Shop in order to meet the needs of the broad masses of customers both in China and abroad. The traditional services of Zhangyiyuan Tea Shop include: e-commerce, special-requirement registration, home delivery, and agency-mailing. Now, Zhangyiyuan Tea Shop is renamed Zhangyiyuan Tea Co., Ltd. It has opened many branches in Chengde and Yanjiao of Hebei Province, Yangquan of Shanxi Province and Miyun, Tongzhou and Fengtai of Beijing Municipality. In this way, the tradition of the time-honored brand in Beijing will be further developed and its scope of operation constantly expanded.

Douyichu

Beijings famous old restaurant Douyichu Restaurant located at the bustling Qianmen Street, and was founded 250 years ago. There is a very interesting story about the restaurants brand Douyichu. On one new years eve, King Qianlong was returning to Forbidden City after visiting Tongzhou in plain clothes, when passing Qianmen District, King found there was only one light writing Wangs Restaurant still on, so he went to that little restaurant to have dinner. The nice wine and delicious foods made King interested in the restaurant very much, he asked the owner "What is your restaurant's name," the owner answered "My little restaurant has no name." King said There is no other shop but yours still open at this time, so let's name your restaurant Douyichu. King wrote the brand Douyichu after arrived his palace and made it carved on a board. Few days later, workers from palace sent a tiger-patterned board to that little restaurant and Douyichu became the name of the restaurant, and the restaurant became very popular in Beijing.

The best dish Douyichu presents is Shaomai. Douyichu's Shaomai meets the pickest customer's needs: slice peeling, bright luster, and delicious taste. The most popular Shaomai here are Crab Shaomai and Leek Pork Shaomai, and you could take away if you are in hurrying home.