Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant on Qianmen Street, which congregates time-honored businesses.

A scene of Qianmen Commercial Street after a recent refurbishment.

The commercial district’s signature structure, a five-passage, six-column decorative archway, towers imposingly over the 600-year-old Qianmen Street. The gray stone-slab pedestrian walkway accepts the millions of footfalls trod by waves of tourists and shoppers, while the resonant clang-clang of the sightseeing cars calls to mind Old Beijing.
After more than a year of protective renovation, on August 7, 2008, Qianmen, a landmark commercial street of Beijing, was reopened to the public. In appearance, the grand commercial corridor has been restored to the glory of its historical high point.
Qianmen, in Chongwen District, is one of the city’s best-preserved areas of historical sites and significant cultural heritage. During the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, the street was particularly bustling; congregating the more refined elements of architecture, commerce, folk customs and traditional operas. Many well-known time-honored businesses, including Yue Sheng Zhai Muslim food store, Quanjude roast duck restaurant, Da Bei Photo Studio, China Bookstore, and Sheng Xi Fu hat store, were part of the scene. In the 1960s and the 1970s, Qianmen Street reached its zenith.
After more than 40 years of weathering and usage since a 1958 reconstruction, the street fell into substantial disrepair. The condition negatively impacted traffic and hindered commerce. Additionally, most infrastructure facilities were obsolete, with, for instance, drainage facilitated by brick culverts dating back to the Ming and Qing dynasties. Renovation of the commercial street and its peripheral areas was on the agenda.
The renovation of Qianmen was the largest old town renovation project in Beijing in the new century, including a planned land area of 224,000 square meters and a planned floor space of 402,000 square meters. After renovation, Qianmen district primarily consists of a pedestrian commercial street, four neighboring streets stretching from north to south, and 22 alleys radiating in all directions, which fall into five functional zones. These are: the time-honored businesses zone, tourist commodities zone, elite hotel zone, courtyard compound zone, and recreation and leisure zone. The district as a whole exhibits a blending of history with the modern and the traditional with new stylistic trends.
In December 1924, the clang-clang of cable cars was first heard on Qianmen Street. After 42 years of operation, in May 1966, this form of public transport faded from the historical stage. Today, after a four-decade absence, the clang-clang is back.
Now in service along the pedestrian street are two such vehicles, popularly known as “clang-clang cars,” modeled after the earliest type, first introduced in Beijing in 1924, with a reference to China’s independently-developed 1952 type. Both ends of the cars are equipped with a steering device, so that the vehicles, operating along both sides of the street, can easily shift to the opposite direction. The designed speed is six to eight kilometers per hour, and each can accommodate 84 passengers at a time. Differing from the previous cable-driven vehicles, the new cars are powered by super capacitors, which can be recharged within two minutes after the car arrives at one terminal. Thus streetscape remains untarnished by engines and emissions.
Upon reopening, Qianmen Street drew visitors from near and far. On the first day, at 7 a.m., one hour before business begins, a long queue had already formed in front of the Du Yi Chu restaurant. The restaurant’s space can only accommodate 40 diners at one time, so each of the citizens in line held an order number. At around 10 a.m., there was still a 100-person queue. The Yi Tiao Long mutton restaurant was also fully packed, and the traditionally-dressed waiters had to dissuade the anxious customers at the door. At the newly-refurbished Quanjude roast duck restaurant, even before opening, patrons crowded outside, craning their necks to get a view inside.
Today the 12 time-honored shops and restaurants which were traditionally seated here have returned to Qianmen Street, and more than 80 businesses, including such Chinese famous brands as Ruifuxiang, Wuyutai, Neiliansheng, and Chow Tai Fook, have established outlets on the street, accounting for 75 percent of total business space available for lease. Soon, many international brands will also take their place along Qianmen, and their outlets will be decorated in line with the overall style of the commercial street. In the future, the administrative department will adopt market operation mechanisms and attract investment and business according to the commercial distribution and consumption patterns of the entire street district.
According to the merchant development plan, commercial brands with national characteristics and time-honored shops across the country will be sought. Tian Yun, CEO of Beijing Tianjie Real Estate Development Co., Ltd., reveals that the commercial space on both sides of Qianmen Street comprises a total floor area of 66,000 square meters, and will house more than 180 businesses, primarily restaurants, retail shops and service establishments. Currently, the Beijing Tianjie Real Estate Development Co. and SOHO China Limited are jointly committed to expanding merchant participation. To date, more than 20 world-renowned brands, including Apple Computer, Starbucks, Rolex, and Nike, have signed leases along Qianmen Street.