Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Běijīng's gut-wrenching,
hútòng
-felling metamorphosis in the best possible light but the
3rd floor houses a fantastic, giant scale model of the capital mounted on a series of even
bigger satellite photos; a great way to get a perspective on the city. There's also a scale
model of the Forbidden City and 3-D films touting the Běijīng of the future.
QIANMEN DAJIE
( Qianmen)
Restored to resemble a late-Qing-dynasty street scene and wildly popular
with domestic visitors, who come to window-shop and eat and drink at the many (over-
priced) food stalls, this ancient street (once known as Zhengyangmen Dajie, or Facing the
Sun Gate Street) is something of a tourist theme park now. That said, there are some silk
stores worth popping into, and the rebuilt Qiánmén Decorative Arch (the original was torn
down in the 1950s) looks handsome.
|HISTORIC STREET
FROM CITY GATE TO SUBWAY STOP
The names of the subway stations of Qianmen, Chongwenmen and Jianguomen recall some of the Tartar City
Wall's vast and imposing gates, which divided the Imperial City from the Chinese city beyond it. Today, Front
Gate and the Southeast Corner Watchtower to the southeast are the only reminders of that wall. The road loop-
ing south from Jianguomen Station, following the line of the city moat, marks the outline of the levelled
Chinese City Wall, whose gates
(mén)
survive only in street names, such as Guangqumen Nanbinhe Lu,
Zuo'anmen Xibinhe Lu and Yongdingmen Dongbinhe Lu. Vestiges of this wall can still be seen at the Ming
City Wall Ruins Park.
