Welcome to China in 2008

Qianmen Street runs south direct from Qianmen Gate, the southerly end of Tian­anmen Square. Qianmen Street and the roads going off it are a century old commer­cial quarter; during the imperial period it was the Chinese quarter. A walk around this quarter is also an exploration of the old part of Beijing.

In Qianmen Street you will find the Beijing silk shop (Beijing Sichou Shang­dian, No. 5), the music shop (Xinsheng Yueqidian No. 18), which specialises in traditional musical instruments, and the 'Hall of Eternal Youth' (Chang Chun Tang, No. 28), a traditional Chinese chemist; there is also the Hunan pottery shop (Hunan Taoci Shangdian, No. 99) and the porcelain shop (Jingdezhen Yishu Cipi Fuwubu, No. 119).

Qianmen Street also boasts of having one of the best known Peking duck restaurants. It is diagonally across from a bicycle parking space from which the Dazhalan (Great Gate Street) forks off in a westerly direction. (It is the third side street to the right when coming from Qianmen Gate and walking in a south­erly direction.)