A massive construction program to transform a 780 year-old street in downtown Beijing into the capital's largest distribution center for ancient Chinese cultural artefacts is underway.
Liulichang Dajie, located just outside Hepingmen, otherwise known as the Gate of Peace in Xuanwu District, was originally built during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and later became a bustling book bazaar during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Today, the street is a famous cultural shopping center, featuring a wealth of antiques, paintings, calligraphy scrolls by prestigious artists and eminent scholars, as well as pottery, rubbings of inscriptions, calligraphy brushes, ink sticks, ink slabs, top-quality traditional Chinese-made paper, handicrafts and fine arts.
There are also teahouses and wine shops with graceful local styles and a Confucian restaurant so tourists can take a break from shopping to sample local Chinese specialties.
Deputy Director of Xuanwu District Zhang Wenhua said 1.6 billion yuan (US$192.77 million) will be spent over the next two years to widen, straighten and further improve the street into a unique special cultural center with a total floor area of 80.7 hectares.
The first-phase of construction will include the widening of an adjacent road from its present 12 meters to 34 meters and the renovation of an ancient square and the eastern section of Liulichang Street.
A wealth of cultural relics, including a Fire-God temple and the site of an old publishing house, will also be renovated and refurbished.
According to Zhang, structures epitomizing the architectural style of the Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China (1912-49) period covering an area of 120,000 square meters will be rebuilt along the street to serve as cultural and entertainment facilities.
(Xinhua News Agency January 2, 2003)
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