Qianmen Street

Entrance Fee: Free

Located at the central axis of Beijing City, Qianmen Street is a famous pedestrian street for shopping and sightseeing, running from the Archery Tower of Qianmen in the north to the turning of Tiantan Park in the south. It is 840 meters (about 919 yards) in length and 21 meters (about 23 yards) in width. It is composed with buildings whose styles resemble the late Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911).

Qianmen Street has history of more than 570 years. It was called Zhengyangmen Street during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and finally got the present name in 1965. During the Qing Dynasty, there were many specialized outlets on either side of it, such as a meat market, cloth market and jewelry market. And there were also many craftsman workshops, warehouses and theatres in the Hutongs nearby. Now Qianmen Street becomes an important night life place for locals.