Wangfujing Pedestrian Street

Wangfujing Pedestrian Street, located in Dongcheng District in downtown Beijing, is the first modern-style commercial street in Beijing, about 800 meters long. It is perhaps the closest feagure to what the foreign visitors would consider a "City Centre" in the capital. It is one of the largest shopping areas in Beijing. The Wangfujing Pedestrian Street is a paradise for those who travel to Beijing and loving shopping. The street is packed with stores selling clothes, tea, shoes, souvenirs, books, hats, scarves, etc. The Wangfujing Street was merely a small village during Yuan Dynasty, but had gained more popularity hereafter. Then in the Ming Dynasty ten prince residences were built upon this area and the street was given the name as Ten Wangfu Street. The area was renamed as Wangfu Street in Qing Dynasty, In the Qing Dynasty, ten aristocratic estates and princes'

residence were built here, soon after when a well full of sweet water was discovered, thereby giving the street its name "Wang Fu" (aristocratic residence), "Jing" (well). There are not only many "Chinese" shopping stores, but also large number of international brands and high prices. It can be a nice place to walk around. And there are many large shopping malls, such as the well-known Beijing Department Store, the famous Dong'an Market, Gongmeidasha and so on. And there are also cheaper shops nearby, with many side streets and alleyways home to all manner of souvenir merchants and local food stalls. It can be a good place to find a bargain on "Chinese" goods such as enamelware, swords, statues etc. It is also a good place to try local snacks, with two well known food markets, Wangfujing Snack Street and Donghuamen Snack Street. While some of what's available,

there is a little exotic tasty treats of a large variety of delicious local Beijing snacks and all sorts of little critters like scorpions, starfish, seahorses and larvae. The most famous figures of Wangfujing include three bronze statues, Lifa (haircutting), Tanchang and Rickshaw down in front of the Xin Dong An shopping mall. To the north of the mall, there is a catholic church which can be dated back to 1905. The Wangfujing Pedestrian Street is surrounded by many luxurious hotels, such as Beijing Raffels, Grand Hyatt, and so on. The Wangfujing Street also has the most famous and biggest bookstore in Beijing, Wangfujing Bookstore. From Wangfujing Pedestrian Street, it's pretty easy to get asscess to everywhere of the City of Beijing. Here's some guide information of the Wangfujing Pedestrian Street
Location: Wangfujing Dajie, Dongcheng District, Beijing, China         Tickets: free         Opening hours: 24 hours