Qianmen Dashilar Street is Beijing’s oldest, and famous commercial street. Dashilar Street locates in the Qianmen area, which is in the south of Tian’anmen Square. This historical street retains the traditional appearance of the ancient Chinese buildings. Now, Dashilar Street is famous for the antique and ancient flavor stores, which is a good place for visitors to experience Beijing’s history and culture here.
History of Dashilar Street
Dashilar was called “Langfang Sitiao” in the past. It was a hutong which is 275 meters’ long. The history of Dashilar Street can be dated back to the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). It was finally completed in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) by local people, who arranged many wooden fences at both ends of the street for safety. During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the street was developed and expanded rapidly. Since then this hutong changed its name into Dashilar.
Dashilar Street was burned down and repaired several times in history. In 1900, the fences suffered two fires, and in the 1960s, it was upgraded for the first time. In the 1990s, the fences were repaired once again, in order to win the reputation of “First Pedestrian Street of Beijing”. In 2000, the iron fences were added by the government. And now, after 500 years’ history, the street has became a famous attraction in Beijing.
Prosperous Dashilar Street
Most of the ancient architectures are well preserved here in Dashilar Street. Most of the famous and time-honored brands in the old times are still providing good products for visitors. Some of the other old stores have been renewed.
Here in Dashilar Street, visitors can visit the silk store - Rui Fu Xiang. Liu Bi Ju is a pickle store, which was firstly opened during the Ming Dynasty. The name of the store refers to the six basic daily necessities in daily life, including fuel, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar. In addition, visitors can also taste the famous Chinese tea in Zhang Yi Yuan, buy the traditional Chinese cloth shoes from Nei Lian Sheng or buy the traditional herbal medicines in Tong Ren Tang.
Dashilar Street is not only the commercial center in Beijing, but also the entertainment center in the old times. During the most prosperous period, there were five opera theaters here. The first cinema of Beijing - Da Guan Lou Cinema, is the shown place of the first film “Dingjun Mountain” in China.