Located in the Dongcheng District of Beijing, and east of the Forbidden City,WangfujingDajie is a commercial pedestrian street with a history of more than 700 years, with old and new, traditional and modern, cheap and expensive, eastern and western, all mixed elements together.
Starting with East Chang'an Avenue in the south and ending with China Art Gallery in the north, Wangfujing Dajie came into being in the Yuan Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, ten aristocratic estates and a princess residence were built here, soon after when a well full of sweet water was discovered, thereby giving the street its name “Wang Fu” (princely residence), “Jing” (well).
Old Wangfujing
Famous time-honored shops, such as the Shengxifu Hats Shop, the Tonghesheng Shoes Shop, the New World Silk Shop, the Baicaoshenrong Drugstore, and the Jiguge Historical Relic, etc. all glorify the street in its long history as well.
Beijing Wangfujing Department Store opened in September 1955, which has long been acknowledged as the largest, most fashionable, and best known shopping center in Beijing. In 1996, its total profits ranked in the 3rd position among the top 100 Stores in China.
Beijing Craftwork and Art Mansion specially operates various industrial arts and artworks, and is famed all over Beijing, and is an old shop in Wangfujing Dajie.
New Wangfujing
Sun Dong An Plaza surrounds twin atriums and is filled with designer clothing shops. Aside from the usual Western food chains-Baskin-Robbins, Pizza Hut, McDonald's, KFC, Starbucks, there's an excellent hot pot restaurant, Dong Lai Shun, on the fifth floor. Quanjude also runs a branch restaurant which mainly serves the renowned Peking Roast Duck. Chinese medicineoutlets, tea shops, and tacky "Old Beijing Street" await you in the basement, which also holds a children's jungle gym.
The recently finishedOriental Plazaat the southern end of the street has added still greater charm to Wangfujing. This massive complex is built in a style reminiscent of Hong Kong. It encompasses business, shopping, recreation, which is divided into five theme sections, where people shop for the latest in commodities, world-famous brands and culinary delicacies from different countries, and also enjoy themselves at the cine-center, cultural center, and gym.
Snack Street
The Wangfujing Snack Street, located in hutongs just west of the main street, is densely packed with restaurants and street food stalls. The food stalls serve a wide variety of common and exotic street food. More common fare such as Chuanr (meat kebabs, commonly made of lamb) and desserts, such as Tang hu lu or candied fruits on a stick, are among the most popular.
Source: CITS
