Wangfujing

Wangfujing Street starts from East Chang’an Street and heads north to the National Art Museum of China. It is the most famous business district in Beijing. Presenting a superb collection of goods, it is among the world’s most expensive areas. Wangfujing Street was called “Dingzi Street” in the Yuan Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Yongle in the Ming Dynasty, ten mansions were built here. It was therefore renamed as “Shiwangfu” or “Shiwangfu Street”. After the demise of the Ming Dynasty, the mansions were also abandoned. People then named it “Wangfu Street”. During the reign of Guangxu and Xuantong in the Qing Dynasty, Wangfujing began to flourish. Many vendors and stores emerged on both sides of the street. A place named “Guan Ting” became a famous downtown area at that time. In 1915, this street was divided into three sections in the Detailed Map of Beijing drawn by the Department of Interior of the Beiyang Government. The north street was named Wangfu Street. The middle section was called Bamiancao. Since there was a sweet water well (The site of the well is on the west side of the street, the current Datianshuijing Hutong) in the southern section, it was named Wangfujing Street, which became the name of the whole street later.

Address: Dongcheng District, Beijing

Xidan

As a major traditional commercial area in Beijing, the name Xidan came from the paifang that existed on one of the streets there. Xidan has always been described as a “modern business center integrating shopping, dining, leisure, entertainment, fitness, culture, office, tourism and other functions”. Currently, Xidan is an integrated cultural venue combining leisure, entertainment and shopping with the largest scale and great environment in the center of the capital.

Xidan Commercial Street incorporates many industries involving department stores, restaurants, entertainment and finance. There are many large modern shopping malls including Xidan Department Store, Grand Pacific Mall and Xidan Joy City. There are also time-honored brands of the capital including “Guixiangcun” food stores, Wanli shoe store and “Yuanchanghou” tea shop. Most of the goods there are mid-end and high-end products. The complete range and special varieties of products can meet the needs of people of all occupations.

Address: Xidan Commercial Street extends from Xuanwumen in the south to Xinjiekou Huokou in the north