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'Old Qianmen, New Look'

Updated: 2011-08-17 09:37

( chinaculture.org)

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The 2nd Qianmen Historical Culture Festival was held in Beijing from August 7 to August 16. During the festival, 21 time-honored brands exhibited their own historical relics and invited visitors to appreciate their treasures.

Qianmen, serving as the commercial hub for the time-honored brands, has all of the hallmarks of Beijing culture. Renovated in four aspects, Qianmen’s project of historical and cultural heritage protection has been regarded as the most important in Beijing since the liberation. The debut of the Taiwan Culture and Business Section, as well as the reappearance of Xianyukou Food Street, has made Qianmen a tourist attraction to show the culture of Beijing and the Beijing merchant group. After the success of the 1st Qianmen Historical Culture Festival in 2010, the festival will be held annually on August 7.

The 10-day festival used “Old Qianmen, New Look” as its theme, which included activities such as a show of peddling, a forum on time-honored brands, a treasure show, a musical play and an exhibit of paintings by well-known artists.

The forum on the development of time-honored brands at Qianmen took place on Aug 9, during which China’s Time-honored Brand Committee worked with representatives from other time-honored brands as well as specialists in the history of these brands. The meetings were used for experience and lessons through case analyses in hopes to create a model for more enterprises in the pursuit of long-time success.

The treasure show was one of the most important portions of festival. Top treasures of 21 old businesses from Beijng and other parts of China were on display, including an old part of wall from Quanjude Roast Duck, a plaque inscribed by Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799) with the decoration of tiger heads from Duyichu and a chair sat in by Emperor Guangxu (1875-1908) from Yitiaolong. Additionally, a treasure-hunting game inspired visitors to look for these historical relics by issuing a “passing document of Qianmen”, allowing them to acquire the culture and history of the old shops.

During the festival, visitors were taken back to the old days of their youth through the musical play, Love for Teresa Teng. The concert, displaying the beautiful scenery and unique customs of Taiwan, would further promote cultural exchanges and blending between the mainland and Taiwan. A collective work depicting Qianmen in its heyday was created by famous artists. Visitors also received basic knowledge about how the old brands survived and developed through history from taking in a photo and picture exhibit carrying stories of the history.