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Beijing reopens historic Qianmen shopping street
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-08-07 22:31

Time-honored brand Quanjude, a roast duck restaurant with a famous reputation, reopens to diners at its Qianmen Street outlet, August 7, 2008. [CRI] 

More than 30 people were waiting in front of the "Duyichu" Shaomai Shop at 10 a.m.. The business had sold the steamed dumplings there for 270 years.

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Waiters wearing long pigtail hairstyles and flowing robes asked visitors to line-up outside as the "Yitiaolong" Mutton Restaurant was full to capacity.

Li Wenmin, who was relocated from her 300-square-meter "Siheyuan," the city's traditional residential courtyard, in March 2006, also came back to see her old house.

The woman, who lived with her family members in the Dajiang Hutong, an area of narrow lanes between lines of such courtyards, received compensation of 18,000 yuan (US$2,626) per square meter after giving up her house to the government.

"The reimbursement was reasonable at that time. The house price in the downtown was around 6,000 yuan per square meter. My brother and I both bought new apartments with the money."

The renovation was achieved through a series of studies, discussions and revisions. It took reference of numerous historical photos from the 1920s and 1930s in the street's heyday, said Wang Shiren, a renown architect and the chief designer of the remodeled Qianmen Street.

In total, workers brought back 52 old buildings to life. Eventually, about 100 brand-name stores from all over the country will open up shops there. Traces of traditional Chinese architecture and history can be seen in the stores' gray facades, elaborate wooden archways, rattle-drum street ornaments and bird cages.

However, some visitors doubted whether the renovation would hurt the historical landscape.