Wangfujing

Wangfujing pedestrian street

Wángfǔjǐng (Chinese: 王府井; pinyin: Wángfǔjǐng; literally "Prince's Mansion well"), located in Dongcheng District, Beijing, and is one of the Chinese capital's most famous shopping streets. The majority of the main shopping area is pedestrianised and is very popular for shopping for both tourists and residents of the capital. Since the middle of the Ming Dynasty there have been commercial activities in this place. In the Qing Dynasty, ten aristocratic estates and 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). In 1903, Dong'an market was formed.

Location

It starts from Wangfujing Nankou, where the Oriental Plaza and the Beijing Hotel are located. It then heads north, passing the Wangfujing Xinhua Bookstore, the Beijing Department Store as well as the Beijing Foreign Languages Bookstore before ending at the Xin Dong An Plaza.

History

The Wangfu Well, the name in which Wangfujing derived from

The street was also previously known as Morrison Street in English, after the Australian journalist George Ernest Morrison. Wangfujing is also one of the traditional downtown areas of Beijing, along with Liulichang.

Until the late 1990s, the street was open to traffic. Modifications in 1999 and 2000 made much of Wangfujing Street pedestrian only (aside from the tour trolley). Now through traffic detours to the east of the street.

Stores

Wangfujing is now home to around 280 famous Beijing brands, such as Shengxifu hat store, Tongshenghe shoe shop, and the Wuyutai tea house. A photo studio which took formal photos of the first Chinese leadership, the New China Woman and Children Department Store helped established by Soong Ching-ling (Madame Sun Yat-sen) are also located on the street.

The large paifang marking Wangfujing's Snack Street

Food and snacks

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 serves 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.

Further north and perpendicular to Wangfujing is Donghuamen Street, which has a night food market of its own.

Transport

Subway access

Wangfujing has a station on the Beijing subway network, Line 1 has a station at the southern end of the street, which is a stop away eastbound from Tiananmen Square (Tiananmen West or East Stations).

Gallery

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  Wangfujing pedestrian street

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  The Wangfujing Beijing Department Store

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  Dong An Department Store

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  Wangfujing snack street

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  figurine guarding Quanjude Peking Duck stand.

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  fried scorpions

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  Bronze sculptures of old Beijing - street barbers

• BJ 北京 Beijing 王府井大街 Wangfujing Street outdoor sculpture figures Musicians Aug-2010.JPG

  Bronze sculptures of old Beijing - street musicians

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  Bronze sculptures of old Beijing - rickshaw

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  St. Joseph's Church also known as the Wangfujing Cathedral

See also

• Beijing central business district
• List of leading shopping streets and districts by city
• Donghuamen Night Market

External links

• Old brands of Beijing (Chinese)
• Wangfujing Website