About Beijing

Ha ha! I'm a tour guide! Introduce Beijing to foreigners, but let me help you work full time! !

To tell the truth, Beijing, as the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties, has too much historical accumulation and really has too much to say! As my friend upstairs said, yes!

I usually join the delegation from the urban planning and construction of old Beijing.

I have an old map of Beijing, and I will prepare a new one. By comparing and looking at the map carefully, we can find the changes in Beijing's urban planning and commercial layout, that is, the changes in Beijing.

First of all, the layout of Beijing:

First, axis symmetry.

The central axis runs through Tiananmen Square on the map, starting from the Bell and Drum Tower in Di 'anmen in the north and reaching Yongdingmen in the south, with a total length of 7.8 kilometers. It is the key to Beijing's urban construction, and all the buildings in old Beijing are built symmetrically around it. For example, Zuo Zu You She (the ancestral temple on the left of Tiananmen Square is now the Working People's Cultural Palace; On the right is the national altar, now Zhongshan Park. )

Second, the chessboard pattern.

Beijing was built in strict accordance with the imperial city system of Zhou Li. It can be said that craftsmen carefully designed and built it according to the drawings. (You can insert the historical story of Emperor Yongle building Beijing)

"Zhou Li's Examination of Gong Ji" records that "artisans govern the country, nine miles away, with three doors beside them, nine classics in junior high school and nine tracks in middle school. Left ancestors and right homes, the former market outlook. " Building a city according to this rule is like drawing a chessboard on paper, so the completed Beijing city is a chessboard street pattern.

So, let's talk about the commercial layout of Beijing:

First, the characteristics of capital

Beijing has a history of more than 3000 years. It was once the capital of Yan Dou in the Spring and Autumn Period, the former capital of Yan State in the Sixteen Kingdoms Period, and the capital of Zhongdu in the Jin Dynasty, Dadu in the Yuan Dynasty and Ming and Qing Dynasties. Therefore, its business has also been branded with a profound imperial city.

Second, the government and people * * *

As far as the historical formation and development of Beijing's commercial layout are concerned, some of them are caused by government actions (such as the Drum Tower and the East-West Street, which were built from the perspective of urban planning and organization and management of urban life). Some are folk behaviors, that is, the so-called natural generation of the market (such as the formation and development of Liulichang Cultural Street, which is borrowed from the "Imperial Pen"); Some of them are the result of the interaction between government and people; (For example, Long Fu Temple belongs to the Royal Incense House, and the prosperity of its temple fair market leads to the formation of commercial streets, which can also be said to be an example of the interaction between the government and the people).

Third, special needs

In the formation and development of Beijing's commercial layout, it also presents the characteristics of the consumption level and content requirements of the corresponding regional consumer groups, and is intertwined with the service industry and entertainment industry. Qianmen Dashilan is a block-style "shopping center" integrating commerce, catering, culture and entertainment. Liulichang is a professional book culture street developed for the special needs of officials and scholars. The "small market" between north and south corresponds to the consumption demand of the lower class in Ba Li.

Fourth, it has a long history

The commercial hotspots (centers) in Beijing's history are some famous commercial streets, in turn: Gulou Street, Qianmen Dashilan, Liulichang, Flower Market, Wangfujing and Xidan. Among them, Tianqiao, Wangfujing and Xidan Commercial Street are said to be rising stars. But they are all related to the commercial development of Beijing in history.

Now, let's look at Beijing along the central axis: from north to south, there are Drum Tower, Qianmen and Tianqiao, the three commercial hotspots of the city.

Gulou area is called "market-oriented"

Gulou Street is the oldest commercial center in Beijing, which was formed in Yuan Dynasty and lasted from Ming Dynasty to Qing Dynasty. It was established according to the principle of "facing the future" in the traditional urban planning of China, and it is called "facing the future". In the Yuan Dynasty, the end of the Grand Canal was in Shichahai, and the Gulou area became a distribution center for goods from north to south. In addition, most of the aristocratic ministers at that time were concentrated in Xicheng, and their purchasing power was concentrated, so the business here was developed.

The Ming Dynasty was still regulated by Zhou Li, and the Drum Tower was still a "street view". However, in the Ming Dynasty, grain transportation was changed to Tongzhou for unloading. Although the Drum Tower and Di 'anmen lost the hustle and bustle of the "port", the lakes and waters of Shichahai still attract the nobles and literati in Beijing. Due to its unique natural environment and humanistic background, the "market view" has formed the characteristics of combining leisure with business.

In Qing Dynasty, Bell and Drum Tower was the residence of Huang Zhengqi and Huang Xiang Banner. And there are many palaces, so it is still a "high-end community" where dignitaries gather. Their consumption also makes the business in this area develop to "upscale".

Here, if time permits, you can tell many stories of the Qing Dynasty. Don't forget, there were many palaces in the Qing Dynasty. Like the famous Gongwangfu, Chunwangfu and so on. )

During the Republic of China, it completely became a place for ordinary people to relax. The lotus market in summer and the ice activities in winter are crowded with vendors, and the area around the Drum Tower is still very lively.

After liberation, Gulou Street is still the business district of Beijing. But it is no longer a city-level commercial center, which is characterized by regional consumer services. In recent years, the prosperity of Shichahai Bar Street has gradually highlighted the leisure characteristics of Gulou business district.

The area around Qianmen is called "Qian Chao City".

After Emperor Chengzu of Ming Dynasty moved to Beijing, in the seventeenth year of Yongle (14 19), Nancheng Courtyard extended southward to Zhengyangmen and the Second Lane of Chessboard Street in front of Daming Gate, becoming the main channel connecting things, and government departments were also concentrated on both sides of the street. There are also businesses gathered around. In addition, the government has built a "corridor" near the city gate to guide the development of business. Inside and outside Zhengyangmen, it gradually developed into a commercial center, and the Drum Tower had to take a back seat.

In the Qing dynasty, the banners in the capital were divided into cities. In addition, banners and people are forbidden to engage in industry and commerce, and there are no theaters in the inner city. Vendors are mostly concentrated outside Zhengyangmen, Chongwenmen and Xuanwu Gate. Qianmen is a famous business district, which has been leading the consumption fashion in Beijing for hundreds of years, because the business, catering and cultural and entertainment industries are booming. This is the birthplace of China's quintessence of Peking Opera, and also the location of famous brands in commerce and catering industry. From the point of view of modern business, it is no less than a shopping center for the elderly, except that there is no "canopy" on its head.

There is a lot to talk about in this piece, see how you add it. Most of Beijing's time-honored brands are gathered here, all of which have stories! )

Crossing bridge

Tianqiao is different from the two commercial blocks mentioned above. In the early years of the Republic of China, Tianqiao became a famous civilian market in Beijing and a popular entertainment place with various arts and acrobatics.

Tianqiao market is a market selling cheap goods, serving the poor at the lower level and making a living for the poor-the word "poor Seoul" runs through the history of Tianqiao from Yuan Dynasty to Ming Dynasty, Qing Dynasty and Republic of China.

From the social and cultural point of view, Tianqiao market is also the epitome and typical representative of Beijing civilian lifestyle and Beijing folk culture. But also a fertile ground for the occurrence and development of traditional culture and art in Beijing.

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