The Qianmen Gate, linking the aristocratic “inner city” and common-folk “outer city”, leads to the oldest commercial street in Beijing -- Dashilan, which was and is still packed with time-honored stores.

To the south of Tian’anmen Square and Qianmen Gate is a straight street running due south. This is the Qianmen market street, the oldest market street in Beijing with a history of five centuries. An east-west lane opening onto the street on its western side is the famous Dashilan. Most of the shops along the lane are hundreds of years old, and some still retain their traditional appearance, though there are also some new ones in between. This is the most traditional market street to see in Beijing and is a good place to buy silk or traditional Chinese medicine in the old shops there.