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Chang'an Jie

A globally celebrated historic and cultural city, Beijing boasts a history of over 3000 years, 850 of which have been as China’s capital.  It is a city rich in cultural relics. The Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, the Peking Man Site and the Ming Tombs are listed as World Cultural Heritage Sites.

Chang’an Jie

Crossing Beijing’s central axis is a long, horizontal east-west thoroughfare called Chang’an Jie. It is known as the nation’s first street. It starts at Dabeiyao in the east and ends at Shijingshan, a distance of 38 kilometers. It is more than 100 meters at its widest. The avenue is lined with many ancient and beautiful buildings. In the middle of Chang’an Jie are the buildings of the Forbidden City and the Tian’anmen Rostrum.

The buildings to the east and west were mostly built during the past 50 years. The most outstanding and famous of these include the Great Hall of People, constructed in the 1950s, as well as the Palace of Minority Nationalities and the Museum of Chinese History. In the 1990s China World Trade Centre, the Henderson Centre and the Oriental Plaza were added to Beijing’s magnificent architectural heritage

The avenue is lined with rows of elms, poplars, pines, willows and pomade trees. The traditional red walls and yellow glazed tiles of the Forbidden City join the gleaming glass facades of modern architecture, giving the centre of the city a definitive cosmopolitan air.