Dongcheng Special

District to be cultural demonstration zone

By Xiao Hao (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-13 08:37

A carnival is held in Beijing’s Jinbao Street yesterday to celebrate the opening of the first Wangfujing international brand festival.

Newly expanded Dongcheng district, home to more than half of Beijing's historical protection sites, will become a cultural demonstration zone within 20 years.

To reach this goal, government officials have organized a number of events in recent years, including temple fairs, a Chinese traditional medicine festival and the South Luogu Lane opera.

"We are devoted to perfecting our public cultural service system to better satisfy residents' demands," said a district authority.

"We hope to raise awareness of cultural legacies during the process of internationalization and modernization."

A series of activities such as intangible cultural heritage exhibitions and free film shows have already been scheduled.

New libraries, galleries and recreation centers are also in the works.

Dongcheng district houses Tian'anmen Square, the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Temple of Earth and the Confucian Temple.

The area also has a large number of siheyuan, or ancient courtyards, and hutongs.

Government officials hope that in addition to such historic sites, tourists will also frequent shopping centers like Wangfujing Department Store, Oriental Plaza and Sun Dong An Plaza.

(China Daily 09/13/2010 page24)