Safety Checks at the Reopened-Qianmen Street

Tourists who wish to visit the newly-renovated Qianmen Street will have to accept safety inspections, China News Service reported on Saturday.

According to the report, policemen from Beijing's Chongwen District have prepared special emergency measures as well as finished all-round safety checks for the street's reopening.

Visitors carrying big bags will be asked to open them. Security personnel will also do spot-checks on suspicious people.

After a massive refurbishment lasting over one year, Qianmen Street, in the heart of the Chinese capital, will reopen to visitors on August 7, one day ahead of the opening of the 29th Summer Olympics.

A dozen local brand-names originated from Qianmen in the past century, such as the Quanjude roasted duck restaurant, the Zhangyiyuan tea house and the Duyichu Shaomai Restaurant, will open new outlets on the same day.

The street was closed for the face-lifting project in May 2007, with old buildings demolished and newly paved roads being built. A tramway has also been restored after it was discontinued in the 1960s.

The Qianmen project, costing about 300 million U.S. dollars, has triggered controversy since it was launched. Some preservationists feared that the area might lose its spirit after traditional one-storey courtyards, a symbol of old Beijing, were forced to make way for upmarket residences and commercial outlets.

Qianmen Street lies on Beijing's historic central axis just south of Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City, the imperial palace from the mid-Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) to the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

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