Beijng's Qianmen Street: A revival of old dreams_文化教育

Beijng's Qianmen Street: A revival of old dreams

文章来源：文章作者：发布时间：2007-05-23 07:19 字体： [大中小]　进入论坛

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People walk in front of a huge picture of the Qianmen Street planning project at a construction site in Beijing May 21, 2007.

May 22 - Beijing's Qianmen Street, which is currently under redevelopment, will restore its streetscape to that of the early twentieth century, through use of historical photos, becoming the second pedestrian thoroughfare in the Chinese capital, after Wangfujing Street, the downtown shopping district.

China News Service reports that the new Qianmen Street will not be modeled after its state in the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1911), as its designers had anticipated, but into the form of the old Qianmen Street in 1920s-1930s, a time period that left numerous historical photos - by which architects can study in forming the new street.

Wang Shiren, a chief designer of the new Qianmen Street and a renowned¹ architect, said the final plan was achieved through a series of studies, discussions and revisions.

"The Ming and Qing Dynasties' Qianmen Street was burnt down to ashes in 1900 when the Allied² Forces of the Eight Powers ransacked³ Beijing. Physically⁴, there is nothing left for us to retrieve⁵. The final plan is based on historical photos, and we intend to form a new Qianmen Street in the mould of the 1920s to 1930s."

After redevelopment, the new Qianmen Street will stretch from the southern end of Tian'anmen Square to the Zhushikou Street, measuring 845m in length. A trolley⁶ car, familiar to Beijing's senior citizens, will return to the street and become the only transportation vehicle on the pedestrian thoroughfare. An underground parking lot will also be built to tackle the problem of parking spaces in the Qianmen area. Time-honored shops in the area, Qianmen Street's business card, will receive the greatest amount of protection.

With its latticework of horizontal alleys⁷, the north-south Qianmen Street prospered⁸ as a commercial strip as early as the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368). By the time of Emperor Jiajing, the 12th Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) emperor, the street was dotted with guild⁹ halls built by different localities, to provide housing to citizens intending to take the imperial exams.

Qianmen Street became even more prosperous in the early years of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) with the development of activities such as lantern fairs, theaters and teahouses. Places like the Guanghe Theater -- today threatened with demolition¹⁰ -- and the Quanjude roast duck restaurant are part of Beijing's history.

The massive redevelopment of Qianmen Street, which began in late 2002, is part of Beijing's efforts to refurbish old city areas ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games.

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收听单词发音

1 renowned
adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的
参考例句：
He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。 She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

2 allied
adj.协约国的；同盟国的
参考例句：
Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。 Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

3 ransacked
v.彻底搜查( ransack的过去式和过去分词 )；抢劫，掠夺
参考例句：
The house had been ransacked by burglars. 这房子遭到了盗贼的洗劫。 The house had been ransacked of all that was worth anything. 屋子里所有值钱的东西都被抢去了。来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 physically
adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律
参考例句：
He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。 Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

5 retrieve
vt.重新得到，收回；挽回，补救；检索
参考例句：
He was determined to retrieve his honor.他决心恢复名誉。 The men were trying to retrieve weapons left when the army abandoned the island.士兵们正试图找回军队从该岛撤退时留下的武器。

6 trolley
n.手推车，台车；无轨电车；有轨电车
参考例句：
The waiter had brought the sweet trolley.侍者已经推来了甜食推车。 In a library,books are moved on a trolley.在图书馆，书籍是放在台车上搬动的。

7 alleys
胡同，小巷( alley的名词复数 )；小径
参考例句：
I followed him through a maze of narrow alleys. 我紧随他穿过一条条迂迴曲折的窄巷。 The children lead me through the maze of alleys to the edge of the city. 孩子们领我穿过迷宫一般的街巷，来到城边。

8 prospered
成功，兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
The organization certainly prospered under his stewardship. 不可否认，这个组织在他的管理下兴旺了起来。 Mr. Black prospered from his wise investments. 布莱克先生由于巧妙的投资赚了不少钱。

9 guild
n.行会，同业公会，协会
参考例句：
He used to be a member of the Writers' Guild of America.他曾是美国作家协会的一员。 You had better incorporate the firm into your guild.你最好把这个公司并入你的行业协会。

10 demolition
n.破坏,毁坏,毁坏之遗迹
参考例句：
The church has been threatened with demolition for years. 这座教堂多年来一直面临拆毀的威胁。 The project required the total demolition of the old bridge. 该项目要求将老桥完全拆毁。

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