History

As one of the four central districts of Beijing, Xuanwu is a 16.53-square kilometre area lying to the southwest of Tiananmen Square. It is home to ruins of Zhongdu, literally meaning the "Central Capital", of the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234), which provide proof to Beijing, with a history of some 3,000 years, being designated the national capital more than 800 years ago.

In old times, the main part of what is now Xuanwu district was known as "Xuannan",the busiest section of the "outer city".

Ancient Beijing s city layout was composed of an inner city , which housed the imperial palace complex, residences of aristocrats and central government offices, and an "outer city", south of the "inner city", which was reserved for commoners of all social status.

At that time, business in Xuanwu thrived, a fact that leaves its mark in the street names still used today - Caishikou, meaning "vegetable market"; Meishijie,"coal market"; Guozixiang,"fruit market"; and Zhubaoshi,"jewelry market", to name just a few.

One salient feature of Xuanwu is its intermingling of culture and commerce. As the main passage to the capital, in ancient times the area played host to provincial guildhalls and gathered rich merchants from all over China.

Under the old imperial examination system, scholars from all over the country flocked to Beijing to take part in examinations for officialdom, and guildhalls were where they chose to put up while in the capital.

The gathering of merchants and scholars alike led to prosperity in the region. For they needed clothing, shoe and hat shops, bookstores and antique shops, restaurants, theatres and medical service.

Todays Xuanwu is still home to Dazhalan, or Dashila r in Beijing dialect, shopping street, Liulichang cultural street, the best-known antique market in town and the Hu Guang Guildhall, birthplace of Peking Opera. Culture and commerce melt together in southern Beijing.

"Commercial culture, folk culture, guild culture, ethnic culture and local opera culture have constantly developed over hundreds of years and, together with the numerous historical relics and places of interest in the area, have created a unique Xuannan culture  in our district", says Wu. "The cultural climate has laid a sound foundation for Xuanwus economic development". 

International Media Avenue

After construction of the Zhongguancun Science and Technology Park in Haidian and the Central Business District in Chaoyang, Xuanwu in Oct. 2001 launched an ambitious plan of building an international media avenue.

This massive project, a 70-meter-wide boulevard that stretches 3.2 kilometers from the Xuanwumen intersection to the south Second Ring Road, has drawn attention ever since.

Wu says development of the media street, the only one of its kind in China, is making smooth progress. On December 5, 2003, the main building of China Mobile, the countrys top mobile telecommunication operator, rounded off construction, becoming the first completed project on the avenue.

Days later, the State Press and Publication General Administration signed a contract moving its office building to the street, and meanwhile, the telecommunication building for China Netcom s Beijing branch also broke ground.

China International News Centre, constructed for the state-run Xinhua News Agency and the China branches of overseas media groups, is due to start somewhere in the first half of the year.

A host of other key projects are in different pre-construction preparatory phases:  

•         the 11.16hectare Media Commercial and Trading City
•         the 3.3 hectare Top Garden and Plaza
•         the 36hectare Tomorrow s Media City
•         the 8.5hectare Old- Beijing Style Media City
•         the Hualong Communication Mansion
•         the Fenghua Digital City

Wu says the International Media Avenue is the only area within the old town that can be developed on a large scale, which boasts an advantage in location with its proximity to the Xidan commercial zone, the Financial Street, and Wangfujing commercial street.

Its traffic advantages are also noteworthy as it connects such main thoroughfares as the Xuanwumen Street, the Guanganmen Avenue, subway Line 4 and Line 2.

According to the blueprint, 220 hectares along the boulevard will be developed: a total construction area of 5.6 million square meters. The finished construction area stands at just 800,000 square meters.

"Theres still much space potential for development," Wu says."Beijing is China s political and cultural centre, and it is also where sources of information gather,"says Wu.

"Against such a background, the International Media Avenue offers a relatively concentrated area which helps accelerate the communication, exchanges and coordination of media information and provides media agencies with suitable working places and support facilities.

In this sense, it should be no exaggeration to claim that the media street enjoys enormous development potential.

The district head says while promoting the development of media-related industries, the avenue will also include a modern commercial service industry and financial service industry. 

The Sogo Department Store  on the avenue, which   once topped Beijing s shopping centres in sales revenue, is already famous among Beijings shoppers. Next year, Wal-Mart will open a store adjacent to Sogo, which is expected to further boost the area s function as a shopping destination. Several five-star hotels are to be built on the street to complement the Qianmen Hotel, Yuexiu Hotel and Dongfang Hotel.

The avenue will be basically in form before the year 2008 when the Olympic Games is held in Beijing.

By then, service will be available for the operation of domestic and foreign media organizations, and modern media technology, products and development information of modern media industries will be concentrated here."

Six functional zones

While striving to create a modern concept of an "international media avenue," Xuanwu district plans to expand and elevate its traditional markets and commercial atmosphere.

"Based on our traditional advantages, we are now promoting six functional zones to the outside world - the Liulichang cultural industry park, Dazhalan commercial and cultural tourism area, Maliandao procurement centre, Niujie ethnic street, Tianqiao folk culture neighborhood, and Guanganmen office-service zone," says Wu.

Liulichang cultural industry park

A showcase for traditional Beijing art, this street has a history of almost 800 years. It is also known for its concentrated knowledge of Chinese culture, a fact reflected by its shop's extensive stocks of old books, antiques and the "four treasures of study": writing brushes, ink sticks, ink slabs and paper.

The city government has decided to expand the street into a cultural zone, the result being that it is now forming the focus of 875,000-square-metre development of "living history" attractions.

Wu says that with an estimated input of more than 10 billion yuan, the cultural park, after completion, will become the city's "largest and most tasteful "market for cultural and art products including paintings, calligraphic works and traditional Chinese handicrafts. The area will become a tourist attraction featuring ancient Beijing flavour and a museum for traditional culture.

Maliandao international procurement centre

The street originally won its reputation in tea business, as it is home to eight wholesale tea markets and about 600 tea stores along its total length of 1,500 meters. It is one of the three major tea-trading centres in China, with annual sales exceeding 1 billion yuan (US $12 million).

And Xuanwu district is now planning to turn the area into a modern wholesale and goods-distribution centre, dealing medicine, health care products, books, stamps, and domestic and foreign name brand commodities, by expanding existing distribution centres of relevant products located in the region.

Businesspeople will before long find Maliandao a mature business environment as a host of hotels, conference and exhibitions centre and office buildings are to be built in the area to meet the future demand.

The planned area for the procurement centre is 820,000 square meters, of which only 120,000 square meters has been developed. Wu says there is much space for development.

Guang'anmen office-service zone

The area is a block offering facilities for work, entertainment and residence, the base for a "headquarters economy" and high-tech industry.

Dazhalan commercial and cultural tourism area

More than 30 old stores, some more than a century old, can be found in the 275-meter-long, pedestrian-only Dazhalan street. There is the 300-year-old Tongrentang Drug Store for traditional Chinese medicine, Ruifuxiang, the silk shop, Majuyuan, the hat producer and Neiliansheng, the shoemaker.

With its time-honored shops, Dazhalan is in a unique position to be expanded into a tourist destination for sightseeing, shopping, catering and an ideal place to experience old Beijing flavour.

The Niujie ethnic street and the Tianqiao folk culture neighborhood also have their own distinct character and are to be commercially developed, says Wu.

Niujie, for example, gathers the largest group of muslim residents in Beijing and boasts the largest and oldest mosque in town. For this area, catering, apparel and tourism industries bearing a strong Islamic flavour will be developed.

Investors invited

Wu says Xuanwu s economic strength has been rising in recent years, with its gross domestic product (GDP) registering a 10 percent annual increase over the period and its fiscal revenue up 20 percent for 10 consecutive years. He puts these achievements down to the districts own relentless efforts in improving its investment environment.

Wu says his district has finished building all the artery roads running through it. Communication facilities and infrastructure are being upgraded, which guarantee a sound "hardware" environment for investors.

As to the "software" aspect, Xuanwu:

•         is simplifying examination and approval procedures for investors
•         has launched online governmental offices, and
•         offered investors incentive policies

Promising good public security and standard market operation system in his district, Wu sincerely invites more visitors and investors to set foot on "this culture-enriched land of Xuanwu".