Top Historical Streets in China

China is a hot tourist destination in the world. And China tourism is developing greatly recent years. If you have plan to visit China, the following historical street you should not miss if they are included in the cities of your itineraries.
1. Guozijian Street, or Imperial Academy Street, is an east-west-running alley located in central Beijing. The street, originally called "Chengxian Street", began to take shape around 700 years ago and got its current name in 1965.

With a total length of 669 meters and an average width of 11 meters, the street houses the Imperial Academy in the west and the Confucian Temple in the east. Built in 1306, the Imperial Academy was the foremost educational institution during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties (1271-1911), and was esteemed by ancient scholars. The Confucian Temple is where sacrifices to Confucius were made during the three dynasties.

Guozijian Street is the only street in Beijing featuring decorated archways, with two in the east and a further two in the west. Many single-storey houses can be found along the street, evoking the feel of Beijing's alleys in ancient times. If you will join Beijing travel packages, you should suggest you tour guide to take your there.
2. South Street in Pingyao

South Street is the central axis of Pingyao in Shanxi Province, an ancient town with a history of more than 2,700 years, which became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997. According to UNESCO, "The Old Town of Pingyao is an outstanding example of the Han cities in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and it retains the traditional features of these periods. Pingyao presents a picture of unusual cultural, social, economic, and religious development in Chinese history. "South Street is very much in the center of this picture.
In the mid Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), business was booming in Pingyao and there were 78 shops along South Street. In the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the street was home to banks, pawnshops, oil shops, grain shops, wood ware shops, hotels, clothing shops and dye workshops. All of this made Pingyao of one China's leading financial center. As the backbone of Pingyao, South Street was home to more than 50 percent of the country's financial institutions.

Present-day visitors to the 690-meter-long street can still feel the flourishing and prosperous atmosphere of those times. The traditional layout and the unique features of the street still remain. Buildings with traditional Ming-and-Qing-style architecture stand on both sides of the street and retain their original functions. Some time-honored brands such as "Changshengyuan", known as "Jushengyuan" in the Ming Dynasty, which sells rice wine and cake, still operate out of South Street.

The Beijing and Pingyao are always contained in popular China travel package. These two places are hot destinations and these two streets are essence of shopping souvenirs.