250px, Chang'an Avenue hosts military parades. Here are 1999 National Day parade.">50th anniversary of the People's Republic of China">1999 National Day parade. Chang'an Avenue (), literally "Eternal Peace Street", is a major

thoroughfare A thoroughfare is a primary passage or way of transport, whether by road on dry land or, by extension, via watercraft or aircraft. Originally, the word referred to a main road or open street which was frequented thoroughly. Different terms *Roa ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, China.

Chang'an Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...

() is also the old name for

Xi'an Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...

which was the capital of China during the

Western Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and a warring in ...

, the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

and other periods. The Avenue has also been referred to as the Shili Changjie (), meaning the Ten Li Long Street, China's No. 1 Avenue and No. 1 Avenue of the Divine Land. "Chang'an Avenue" is often used as a

synecdoche Synecdoche ( ) is a type of metonymy; it is a figure of speech that uses a term for a part of something to refer to the whole (''pars pro toto''), or vice versa (''totum pro parte''). The term is derived . Common English synecdoches include '' ...

for the government in Beijing, akin to using "the Beltway" to refer to the American federal government. Chang'an Avenue starts from Dongdan in the east and ends at

Xidan Xidan (Chinese character, Chinese: wikt:西, 西wikt:单, 单; Pinyin: Xīdān) is a major traditional commercial area in Beijing, China. It is located in the Xicheng District. The Xidan commercial district incorporates the Xidan Culture Square ...

in the west.

Tiananmen The Tiananmen , also Tian'anmen, is the entrance gate of the Forbidden City imperial palace complex and Imperial City in the center of Beijing, China. It is widely used as a national symbol. First built in 1420 during the Ming dynasty, Ti ...

and

Tiananmen Square Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square () is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen ("''Gate of Heavenly Peace''") located to its north, which separates it from the Forbidden City. The square contains th ...

are located at the north and south of the center of the Avenue, respectively. The Avenue consists of two parts, West Chang'an Avenue and East Chang'an Avenue. The extension line extends east–west with Tiananmen Square as the center, extends westward to Shougang area,

Yongding River The Yongding River () is a river in northern China. It is one of the main tributaries in the Hai River system and is the largest river to flow through Beijing. In recent years, the Beijing segment of the river has dried up due to environmental ...

and

Western Hills The Western Hills () are the hills and mountains in the western part of Beijing. Geography Being an extension of the Taihang mountain range from the Hebei Province, the Western Hills cover approximately 17% of the Beijing municipality, incl ...

, and extends eastward to

Beijing City Sub-center Beijing, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's most populous national capital city as well as China's second largest city by urban area after Shanghai. It is lo ...

, Grand Canal and

Chaobai River The Chaobai River () is a river in northern China. The river is 458 km long and flows from the confluence of the Chao and Bai Rivers at the Miyun Reservoir in Beijing Municipality through Hebei Province and into the Grand Canal of the Hai R ...

. The core area of Chang'an Avenue and its extension is between Guomao Bridge of East Third Ring Road and Xinxing Bridge of

West Third Ring Road West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

(including Tiananmen area).

History

The East and West Chang'an Streets were built as part of the Imperial City of Beijing. East Chang'an Street originally ran from the Left Chang'an Gate (on the east side of the square before

Tian'anmen The Tiananmen , also Tian'anmen, is the entrance gate of the Forbidden City imperial palace complex and Imperial City in the center of Beijing, China. It is widely used as a national symbol. First built in 1420 during the Ming dynasty, Ti ...

gate) to the Dongdan gate, and West Chang'an Street originally ran from the Right Chang'an Gate (on the west side of the same square) to the Xidan gate. The north side of the square, between the two Chang'an Gates, became a road after 1912 and was named "

Zhongshan Road Zhongshan, Chungshan, or Jhongshan () is a common name of Chinese roads, usually in honor of Sun Yat-sen, better known in Chinese as "Sun Chungshan (Zhongshan)", who is considered by many to be the "Father of Modern China". In Chinese cities, "Zh ...

", after

Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-senUsually known as Sun Zhongshan () in Chinese; also known by Names of Sun Yat-sen, several other names. (; 12 November 186612 March 1925) was a Chinese physician, revolutionary, statesman, and political philosopher who founded the Republ ...

. In 1940, the Inner City wall was breached at Jianguomen and Fuxingmen respectively, due east and west of the ends of the East and West Chang'an Street. Streets extending from the ends of the two Chang'an Streets were widened to become Jianguomen Inner and Outer Streets and Fuxingmen Inner and Outer Streets. The two Chang'an Streets thus became part of a major thoroughfare into and out of the Inner City, now considered the "extended" Chang'an Avenue. The two Chang'an Gates were demolished in 1952 to expand Tiananmen Square, after which the two Chang'an Streets and Zhongshan Road were merged, becoming a singular "Chang'an Avenue". In 2009 the road was widened to 10 lanes, as part of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Significance

Chang'an Avenue is the road directly before

gate and to the north of

Tian'anmen Square Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square () is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen ("''Gate of Heavenly Peace''") located to its north, which separates it from the Forbidden City. The square contains th ...

. Because of its location, Chang'an Avenue has been associated with a number of important events in Chinese history, such as the

Tian'anmen Square protests of 1989 The Tiananmen Square protests, known within China as the June Fourth Incident, were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, lasting from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsuccessful attempts between th ...

(including the famous confrontation of the

Tank Man The Tank Man (also known as the Unknown Protester or Unknown Rebel) is the nickname given to an unidentified individual, presumed to be a Chinese man, who stood in front of a column of Type 59 tanks leaving Tiananmen Square in Beijing on June ...

), the

May 4th Movement The May Fourth Movement was a Chinese cultural and anti-imperialist political movement which grew out of student protests in Beijing on May 4, 1919. Students gathered in front of Tiananmen to protest the Chinese government's weak response to ...

and the funeral procession of

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai ( zh, s=周恩来, p=Zhōu Ēnlái, w=Chou1 Ên1-lai2; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman, diplomat, and revolutionary who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China from September 1954 unti ...

. During important celebrations in the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, military parades are conducted on Chang'an Avenue, with the procession travelling from East to West along the avenue, passing before

gate. For this reason, the avenue is surfaced with reinforced concrete, to prevent tanks and other heavy vehicles from damaging the surface. Located along Chang'an Avenue and near

are the

Great Hall of the People The Great Hall of the People is a state building situated to the west of Tiananmen Square in Beijing. It is used for legislative and ceremonial activities by the government of the People's Republic of China. The People's Great Hall functions as ...

Zhongnanhai Zhongnanhai () is a compound that houses the offices of and serves as a residence for the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the State Council of the People's Republic of China, State Council. It was a former imperial gard ...

, and central government buildings. The

National Museum of China The National Museum of China is an art museum, art and history museum located on the eastern side of Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The National Museum of China has a total construction area of about 200,000 square meters, a collection of more than ...

National Centre for the Performing Arts National Centre for the Performing Arts may refer to * National Centre for the Performing Arts (China) The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) (), colloquially described as The Giant Egg (巨蛋), is an arts centre containing an opera ...

Wangfujing Wangfujing Street ( zh, s=王府井大街, p=Wángfǔjǐng Dàjiē) is a shopping street in Beijing, China, located in Dongcheng District. The majority of the main area is pedestrianised. Since the middle of the Ming Dynasty there have been ...

Beijing Concert Hall The Beijing Concert Hall (北京音乐厅; Beijing Yinyueting) is located on the Beixinhuajie in Xicheng District, near the west Chang'an Avenue, on the south of Liubukou. References External links北京音乐厅 Beijing Concert Hall
(offi ...

and the headquarters of the central bank of China, the

People's Bank of China The People's Bank of China (officially PBC and unofficially PBOC) is the central bank of the People's Republic of China. It is responsible for carrying out monetary policy as determined by the ''PRC People's Bank Law'' and the ''PRC Commercia ...

, and the Cultural Palace of Nationalities are also on Chang'an Avenue. Both the

Beijing railway station Beijing railway station, or simply Beijing station, is a passenger railway station in Dongcheng District, Beijing. The station is located just southeast of the city centre inside the Second Ring Road with Beijing Station Street to the north an ...

and

Beijing west railway station Beijingxi (Beijing West) railway station (), colloquially referred to as ''West Station'' (), is located in western Beijing's Fengtai District. Opened in early 1996 after three years of construction, it was the largest railway station in As ...

are located near Chang'an Avenue. Line 1 of the Beijing Subway runs under Chang'an Avenue. Because of its sensitive location, special regulations apply to Chang'an Avenue. For example, trucks and freight vehicles are banned day and night, and no commercial advertising is allowed on the street.Beijing Bans Commercial Ads on Tian'anmen Square, Chang'an Avenue. Xinhua. March 27, 2006
/ref>

Sections

''Note: This article considers Chang'an Avenue as the major through road from the W.

5th Ring Road Beijing's 5th Ring Road (, China Road Numbering: S50 (Beijing) is a Ring roads of Beijing, ring road encircling the city about away from the city centre. It takes the form of an expressway and is in length. Being a ring road, it has no natur ...

through to the E.

, which defines larger urban Beijing.'' * Fuxing Road *

Fuxingmen Outer Street Fuxingmen Outer Street () is a major street in urban Beijing. It forms part of the extended Chang'an Avenue. It starts at Fuxing Road in the west and ends at Fuxingmen Bridge in the east. It is a major commercial hub of Beijing, dwarfed only ...

Fuxingmen Inner Street Fuxingmen Inner Street () is a major street in urban Beijing. It forms part of the extended Chang'an Avenue. It starts at Fuxingmen Bridge in the west, finishing at West Chang'an Avenue in the east. The Xidan commercial area is in the neighbor ...

* West Chang'an Avenue * East Chang'an Avenue *

Jianguomen Inner Street Jianguomen Inner Street () is a major street in urban Beijing. It forms part of the extended Chang'an Avenue. Its path begins after the Dongdan intersection heading east until Jianguomen Bridge. During its short run, it crosses with the inters ...

Jianguomen Outer Street Jianguomen Outer Street, also transliterated as Jianguomen Wai Avenue () is a major street in urban Beijing. It forms part of the extended Chang'an Avenue. It runs from Jianguomen Bridge in the west through to Guomao on the east. It runs thro ...

* Jianguo Road *

Jingtong Expressway Jingtong () is a locale in Pingxi District, New Taipei City, Taiwan. Originally a coal mining town, today it is known mostly for tourism, with numerous souvenir shops and exhibits on the history of the area and the coal mining industry. Tourist ...

* Tongyan Expressway

References

External links

* {{Coord, 39.90757, N, 116.3970, E, source:wikidata, display=title Streets in Beijing

History

Significance

Sections

See also

References

External links