History is evident in Kaifeng, the ancient capital of seven dynasties. The Imperial Street of the Song Dynasty is still prosperous.

Today's Imperial Street (Women of China)

Kaifeng, its name being Bianliang in ancient times, is usually regarded as the capital of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), for the Northern Song Dynasty lasted 168 years, the longest among the seven dynasties in ancient China that built their capitals in Kaifeng.

Kaifeng was called "Dongjing" (East Capital) during the Song Dynasty. One of the biggest capitals in the world at that time, Kaifeng was flourishing and prosperous, and was described in Meng Yuanlao's Dongjing Menghua Lu (Memory of Dongjing) and portrayed in Zhangzeduan's Qingming Shanghe Tu (Qingming Festival at the Upper Bian River). And Imperial Street, the most important thoroughfare in Dongjing, was the most noticeable among all the prosperity.

Imperial Street was on the north-south axis of the city. It is more than 10 li long (1 li = 500 meters), starting at the Xuande Gate, the front gate of the palace, running south through the Zhuque Gate inside the city, to the Nanxuan Gate outside the city. The main street for royal use, it was grandiose and gained the name Imperial Street, also Heaven Street or Street of Proprieties.

According to Dongjing Menghua Lu, Imperial Street was more than 200 meters wide. In the middle was the Imperial Path, which was dedicated to royal usage. On both sides of the Imperial Path were ditches where water lilies grew. On the other side of the ditches were the roads for ordinary

Longting Lake to the north of the Imperial Street. Its area being 710 mu (about 47.33 hectare) (Women of China)

people, and by the roadsides there were various shops and workshops. When the emperor went on a tour through the Imperial Path, people would throng to the passageways to have a look.

The Imperial Street of Dongjing has an important place in the history of architecture of China, contributing a good deal to the development of city planning.

First, workshops were allowed to open on the roadsides, which was a break from the institution of separating the market from the workshop and was

The Dragon Pavilion at the northern end of the Imperial Street (What is today's Dragon Pavilion was once part of the Palace of Song Dynasty and Jin Dynasty, which was ruined by the flood of the Yellow River. Today's Dragon Pavilion was the main hall of the Wanshou Palace, built in the 31st year during the reign of Kang Xi of the Qing Dynasty, as a resting place for the memorial tablet of the Qing emperors) (Women of China)

conducive to the development of a commodity economy. Second, it set the precedent of separating a street into several roadways, which helped to make traffic flow more orderly. Lastly, it was China's first street to have gardens and sprinkling systems, which contributed to the cleanliness of the street and the improvement of the environment.
With the passage of time, however, Dongjing, including Imperial Street, was buried nine meters under the earth. Today's Imperial Street, completed in 1990, was in reality built in imitation of the original one.

The new street, starting in the south at Jiepai Tower and ending in the north at Wuchao Gate, is 500 meters long and 30 meters wide. It has fast traffic lanes, slow traffic lanes and sidewalks. There are 53 shops of various sizes on the roadsides, the total area being 16, 963 square meters. The north end of the street joins the largest tourist attraction of Kaifeng, the Longting Ancient Architecture Complex, which was on the original site of the Northern Song royal palace.

One will be fascinated by the uniqueness the moment he sets foot on Imperial Street.

The 53 shops all have curved roofs of gray imbrexes, cross ridges, inverted-bucket arches, prismatic columns, architraves, and colorful paintings, a loyal presentation of the original style of the Song architecture. There are small shops as well as big ones, with intricate structures as well as simple ones, but they all match the street's architectural character.

(Source: Women of China English Monthly May 2004)