China Guide
Dongbei
Zhongyang Dajie
Shops along the Zhongyang Dajie have all been restored, with plaques out front in English detailing their past lives as colonial homes and stores. Make sure you go in the department store at no. 107, if only to see its spectacular skylight and rendition of a section from Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel mural, which hangs on the back wall. Across the street is another beautiful structure, the Jiaoyu Bookstore, well worth exploring. There are numerous good restaurants and bars along Zhongyang Dajie, which is paved with cobblestones and closed to cars. At the north end, a modern shopping mall, including a Walmart, rather encroaches on the atmosphere, but can be useful for locating Western "essentials". In winter, ice sculptures line the street, while summer sees pavement cafés set up.