Qianmen opened up its renovated face to the masses last week, one day before the opening of the Olympics. We went to take a look. Conclusion: Don't go unless you're absolutely desperate for another kitschy tourist experience.

Qianmen (前门, front gate) technically refers to the gate directly south of Tian'anmen. However, as businesses sprang up around the prosperous area after it became the gate to the capital, the term Qianmen became loosely associated with the entire surrounding district. The newly opened Qianmen pedestrian street travels south from the Qianmen archery building, which is located right on top of the Qianmen subway station on Line 2. It's an impressive renovation, all the way down to the way that the street seems to stretch on forever, the red and gold facades of storefronts dissappearing into the smoggy distance, as if had we walked a bit further, there would be a xiao'er popping out of a tea shop, smiling good-naturedly and yelling for us to go in for a cup of tea. Everything looks brand-spanking-new.

Bewilderingly, the stone buildings along the first couple hundred meters of the street are completely empty. I'm guessing that the high-end foreign stores have yet to move in. After several minutes of walking, the laozihao (time-honored brand) start appearing. With the exception of the restaurants (Quanjude for Beijing duck, Duyichu for shaomai, Goubuli for Tianjin baozi, etc) which had people lining up for seats even before the 11am opening time, the other laozihao were more for browsing than actual buying. The entire place has a Disneyland feel with a Chinese kitsch bent.

Dashilan'r (大栅栏, warning to Chinese learners: technically, the characters are dazhanlan, but the Beijing accent has softened up the whole thing, and Beijingers will lose a tooth laughing (笑掉大牙) if you pronounce it wrong) is a commercial street that intersects Qianmen pedestrian street. The atmosphere is a bit more natural here, with many B-list laozihao already moved in and selling scissors, medicine, silk, cloth shoes, and Beijing packaged foods.

We suggest turning into one of the hutongs that branch off of Dashilan'r. They run parallel to the Qianmen pedestrian street and have been untouched by the renovations a couple streets over. These are the places to find the true old Beijing flavor that the Qianmen project has failed to create. For example, Menkuang Hutong (门框胡同), off of Dashilan'r, is a narrow alleyway with the kind of restaurant that serves soul-satisfying food but has really terrible facilities. One customer mumbled something about spending a little money on expanding the place but still squeezed past diners for a plate of potstickers and congee. Other, larger side streets are crowded with vendors selling the typical tourist offerings- Serve the People bags, mandarin collar shirts, fans and such. Really, nothing that you can't find at Yashow or Panjiayuan, except in a nicer looking environment.

Another alternative to the Disnified pedestrian street is to explore Qianmen Xiheyanjie (前门西河沿街), a small street that starts southwest of the Qianmen subway station. This is another neighborhood that's been pretty much left alone. It parallels the main street that runs east-west in front of Qianmen but gives you a glimpse into regular Beijing living. At the western end of this street, Quanjude has another location, this one containing an Exhibition Center that tourists can visit. Haven't been in, but would be interesting to see how Quanjude managed to become one of the best Beijing duck restaurants in the capital.

Not sure whether Qianmen is worth a visit? Click ALL IMAGES above and decide for yourself.