Under The People's Republic
At the time of the establishment of the People's Republic of China (1949), a number of foreign legations were still situated here, but after 1959 foreign missions were moved to Sanlitun outside the old city walls.
However, the area suffered much vandalism during the Cultural Revolution. More damage was inflicted since the 1980s due to Beijing's redevelopment. Several buildings, such as the former HSBC building, were demolished for road expansion. Some buildings are occupied by government institutions. A number of modern high-rise buildings have also been built, dramatically changing the area's streetscape. Nevertheless, as Beijing's most significant collection of Western-style buildings, the area is a tourist destination and is protected by municipal artifact preservation orders.
The former Legation Quarter is now home to several fine dining restaurants and retail shops. One such development operated by Handel Lee, a well known Beijing businessman, is "Ch’ien Men 23," as the place is branded, an integrated lifestyle development all within a restored building in the former Legation Quarter.
Read more about this topic: Beijing Legation Quarter
Famous quotes containing the words people and/or republic:
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—Heraclitus (c. 535–475 B.C.)
“I date the end of the old republic and the birth of the empire to the invention, in the late thirties, of air conditioning. Before air conditioning, Washington was deserted from mid-June to September.... But after air conditioning and the Second World War arrived, more or less at the same time, Congress sits and sits while the presidents—or at least their staffs—never stop making mischief.”
—Gore Vidal (b. 1925)