Helen Deng

    deng.hneng@gmail.com

    ZHONGYING Street in Shenzhen has become a national historic and cultural street, the Ministry of Culture and State Administration of Cultural Heritage announced June 8.

    The street stood out from more than 80 candidates to become one of the 10 streets to win the title this year, Sun Xiao, curator of Zhongying Street Museum, told Shenzhen Daily.

    The winners were selected via both government nomination and public voting. “The street stood out for its unique ‘one street, two political systems’ and the protection of its century-old history and its cultural heritage,” Sun said.

    Zhongying Street is a former shopping paradise that has emerged as a place of national pride. The 250-meter-long street remains one of Shenzhen’s most popular tourist attractions.

    The street lies in Shatoujiao, Yantian District. In 1898, stone markers were placed along the middle of the street to mark the border between Hong Kong and Shenzhen. At that time, Hong Kong was under British rule. Today, half of the street is still part of Hong Kong and half is part of Shenzhen. That is why it has been referred to as Zhongying Street, which means Chinese-English Street.

    Zhongying Street is listed as one of Shenzhen’s top eight scenic spots because of its two systems and its historical relevance.

    At one point, Zhongying Street was the nation’s number one gold street. Many Hong Kongers came to the street to cash in. The street’s affordable prices and quality products make the street popular among travelers to Shenzhen.

    Since Shenzhen’s rapid economic development, the street has gradually lost its former commercial glory, but the street remains one of the most precious historic attractions that encompass entertainment, shopping and sightseeing.

    The street exudes vibrancy and culture. The architecture on the Shenzhen side of Zhongying Street has been restored to its original qilou style, a traditional Cantonese style featuring arcades.

    Near the street there is a Tianhou Temple and a Wu’s family temple. On festivals, residents of nearby Shalanxia Village would dance the traditional fish lantern dance, a Hakka dance that has been listed as State-level cultural heritage.

    Sun believes that the new title will inspire more people to protect the heritage of Zhongying Street and help develop tourism here.

    “We should seize the opportunity to promote and protect the street,” he said. “We should make it an open museum as well as a cultural industry base by integrating resources of nearby cultural heritage. And there’s huge potential to develop cross-border tourism here — one can easily reach a beautiful country park in New Territories by taking a boat from here!”