Pedestrian Street of Jianghan Road

Located between Jiang’an and Jianghan Districts, stretching from Wuhan Customs in the east to Jiefang Street in the north, Pedestrian Street of Jianghan Road is 1,600 meters long. Jianghan Road has a history of over one hundred year, and it is one of the five most famous commercial streets in China. 

Jianghan Road has been famous since the 1930s, when it was called Little Hong Kong for its prosperity. It used to be a well-known centralized commercial area, now developed into one of the most prosperous areas in Hankou, having a high flow of customers and more than 400 stores which sell a complete selection of clothes, appliance, food, commodities and other goods. Jianghan Road pedestrian street is divided into three districts: the Finance and Insurance District housing the Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Minsheng Bank and many other financial institutions; the Special Shops District overflowing with franchised stores selling name brands home and abroad, small boutiques, jeweler shops, cafes; and the Department Stores District lying many big department stores. 

Jianghan Road Facts

-Chinese name: 江汉路步行街

-Location: Zhongshan Avenue, Jianghan District, Wuhan, China

-Total length: 1,600 meters

-Time needed: 1 to 3 hours

-Entrance fee: Free 

The History about Jianghan Road

Jianghan Road formerly known as Xinsheng Road, it is a famous century old commercial street in Wuhan, and it was renamed Jianghan Road in 1927. In modern history, Jiang Road is actually the boundary between Chinese and foreigners. Due to the concentration of banks on Jianghan Road and the convenient transportation of Jianghan port, that makes the commercial atmosphere of Jianghan Road and gradually become to a famous commercial street. 

In the 1960s, Jianghan Road experienced a large-scale renovation and more and more companies settled here. In the mid-1980s, the first night market in Wuhan appeared on Jianghan Road. At the end of February 2000, the government decided to transform Jianghan Road into a new commercial pedestrian street integrating shopping and leisure tourism. The pedestrian street was officially opened on September 22, 2000, and it became one of the most prosperous areas in Hankou at that time. 

What to See at Jianghan Road Pedestrian Street

Roaming in the Jianghan Road Walking Street is a quite enjoyable thing as you are surrounded by many time-honored buildings of various kinds of styles, such as Byzantinism, classicalism, European style, Rome style. The famous stores along the street are the People’s Restaurant and Xuangong Restaurant that were once prosperous before liberation; Jingyi Glass Shop, the name of which was wrote by Sun Yat-sen; China Products Department Store, which was built in order to boycott Japanese goods and gets the present name Central Department Store; Hengdali Clock and Watch Shop, which is mainly engaged in western clocks and watches; a variety of mouthwatering food stores such as Guan Shen Yuan, Huakang Nonstaple Food, Zimei Food Factory, Si Jimei Steamed Buns Restaurant, etc. People often call Jianghan Road the 20th century architectural museum in Wuhan.

Western Buildings on Jianghan Road 

Siming Bank Hankou Branch Building

The building of Siming Bank Hankou Branch was built in 1936. The floor area of this former site is about 1200 square meters, which is a typical modernism architectural style. The building is the first-concrete structure building that designed by Chinese architects in Wuhan, and it is also one of the earliest western style buildings outside of the concession in Wuhan. Architects used the latest ideas of western architecture at that time, which had a great impact on the development of modern architecture. 

Bank of Communication Hankou Branch Building

Located at the intersection of Jianghan Road and Shengli Street, the building of Bank of communication was built in 1908 and headquartered in Beijing. It is one of the early China four big Banks and also one of note-issuing banks.  

Riqing Foreign Firm Building

Located at the intersection of Yanjiang Avenue and Jianghan Road, Hankou Riqing foreign company is the most prosperous area in British concession in modern period. This building was designed by Hemmings & Berkley, a famous construction company in Hankou. In the middle of the top floor, there is an ancient Roman style dome with a small Baroque hole on the helmet shaped roof. At the top of the dome, a pavilion ends the complex building.

Jianghanguan building (Now the Jianghanguan Museum)

Covering an area of 1499 square meters, the main building of Jianghanguan building has four floors and a total height of 46.3 meters. It was the highest building in Wuhan at that time and one of the landmark buildings in Wuhan city. The government of Qing Dynasty set up customs in Hankou after it was open to outside world in 1861, hence the name of Jianghan Pass (Jianghan Guan). Jianghanguan building was a combination of European Renaissance architectural style and British Bell Tower architectural form, which has important historical and architectural art value. Jianghan Road integrateds shopping, leisure tourism and culture, it is worth to visit when you traveling in Wuhan. 

How to Get to Jianghan Pedestrian Street

1. Bus: There are many buses available, it is easy to get when you travel in Wuhan. You can take bus No. 1, 24, 38, 45, 402, 520, etc, and get off at Jianghan Road Station.

2. Metro: Take Metro Line 2, and get off at Jianghan Road Station.   

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