Dashilan alley, a famous branch way of Qianmen Street, is crowded with visitors, August 7, 2008. [CRI]

"I know it's for the Olympics, but it's quite new," said Jennifer Wu, 16, who came to Beijing to watch the Games.

Along with the Great Wall and Tian'anmen Square, Qianmen Street is one of the "must-see" places listed in many tourist guides.

The street lies on Beijing's historic central axis just south of the Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City, the imperial palace from the mid-Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) to the end of the Qing Dynasty.

The commercial street took shape about 570 years ago and reached its heyday in the 1920s and 1930s, garlanded with restaurants, theaters, silk stores and tea houses. It was still a famous shopping area even before the refurbishment, despite its rundown condition and over-population.

The street was closed for the facelift in May 2007, with old buildings demolished. A tram was also restored after being discontinued in the 1960s.

But the tram along will not be operational during the Olympics because the marathon runners will pass along the street, Wang said.