If you're here for the Olympics, you'll be wanting to take home a souvenir or two. And if you want a souvenir of Ancient China, we're going to show you where to look.

We take you to Liulichang - the street of "antique chic" in the capital. It's hip, fun, and more sophisticated than the disco and bar scene. Let's take a look and see if you fall in love with the place, like many others visitors.

History tells us that during the Qing dynasty, there were three principal activities for recreation. They were the opera; the enjoyment of local snack foods -- and the one that's become a personal favourite of mine --- walking along Liulichang street. It's the most famous antique market in Beijing. Some people think not much has changed here in the past 800 years. We'll take you on a tour, so you can see for yourself. Let's take a look around.

Looking out a shop window, you realize this is a totally different world - a world under golden eaves. Outside, you still hear the car horns. But inside, history reigns supreme. The contrast of real and unreal permeates this centuries-old street.

Liulichang, first and foremost, is a booksellers street associated with an emperor from the Qing Dynasty.

Today, antique books, thread-bare at the spine, fill the stores. There's no way to know how many times they've been bought and sold.

Only the notes left on these brittle pages remind me that this book probably contains more history than I could imagine.

Every door you encounter is like a gateway to a hidden enclave of art. Here I've found the lost world of painted paper fans.

Indeed, Liulichang is saturated with the intellectual culture of the ancient capital, but these days with a more international group of visitors, and a more welcoming atmosphere.

The wooden panel outside the pawnshop reads, "Come and go, treasures of the world." And that's literally what used to happen. And it's still happening.

Many of the antiques here are over a hundred years old. Some are claimed to be more than a thousand years old. I don't know. The reason this place is so rich in antiques is rooted in a tradition from China's Imperial past. Those days saw the coming of generation after generation of students. They came to Beijing to take the palace examinations that would qualify them to serve as public officials. According to the tradition, each student had to bring gifts to his teachers something like this.

Here, closing your eyes won't help you step back in time - opening them does. Splendid objects, wreathed by the aura of history, hark back to hundreds, or even thousands of years ago.

But still, in a place like this, you are bound to feel the burdens of history. Actually, Liulichang has had its share. Between its coming into being during the sixteenth century, to full prosperity two hundred years later, there were dramatic ups and downs. Here, history is never obliterated, but written upon generation after generation.

These days, as in the past, it's the people living and working here who are the guardians and of the street and its long history. Most are artisans. They spend their days painting and carving, knowing all the while that demand for their art is not high.

But it's this unique way of living, far from the hustle and bustle, that retains its charm. Here you find things you'll never see among Beijing's crowded rows of shops.

And they remind you that this is THE antique street, a place like no other.

If you have ever wondered, like I often do, how much this ancient city holds on to its past, then Liulichang is the place to go. The story of this street needs more than books to tell.

Liulichang is a place where you certainly can buy antiques. But it's also a living museum of Chinese history and culture. If you're here for the Olympics and want to take home a souvenir of ancient China...you'll definitely want to come here -- to visit Liulichang street.

(CCTV.com 08-08-2008 08:22)
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