When you're in Beijing and do what the Beijing people do, there is no other place to do that better than in Qianmen.

As the literal translation of the name, 'Front gate', suggests, Qianmen was once the busiest commercial district in the imperial city. It was home to the empire's most venerable purveyors of clothing, haute cuisine, tea and herbal medicine.

Ruifuxiang, for instance, had outfitted generations of mandarins in the imperial court. These feisty officials wore only boots made by Neiliansheng and hats by Majuyuan.

Quanjude, the doyen of roast Peking duck eateries, opened its first restaurant in Qianmen in the late 19th century. And, Tongrentang was the appointed supplier of herbal medicine to the imperial family.

Hidden from the tourist tracks, these establishments, with few exceptions, have defied changes and persisted in catering to their faithful clientele in the graceful style of days long past. They are the exclusive purveyors to the city's connoisseurs devoted to the old-world quality of craftsmanship.