A few years ago, a 1km (1/2-mile) stretch of Jianghan Street (between Jianghan Da Dao and the wharf) was closed to motor traffic, and old stores were replaced with trendy new ones.
The street is a popular place to stroll, especially on hot summer evenings. If you walk south from Jianghan Street to the wharf, you'll get to the Customs Building and the former foreign concession area of Hankou, which under the Treaty of Tianjin was forced open to British trade in 1859. The dozen or so remaining buildings in the European style of the 1920s and 1930s are spread along the wharf on Yanjiang Da Dao (a left turn off the pedestrian street). A number of the buildings (which include the Russian police station, the former German and U.S. consulates, several banks, businesses, and living quarters) are identified by signs in English. In efforts to entice foreign investors, Wuhan's mayor has invited overseas businesses to set up offices in these historical buildings.
The Xin Shijie Baihuo Shangchang (New World Department Store) on Jianshe Da Dao (around the corner from Novotel Hotel) has a large supermarket on the basement level. There is also a Carrefour in each of the three districts of Wuhan. The one in Hankou is on Wusheng Lu.
