A popular shopping area in Shenzhen was recently named as one of the nation's most well-known pedestrian commercial centers, the Shenzhen Economic Daily reported yesterday.

Dongmen Pedestrian Streets in Luohu District was awarded China's Renowned Pedestrian Commercial Center by the State Pedestrian Commercial Street Committee, according to the Daily report.

Located in the old heart of the city, Dongmen covers 176,000 square meters with annual sales revenues of 15 billion yuan (USD2.2 billion), the Daily said. Dating back to the late Ming Dynasty more than 400 years ago, Dongmen has always been one of the most popular markets in the region.

The U.S. fast-food giant McDonald's opened its first outlet on the Chinese mainland in Dongmen in October 1990, attracting thousands of diners queuing to eat in the restaurant.

Dongmen underwent a facelift in 1999 when the whole area became fully pedestrianized ¡ª north of Shennan Road East, west of Dongmen Road Central, south of Sungang Road East and east of Renming Gongyuan Road.

It now has more than 7,430 shops and receives an average of 500,000 visitors daily and more than 1 million during public holidays.