A continuous row of stores and strings of red lanterns flank Diantou Street, a traditional handicraft street in Fujian's Changting county. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Diantou Street, located in the bustling urban area of Changting county, Longyan, Fujian province, is a traditional commercial street which boasts a long history that can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

In addition to barbershops, tailor shops, traditional Chinese medicine clinics, and pharmacies, it once had more than 100 craft stores for carving, bamboo pottery, paper binding, wine making, iron striking, and tofu making.

Visitors pose for a photo on Diantou Street. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

There are still a lot of traditional craft and cultural stores on the street now, evoking bygone eras. Some businesses - like those that specialize in wood carving and Hakka bars - have become more prosperous than ever before thanks to strong domestic and international sales of their goods.

The street still has a complete and distinctive block pattern and is home to many well-preserved ancient homes, Hakka mansions, and ancestral temples with specific local features despite having endured thousands of years of vicissitudes.

Diantou Street was included to the third group of Chinese Historical and Cultural Streets in June 2011 by the Ministry of Culture and National Cultural Heritage Administration due to its rich historical and cultural heritage and high artistic merit.