Beijing's landmark Friendship Store, one of the city's most recognized sites, may be torn down to make way for a US$500 million development, the Hong Kong Standard reported. The Friendship Store opened on Peace Avenue (Chang An Da Jie) in 1973, offering the only source of imported goods to foreigners living in the city. For many years, local Chinese were not permitted entry and the store stood as a symbol of the special privileges enjoyed by diplomats and expatriates. The current 108,000 square feet store will be replaced by a complex 15 times bigger called Friendship Mansion, which will be developed as a joint venture led by Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun. It will include a 29-storey apartment complex and two office towers above an eight-storey retail podium.
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