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Beijing
5
A visit to Beijing/࣫
࣫Ҁ
www.bjta.gov.cn
www.cnto.org
China is known as the Middle Kingdom or the
Central Kingdom and its central point is the capital,
Beijing. Chinese culture has developed in the
different areas of the nation over thousands of years
and since the emperors took up residence in Beijing
and made it the capital city, it has been favored with
one fantastic building after another. Today, after the
fall of the empire, tourists and the general populace
are admitted to the opulent palaces, the temples and
all the places where the emperors once made their
way.
Beijing’s vastly rich cultural heritage, from its
thousand-year history to the burgeoning economic
progress of today, creates an immediate and grand
impression on the occasion of a visit to the capital.
One is impressed with it all – from the imperial
dynasty’s ancient and grandiose structures to the
innumerable buildings that have shot up during
recent years’ explosive growth. Construction is
going on everywhere, and things happen so
quickly that exciting new locations have sprung
up on every new trip to China.
Chinese culture and gastronomy are something
most travelers look forward to, and even in the
midst of newly-constructed areas, lovely spots
with an authentic atmosphere are never far away.
To the north, close to Beijing, the Great Wall
stretches out and the mountains hide the many
burial grounds of most of the earlier emperors.
These, too, are things one ought to see in order
to get a proper impression of the Chinese
society’s historical achievements.
Have a good trip!
A visit to Beijing
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Beijing
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Historical outline
The Beijing area has been inhabited for thousands
of years, all the way back to the time when the
Peking man lived in the area around the present
city’s southwestern suburb of Zhoukoudian. The
area was extremely fertile and dwellings flourished
over time. The formation of various states took
place during the millennium up to the birth of
Christ, and in the third century BC, the first Qin
Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, united six states into the
first major unified state in China. The city of Ji,
which lay in the area of present-day Beijing, became
the administrative center. Ji’s military and strategic
role was maintained until the close of the Tang
dynasty at the beginning of the tenth century, when
the Khitanes from the north conquered the city.
The Khitanes made Ji their second capital, giving
the city the name Nanjing, which means ‘Southern
Capital’. Under the Liao dynasty of the Khitanes,
from 926-1125, a number of palaces were built. The
city was to be used as the starting point for further
expansion towards the rest of the Chinese territory.
From 1125, the Liao dynasty was replaced by the Jin
dynasty (1125-1234), which made Nanjing the new
capital of their kingdom. Nanjing was renamed
Zhongdu, the ’Central Capital’. Zhongdu competed
with the Song dynasty to the south, which was ruled
from Hangzhou.
Around the year 1150, the Jin emperor undertook a
large-scale expansion of Zhongdu. Palaces and
numerous large public buildings were constructed.
The population of the city grew – it was during this
period that it reached one million.
In 1215, the Mongolian army invaded Zhongdu,
giving it the status of a provincial capital
subordinated to the Mongolian capital of Kaiping.
In 1271, Kubla Khan established the Yuan dynasty
(1271-1368) and made Zhongdu its capital. It now
became known by the Chinese name Dadu, but was
even better known by its Mongolian name,
Khanbalik.
Kubla Khan’s realm became the greatest in the
history of the world so far. The Mongolians also
conquered the southern Song dynasty, thus
uniting the entire Chinese land area. For the first
time, Khanbalik was the capital of all China.
Zhongdu, from the time of the Yin dynasty, was
destroyed by a number of fires, and then Kubla
Khan founded his new capital northeast of the
old center – this was the beginning of Beijing as
we know it today. The years 1267-1293 saw the
building of the major share of palaces and
fortifications.
In the 1360s, Mongolian rule was weakened and
in 1368, the Ming army conquered Khanbalik.
The city was renamed Beiping and came under
Ming rulership from Nanjing. During the reign
of the first two Ming emperors, Beiping was a
regional center. The great city walls and The
Forbidden City were built before Emperor
Yonglei moved the capital there in 1421, now
calling it Beijing, the Northern Capital.
Beijing’s development continued with extensive
building projects throughout the Ming dynasty
(1368-1644). Construction activities continued
under the Manchurian Qing dynasty (1644-1911)
and vast gardens and parks were added. Both
the Ming and Qing dynasties elaborated on the
city plan that had been conceived in Khanbalik
times. It was based on a central axis from south
to north with the imperial palace as its absolute
center.
After the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911,
the Republic of China was established under the
rule of the Koumintang. Nanjing was intended
as the capital, but Beijing maintained its position
– but only until 1928 when Nanjing became the
official capital of the republic. Beijing returned
to its former name – Beiping.
Historical outline
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In 1937, Beijing became part of the Japanese-
controlled Chinese area and became the capital –
under the name Beijing. In the time after the
Japanese domination from 1945-1949, it returned to
its former name of Beiping.
Through the decades, social unrest had grown and
in January of 1949, the Chinese rebel army entered
the city. A few months later, on 1 October 1949,
Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the
People’s Republic of China from the Tianamen gate.
Both Beijing’s area and its population increased
notably during the last half of the 1900s, and
especially in Deng Xiaoping’s time much
construction work was initiated. For a great
number of years, development has been almost
explosive with construction of new
neighborhoods, development of infrastructure,
new office buildings, shopping centers and more.
Ancient imperial China meets the new, modern
nation in the city, which, at the time of writing,
is being extensively enlarged in anticipation of
the Olympic Games to be held in Beijing in
2008.
Historical outline
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Beijing
8
Tour 1: Beijiing
1. Tian’amnmen Square /
Tian’anmen Guangchang/ᅝ䭔ᑗจ
Tian’anmen Guangchang
www.china.org.cn/english/MATERIAL/
41524.htm
www.china.org.cn/english/MATERIAL/
41532.htm
Metro: Xi Tian’anmen/Dong
Tian’anmen/Qianmen
Tian’anmen Square is without comparison the
largest open square in the world with its size of
almost half a square kilometer. A mere walk around
the outer area of the square would take a very long
time. The Square reached its present size in the
1960s. It is now possible to gather half a million
people there.
At the middle of the square is an obelisk raised in
1958 in memory of the heroes of China/ੱ᳃⧷㓶
㑾ᗉ. The square’s most centrally positioned
building, the mausoleum of Chairman Mao/ᲫਥᏨ
㑾ᗉූ, also stands here. The mausoleum was
opened in 1977, the year after Mao’s death, and
every day thousands of Chinese make their way here
from every part of the enormous nation to see
Mao’s embalmed corpse.
At the southernmost end of the square is the great
and impressive Qianmen gate/೨䮼, which was
originally the southern entrance to Beijing. The gate,
which consists of two separate buildings, was
erected in 1421 and is part of Emperor Yongle’s
city, which also includes the Forbidden City.
The southernmost building is called the Archery
Tower, Jianlou, while the northernmost is the
main entrance gate, built into a preserved part of
the city wall.
The northern end of Tian’anmen Square is
surrounded by the Great Hall of the
People/Renmin Dahuitang/ੱ᳃ᄢળၴ to the
west, The Historical Museum of China
(Zhongguo Lishi Bowuguan) and the
Revolutionary Museum of China (Zhongguo
Geming Bowuguan) to the east and the
Tian’anmen gate with Mao’s portrait to the
north.
2. The Tian’anmen gate/ᄤ㐷
Tian’anmen Guangchang
www.china.org.cn/english/MATERIAL/
41527.htm
Metro: Xi Tian’anmen/Dong Tian’anmen
The impressive Tain’anmen gate is one of
Beijing’s landmarks. The gate was originally built
in the beginning of the 1400s, but the present
version was built in 1651.
The Chinese emperors traveled once a year to
Heaven’s Temple, Tiantan. On their way there
from the imperial palace in The Forbidden City,
they stopped at the Tian’anmen gate to make
offerings. The emperors would then continue by
way of the centermost of the five marble bridges
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Beijing
9
that face Tian’anmen square. The emperor alone
used the central bridge; everyone else had to use the
other four.
On 1 October 1949, on the balcony of Tian’anmen
gate, Mao was proclaimed founder of the People’s
Republic of China. Today, the huge portrait of Mao,
which is so well-known to the world, hangs under
that very balcony looking out over the square.
Today it is possible to take a guided tour of
Tian’anmen Gate itself. One can go up onto the
balcony and stand where Mao stood, looking out
across the colossal square.
3. The Forbidden City/Zi Jin Cheng/
⚡ၔ
Tian’anmen Guangchang
www.dpm.org.cn
Metro: Xi Tian’anmen/Dong Tian’anmen
The Forbidden City was the absolute center of
power in China for almost 500 years. The building
of the complex began in 1404 and in 1421 Ming
Emperor Yongle moved in with his court. The
emperors of China lived here until the republic was
instituted in 1911.
In imperial times, the Forbidden City housed up to
10,000 persons, about 3,000 of which were eunuchs.
Despite the numerous inhabitants, there were no
problems finding space, as there were more than
8,500 rooms.
The central part of the Forbidden City is the
imperial palace, Gugong, which is placed in the
center of Yongle’s geomantically designed city.
The imperial palace is thus placed on the north-
south axis of Beijing and is protected by 10-
meter-high walls and a 50-meter-broad moat.
Starting from the moat at the southern end, the
first thing one meets is the mighty Meridian
Gate, Wumen, which is 35 meters high. Then
the landscaped Golden Stream runs in front of
the Gate of Highest Harmony. The gate is the
entrance to the front courtyard of the complex.
In the courtyard, there are three impressive
buildings, which together symbolize both the
three Buddhas and the three pure gods of
Taoism. The southernmost building, Tauhe
Dian, is the Hall of Highest Harmony, within
which the Chinese Dragon Throne is placed. It
was in this building that the emperor reigned
and imperial coronations took place here. The
other two buildings are the Hall of Middle
Harmony (Zhonghe Dian) and the Hall of
Preserving Harmony (Baohe Dian), respectively.
The next building is the Gate of Heavenly Purity,
Quanqingmen, which is the entrance to the
imperial family’s residence. The actual living
quarters of the emperor and his family were
located in the Palace of Heavenly Purity,
Qianqing Gong, and here one can still see some
of the original interior, for example, the sleeping
quarters.
To the north, we find the pleasant, finely
landscaped imperial gardens, after which we
leave the Forbidden City by the Gate of Spiritual
Courage, Shenwumen. Before exiting, however,
one can take a stroll between the buildings to
the east and west of the actual axis of the palace.
Here one can see a museum that holds relics
from the palace and The Wall of Nine Dragons,
Jiulongbi.
Tour 1: Beijing
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Tour 1: Beijing
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Beijing
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Tour 2: Beijiing
4. Jingshan Park/᥊ጊ࿌
Wenjin Jie
www.china.org.cn/english/TR-e/41470.htm
Metro: Xi Tian’anmen/Dong Tian’anmen
Jingshan Park, also known as Coal Mountain, lies
directly north of the Forbidden City on Beijings
meridian.
The park was once the private garden of the
imperial family – the hills in the park were created
from soil dug out of the moat when the Forbidden
City was built, and the extra earth was brought here,
where heaps of coal lay at the foot of the mountain.
That is how it got the nickname, Coal Mountain.
In the time of Qianlong, the park was called the
Garden of 100 Fruits because of the many fruit
trees that grew there. The present park was laid out
later and opened to the public in 1928. At the top of
Coal Mountain itself, one is rewarded with a
fantastic view of the Chinese capital – especially the
Forbidden City to the south and the Drum Tower
to the North.
If one climbs to the summit via the eastern side, one
passes the spot where the last Ming Emperor,
Chongzhen, hanged himself in 1644 when an army
of peasants under the leadership of Li Zicheng
invaded Beijing. A new tree has now been planted
to mark the spot.
5. Beihai Park/Beihai Gongyuan/
ർᶏ࿌
Wenjin Jie
www.beihaipark.com.cn
Metro: Xi Tian’anmen
Beautiful Beihai Park was the place where the
Mongolian Emperor, Kublai Khan, originally
had his winter palace on Jade Island,
Qinghuadao.
Today, nothing remains of Kubla Khan’s palace.
On the spot where it stood, the 44-yard-high
White Dagoba Temple, Bai Ta, was built in 1680.
The White Dagoba Temple is a Buddhist shrine
whose characteristic form can be seen from afar.
The style is Tibetan and it was chosen on the
occasion of the Dalai Lama’s first visit to Beijing.
Across from Jade Island is The Round City,
Tuancheng, named after its shape. In The
Round City you can see the building called
Chenghuang Dian; here, the 1.6-yard-high
Buddha in white jade can be seen. In the park
we also find the Nine Dragon Wall from 1756 (it
was, however, reconstructed in 1885) and the
five pavilions, all connected to each other by
bridges.
Tour 2: Beijing
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6. Prins Gong’s Palace/Gong Wang
Fu/
ᕶ₺ᐭ
Qianhai Xijie 17
Metro: Jishui Tan
The Palace of Prince Gong is built on a 14-acre
area where the emperor’s relatives lived. Prince
Gong was Emperor Guangxus’ son, and it was
he who signed the Peking convention in 1860
when faced with advancing French and English
military forces. A replica of the convention is on
exhibit, but the beautiful house and the finely
sculpted gardens are what make the greatest
impression.
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Tour 3: Beijing
7. The Temple of Heaven/Tiantan/ᄤს
Yongdingmen Dajie
www.china.org.cn/english/MATERIAL/
41478.htm
Metro: Qianmen
The Temple of Heaven was erected by Emperor
Yongle in 1420. The 675-acre area is square towards
the south and round towards the north, to
symbolize the arch of the heavens and the earth.
The gorgeous, round, 44-yard-high Temple of
Prayers for a Good Harvest, Qinian Dian, is a
fantastic example of Chinese construction work.
The temple was built without the use of nails.
The blue tiles symbolize heaven, and the 28
pillars are the four seasons (the large centermost
ones), the twelve months, and the twelve two-
hour intervals into which the day was
traditionally divided in China.
Towards the south of the park area is The
Round Altar, Yuan Qiutan, which consists of a
row of marble terraces. From the middle, the
acoustics are very good – try it for yourself. The
same goes for the circular echo wall of the park.
The emperor visited the Temple of Heaven
twice a year and performed a number of rituals
and sacrifices to wish for a good harvest and
give thanks for the previous year’s harvest.
Tour 3: Beijing
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Beijing
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8. The Underground City/Dixia Cheng/
ਅၔ
Xi Damochang Jie 64
Metro: Chongwen Men
The Underground City is one of Beijing’s most
unusual sights. A network of tunnels was dug in the
1960s to provide housing for all of the city’s six
million inhabitants in case of an attack. There is
only access to a very small part of the actual
network.
9. The National Museum of China/
Zhongguo Guojia Bowuguan/
ਛ࿖࿖ኅඳ
‛佚
Tian’anmen Guangchang
www.nationalmuseum.cn
Metro: Dong Tian’anmen
The National Museum of China is the common
term for two earlier museums: The Revolutionary
Museum of China/
ਛ࿖㕟ग़म⠽佚 and The
Historical Museum of China/
ਛ࿖ग़म⠽佚.
The Revolutionary Museum of China depicts the
history of the Communist Party from 1919 until the
revolution in 1949. In addition, one can see some of
the results that the revolution has produced since
that time.
The Historical Museum of China is in the same
gigantic building as the Revolutionary Museum. The
exhibits compose China’s largest collection of
historical finds and relics.
10. Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant/
ܼ㘮ᖋ
www.quanjude.com.cn
Metro: Dong Tian’anmen
Peking duck is one of the gastronomic specialties of
imperial Chinese cuisine. The most traditional place
to enjoy this dish is at one of the restaurants with
the name: Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant.
The food served here is especially tasty and the
way in which the duck is served is an experience
in itself. One even receives a numbered
certificate to take home afterwards.
11. The Old Observatory/
Gu Guanxiang Tai/
ฎ㾖䈵ৄ
Jianguo Men Dong Biaobei 2
www.china.org.cn/english/TR-e/41353.htm
Metro: Jianguo Men
Chinese Emperor Yongle had one of the
defense towers on the city wall turned into an
observatory in 1422. As ‘Sons of Heaven’, the
Chinese emperors always took a great interest in
astronomy. In the 1600s and 1700s, Jesuit
monks came there and built an observatory,
which was modern for those times.
Today, one can see some later Chinese
instruments, old navigation maps, portraits of
early astronomers, and other effects from the
Chinese explorations of the sky.
Tour 3: Beijing
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