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Beijing is China is known as the Middle Kingdom and the center is the capital of Beijing. For millennia, Chinese culture has evolved around the court, and since the emperors made Beijing their residence and capital, the city has been favored with one amazing construction after the other.
Beijing’s rich cultural heritage from its long history to the thriving economy today makes a fantastic cascade of impressions on a visit to the city. Beijing is memorable with everything from the great and world famous buildings of the empire to the countless constructions in modern designs and grand parks.
The Forbidden City is the center of Beijing and the old empire as well. It is a colossal palace area where the Chinese emperors lived and reigned. The palace building are built in line following an axis leading from the entrance gate to the main halls and the emperor’s private rooms. Beijing has grown around the Forbidden City with sights as the Tiananmen Square, where Chairman Mao’s mausoleum stands.
Chinese culture and gastronomy are things most people look forward to where coming to China, and everywhere in the capital there are loads of restaurants where to enjoy the tasty cuisine. Most visitors have Beijing Duck on their bucket list, and it is a dish worth going for.
The Great Wall of China is easy to visit from Beijing. It is a short drive to the north, where the mountains also host the many burial sites of most of the former emperors. It is even closer to make a tour to the magnificent summer palace of the emperors.
Tiananmen Square is the center of China and the place around which the Middle Kingdom has revolved for centuries. The square is also, by far, the world’s largest square, and you have to set aside plenty of time just to stroll all the way around the square. An underlining of the enormous size is that there are three different metro stations on two lines that service the square.
Tiananmen Square was laid out in 1651, but its area was quadrupled in 1958, when the current area was laid out as the center of the kingdom. There are impressive buildings all around the square; buildings that reflect both the historical imperial power and the political symbols and legislation of the current People’s Republic of China. Several major political events have also taken place on the square, not least Mao Zedong’s proclamation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.
The National Museum of China is the collective term for the two former museums: China’s Revolution Museum (中国革命厨去博物馆) and China’s History Museum (中国原厨博物馆). The Revolution Museum is housed in the colossal museum building’s northern wing, while the historical museum can be found in the southern wing. The grand building opened in 1959 to mark the decade of communist rule; the dimensions are 313 meters for the width of the facade and about 40 meters in height.
China’s Revolution Museum depicts the history of the Chinese Communist Party from 1919 to the revolution in 1949. In addition, you can see some of the results that the revolution and the following communist rule have brought.
The exhibition in China’s History Museum is the country’s largest collection of historical finds and effects. You can experience everything from the earliest known event in China to the end of the Qing dynasty, which in 1912 marked the end of the power of the many Chinese dynasties in the great country. There are hundreds of thousands of objects on display, which is why it can be a good idea, for example, to concentrate on one or a few themes during a visit.
The impressive Tiananmen Gate is one of Beijing’s landmarks and stands with Chairman Mao’s portrait as a symbol of China’s entire recent history. The gate was originally built in 1420 as an entrance gate to the Imperial City, not to be confused with the Forbidden City, which was part of the Imperial City.
In 1457 the gate was struck by lightning, it burned down and was erected in a slightly changed form eight years later. In 1644 it was destroyed again, this time in connection with the battles of the late Ming dynasty. The following year, a reconstruction started, which lasted until 1651, when the building was finished in its current appearance. It was also on this occasion that the gate got its name. The dimensions are 66×37 meters in ground area and 32 meters in height.
Several historical events have taken place in the gate building. Every year the emperors of China set out from the Forbidden City towards the Temple of Heaven. On the way from the Imperial Palace, he stopped at the Gate of Heavenly Peace to make an offering. The emperor continued along the middle of the five marble bridges facing Tiananmen Square. The middle bridge was reserved for the emperor; others had to follow the other four.
In recent times, it was on the balcony of the Tiananmen Gate that Chairman Mao proclaimed the People’s Republic of China. It happened on 1 October 1949. Today, the large and world-famous portrait of Mao hangs under the balcony facing Tiananmen Square. From left to right, seen from the front, there are two large text signs that read “Long live the People’s Republic of China” and “Long live the People of the World, Unite You”.
The Forbidden City was China’s absolute center of power for almost 500 years. The complex was begun in 1406, and in 1420 the Ming Emperor Yongle moved in with his court. China’s emperors lived here throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties and until the establishment of the Republic in 1911. However, the last emperor lived until 1924, the last years without the title of emperor. In connection with Japan’s advance in China, the treasures were brought out of the Forbidden City, and after the end of World War II, part of the collection came back, while the other part is exhibited at the Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan.
The area in central Beijing was already an imperial residence during the Mongol Yuan dynasty, but when Emperor Hongwu moved the court to Nanjing, he ordered the Mongol buildings destroyed. Hongwu’s son, Emperor Yongle, started the reconstruction and moved here as the first emperor in the new buildings. The Forbidden City was part of the Imperial City, which was located in the center of Beijing and which, in addition to the Forbidden City, contained, among other things, Jingshan Park to the north and the large parks such as Beihai to the west.
The city is a colossal building complex with approximately 1,000 preserved buildings. It is a fine example of traditional Chinese palace architecture, which partly functioned as an imperial palace and partly as a residence for the up to 10,000 people who lived here. Of those, about 3,000 were eunuchs at court.
The construction itself took only 15 years and required hundreds of thousands of workers. Materials were sourced from all over China, including wood from the jungle to the southwest. Many of the paving stones came from Suzhou, while much of the marble is quarried near Beijing.
Today it is public access to the entire Forbidden City, which since the last emperor’s abdication and later relocation has had the status of a Palace Museum. Today the place is therefore also best known in Chinese by this name, the Palace Museum (Gùgōng Bówùyùan/故宫博物院), even though the Imperial Palace itself is only the innermost part of the large complex.
The entire Forbidden City covers 72 hectares and lies on a rectangle measuring 961 meters from south to north and 753 from east to west. All around is a moat 52 meters wide and a wall 7.9 meters high. The central north-south axis of the city is also the central line of Beijing’s urban plan.
The Temple of Heaven is a 273-hectare park area with various temple buildings as central elements in the strict facility, which, as a symbol of the firmament and the Earth, is square to the south and round to the north. The temple complex was built in the period 1406-1420 under Emperor Yongle, but it was later expanded under Emperor Jiajing in the 16th century. It was also during Jiajing that it was named the Temple of Heaven.
The temple was one of the places China’s emperors visited outside the Forbidden City. The Ming and Qing emperors came here twice a year and performed a series of rituals and sacrifices with the wish for a good harvest as well as thanks for the previous harvest.
The large green area that forms the park around the Temple of Heaven contains three groups of temple buildings that lie on the same north-south axis. Farthest north is the Temple of Prayer for Good Harvest (Qíniándiàn/祈年殿), one of the landmarks of all of China. South of this, a 360 meter long stone passage leads to the Imperial Vault of Heaven (Huang Qiong Yu/皇穹宇), and south of this is the Round Altar (Yuan Qiu Tan/圜丘坛).
The very beautiful, round and 38 meter high Temple of Prayer for Good Harvest is a fantastic example of Chinese construction, which was built without the use of a single nail. The three-story circular building is full of symbolism, the blue tiles symbolize the sky, the total of 28 pillars stand for the four seasons (the large middle pillars), the twelve months and the twelve two-hour intervals that the day is traditionally divided into in China . The temple is 32 meters in diameter and stands on a three-tiered marble base. It was here that the emperor prayed for a good harvest.
The Imperial Vault is in its form like a mini version of the Temple of Prayer for Good Harvest. It is built on a simple marble base and around it is the circular echo wall where you can talk to each other over great distances. The Round Altar consists of three circular marble terraces without an actual building on top. This part was built in 1530 by Emperor Jiajing and it was here that the emperors prayed for good weather.
The zoo in Beijing is one of the few places in the world where you can see the Chinese giant panda up close. The pandas are one of the garden’s many tributaries, and it is one of the places in the garden that all visitors must visit on the tour. Here, however, there are many animals from all over China and from the rest of the world.
The garden started as an elegant residential park during both the Ming and Qing dynasties. In addition to the many animals, you can see many beautiful facilities inspired by traditional Chinese gardens, open landscapes and beautiful pavilions.
Qianmen is a gate building located furthest south in Tiananmen Square. Qianmen was the main gate and southern entrance of Beijing’s city wall. A small section of the city wall has been preserved, so you can get an impression of the complex’s historical structure. The Qianmen Gate itself is the northernmost of the two large gates seen at the site, and is officially called Zhengyangmen/Zhèngyángmén (正阳门).
Originally built under Emperor Yongle in 1419, Qianmen was extensively restored in 1914. The 42 meter high gate is and was the highest of the city’s gates. The main gate itself had a projecting bastion in the shape of the Arrow Tower, Jianlou, which in its time was built together with Qianmen. The Willow Tower stands today as a magnificent independent gate building just south of Qianmen.
Jingshan Park, also called Coal Mountain, is located immediately north of the Forbidden City on Beijing’s meridian. The park was formerly the imperial family’s private garden, and the park’s hills were also created on the basis of excavations from the moat during the construction of the Imperial Forbidden City.
The surplus earth was brought here, where coal lay in loads at the foot of the mountain. Thereby the mountain got its nickname Kulbjerget. The park area was part of the Forbidden City until the beginning of the 20th century, but when roads had to be built, the walls were demolished and the Kulbjerget was thereby separated from the palace complex itself.
In the time of Emperor Qianlong in the 18th century, the park was called the Garden of 100 Fruits after the many fruit trees that grew here. The current park was built later and opened to the public in 1928. At the top of Coal Mountain itself is the Wanchunting pavilion, and from here you are rewarded with a fantastic view of the Chinese capital and in particular of the Forbidden City to the south and the Drum Tower to the north.
Taking the road towards the top from the eastern rise, you pass the spot where the last Ming emperor, Chongzhen, hanged himself in 1644 when a peasant army led by Li Zicheng invaded Beijing. A new tree has now been planted to mark the spot.
Chairman Mao Memorial Hall is best known to many as Mao Zedong’s mausoleum. Mao was from 1945 chairman of the Communist Party of China, and he was the real head of state from the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 until his death on 9 September 1976.
Mao’s body lies embalmed in the Memorial Hall, one of China’s most popular attractions, which there is often a very long queue to visit. Please note that you must be properly dressed to enter the mausoleum and that luggage and photography equipment are not allowed.
The mausoleum itself was built immediately after Mao’s death, and it was completed on May 24, 1977. It uses materials from all over China; among other things, rocks from Mount Everest and sand from the Taiwan Strait. 700,000 people from the kingdom ritually helped erect the work.
Qianmen Dajie, meaning Main Gate Street, was Beijing’s busiest commercial street in the 1800s and into the early 1900s, when it stagnated and then decayed into an ordinary street with traffic, noise and mixed shops and eateries.
It has now been rebuilt in the style of its peak, with a large entrance gate to the north, fine buildings on either side and trams in the centre. Qianmen Dajie has now been converted into a pedestrian street and is one of the leading business districts. In the evening, all the buildings are illuminated, and this gives a special atmosphere.
The trams in the middle of the pedestrian street are the first trams in the Chinese capital since 1966, when the last ordinary trams were taken out of service. Beijing’s trams had been running since 1924. The carriages on Qianmen Street are as far as possible copies of the earlier carriages.
The beautiful Beihai Park was originally the place where imperial palaces were built. They were located on Jade Island/琼华 (Qionghua), which is located in the park’s large lake, Beihai, which means North Sea. The North Sea, together with the lakes Zhonghai (Middle Sea) and Nanhai (South Sea) immediately south of Beihai Park is part of the Forbidden in the Jin, Ming and Qing dynasties.
From 1179, the Jin Emperor Shizong built a summer palace and laid out the park around it. The Mongol emperor Kublai Khan, after his conquest, made the place his residence in 1260. Today, nothing remains of the palace of Shizong and Kublai Khan. On the site, the 40-meter-high white dagoba, Bai Ta, was built from 1651. The white dagoba is a Buddhist shrine whose distinctive shape and considerable height make it visible from far and wide. The form is Tibetan, and it was chosen on the occasion of the Dalai Lama’s first visit to Beijing.
In the 18th century, Emperor Qianlong expanded the facility considerably, and most of today’s buildings date from this time, the most famous of which is the so-called Nine-Dragon Wall from 1756. The wall measures 25.5 meters in length and almost 6 meters in height , and it is composed of 427 seven-colored glazed tiles. The motif is nine dragons playing on a background of clouds.
The Nine-Dragon Wall is located to the northwest of the park, where you will also find the Five-Dragon Pavilion, which consists of five pavilions that are connected to each other via small bridges on the shores of the park’s large lake. You can enjoy the beautiful trip around the lake shore, where there are many beautiful facilities, including traditional Chinese gardens, you can also choose the short boat trip across the lake as a shortcut.
Far to the south of the park and opposite the Jade Island is the Round City, Tuancheng, whose shape has given it its name. In the Round City, you can see the Chengguangdian building, where a 1.5 meter tall Buddha figure in white jade can be seen. The figure was a gift from a Cambodian Khmer king to Emperor Guangxu in the late 19th century.
Peking duck is one of the special gastronomic specialties of the imperial Chinese cuisine. The most traditional place to enjoy the dish is at one of the restaurants called Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant, and the “real” one is immediately south of Qianmen (前门) on the exciting market street, Qianmen Dajie (前门大街).
For most people, Peking duck is very tasty and a new experience. At Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant, the actual serving of duck is like a performance in itself, and as an extra souvenir, you get a numbered certificate to take home.
Zhōnglóu or the bell tower is north of the drum tower. It was originally built in 1272, but today’s tower was built in 1745. It is 47.9 meters high and inside is the largest historical bell in China. The bell weighs 63 tons and was cast under Emperor Yongle.
Like the nearby Drum Tower, the Bell Tower’s function was to tell the time beyond the city. The bells rang at sunrise to mark the beginning of the day.
In the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, drum towers and bell towers were central elements to tell the time beyond the city. The function of the drum tower was to mark the end of the day at sunset through the drum.
Beijing’s Drum Tower or Gǔlóu is located as the old northern city gate on Beijing’s central north-south axis. The original building was built under the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan in 1272, but both this and a reconstruction in 1297 burned down. The current gate building was built under the Ming Emperor Yongle in 1420.
The drum tower measures 46.7 meters in height, and it is of course named after the drums that used to function here. Today, on the exciting trip up the tower, you can see several drum heads. From the tower there is also a good view of the surrounding hutongs.
Modern Beijing is a big city with exciting architecture, modern infrastructure and many different other facilities. In contrast to this are the remaining hutongs, which are the name for traditional, low-rise buildings. They can still be seen in some places and give an impression of ancient China.
The area between the Drum Tower and the Bell Tower is a good starting point for a tour of Beijing’s hutongs. You can choose to be cycled around the many small streets with a very dense settlement, other ways are to cycle or walk around yourself.
Hutongs are the original residential areas of Beijing, built in mazes of courtyards in the traditional Mongolian style.
The hutongs were scattered all over the city until a few decades ago, but China’s enormous development has meant that modern apartments, office towers, hotels and other buildings have sprung up in the areas where the hutongs have had to die.
Prince Gong’s Palace is one of Beijing’s best examples of a royal residence palace. It is located in the 5.7-hectare area where the emperor’s relatives lived. Prince Gong was Emperor Guangxu’s son, and it was he who had to sign the Peking Convention in 1860 against the advancing English and French. A reproduction of the convention is on display, but otherwise it is the beautiful house and the elegantly landscaped garden that impresses with its glorious atmosphere.
The mansion was originally built in 1777 for He Shen, who was a minister under Emperor Qianlong. He Shen was later accused of corruption and sentenced to death. In 1799, the mansion was seized, and in 1851, Emperor Xianfeng made it the property of his brother, Prince Gong. Gong’s grandson had to dispose of the place in 1921, and after a period of changing owners and uses, it opened to the public in 1996. Today, it stands as one of Beijing’s best examples of a royal residential mansion.
The central altar of the Temple of Earth was a place where the Ming and Qing emperors offered sacrifices to the earth god every year at the summer solstice. Previously, the large area was surrounded by a ring wall, of which only the very beautiful western entrance gate has been preserved. In the area you can see, among other things, some of the buildings that the Ming emperor Jiajing built when the site was built in 1530.
Around the altar itself is a large green area, Ditan Park, where there are many fine facilities and wonderful places for a relaxing stroll.
The Chinese emperors, as the “Sons of Heaven”, have always shown great interest in astronomy, and in 1422 Emperor Yongle had one of the defense towers of the city wall fitted out as an observatory. It was continuously expanded, not least when Jesuit monks came to Beijing in the 1600s and 1800s and set up a then-modern observatory.
At and near the Ancient Observatory you can see some later Chinese instruments, old navigation charts, portraits of earlier astronomers and other effects from the historic Chinese exploration of outer space.
The Temple of the Moon, along with the Temple of the Earth, the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of Heaven, are the four imperial sacrificial sites used by the Ming and Qing emperors.
The Temple of the Moon was built in 1530 and, as the name suggests, was the place for offerings to the Moon. Today, the site is a public park, and compared to the other sacrificial temples, there is not a large open temple site here, but instead a smaller facility with a temple building.
The stunningly beautifully situated Imperial Summer Palace was originally an imperial garden laid out under Emperor Qianlong in 1750. At that time, the garden consisted of various plants inspired by different regions of China. The area’s existing lake was expanded into the current Kunming Lake, Kūnmíng Hú (昆明湖), replicating the West Lake in Hangzhou southwest of Shanghai.
After the destruction of the old summer palace in 1860, the current palace complex was built according to the idea of the Dowager Empress Cixi. Cixi was for many years the real ruler of China, as she ruled on behalf of child emperors. After their authority and takeover of the Dragon Throne, Cixi retreated to the Summer Palace.
On the large facility, there are countless sights that should be seen. Near the eastern entrance gate, Dongmen (/宫门), is the Garden of Virtue and Harmony, Deheyuan, and the private theater of Empress Dowager Cixi. A number of exciting effects, such as Chinese porcelain, are on display around the theatre.
On arrival at the shores of Kunming Lake, one gets a fine overview of the palace with the 60-meter-high Mount of Long Life, Wanshou Shan (万寿山). Along the shore lies the unique Long Corridor, Cháng Láng (长廊). The corridor was already built in the middle of the 18th century when the garden was laid out. The corridor is 728 meters long, built in Chinese style with no less than 14,000 pictures painted throughout the corridor. The pictures depict, among other things, episodes from Chinese literature and history.
At the end of the Long Corridor is the Marble Boat/Shí Fǎng (石舫). The marble boat was originally a pavilion built in the 18th century. After the destruction in 1860, the 36 meter long boat was rebuilt in 1893 by the Dowager Empress Cixi. The style is European-inspired, and the upper parts of the boat are made of wood painted in imitation marble.
From the central part of the Long Corridor you can walk towards the top of the Mountain for Long Life. Here you first pass the Scattered Clouds Gate/Paiyunmen and the Scattered Clouds Temple/Paiyundian. The next big building is the Buddhist Incense Pavilion/Foxiangge (佛香阁), which is actually a very large and beautiful pagoda. From the pagoda, there is a beautiful view of the complex, across Kunming Lake to the South Sea Island, which is connected to the lake shore by the characteristic 17 Arches Bridge, Shiqikongqiao (玉带桥). Behind the Foxiangge Pagoda is the Temple of Wisdom, Zhihuihai.
Beijing’s Old Summer Palace was originally a very large complex of 3.5 km² consisting of palace buildings and gardens, built and laid out during the 18th-19th centuries. Most of the many buildings were built in traditional Chinese style, while the most distinctive buildings were built in European style under Emperor Qianlong, who favored exotic architecture.
At the end of the Second Opium War in 1860, the English set fire to the entire facility, which largely burned to the ground. Today, only ruins of the European palace buildings can be seen. Unlike the Chinese buildings, the European ones were built of stone, which is why the fire did not get rid of them (some Chinese buildings also survived, but were destroyed in 1900).
Parts of the mighty garden have been partially restored to earlier times. This applies, for example, to some streams and lakes.
The Great Wall of China is the world’s largest building. The wall stretches for no less than 6,350 km, and it passes through many different natural areas from flat plains to mountains like those north of Beijing.
The long building was built over several periods. The oldest parts were built at the end of the Qin dynasty in the 2nd century BC. The next building periods were during the Han Dynasty at the beginning of our era and during the 12th century Five Dynasties period.
The wall that can be seen today mainly dates from the Ming Dynasty, from the 1300s to the 1600s. Compared to before, the wall was now built solidly with stones as reinforcement on the walls and on top.
The purpose of the wall was to control China’s northern border against the nomadic tribes, who could both attack and regularly carried out raids into Chinese territory. The wall was built with watchtowers along the entire route and with many entrance gates.
The importance of the wall for the defense of the country disappeared when armies from Manchuria invaded China and installed the Qing dynasty. The country was thus ruled by those the wall was supposed to keep out.
There are many organized tours where you visit one or more places on the wall’s route. You can also choose to go there yourself. The nearest places for a visit are Badaling (八达岭) and Juyong (居庸關). If you would like to experience the starting point of the wall to the east, this is at Shanhaiguan (山海關), 300 kilometers from Beijing.
North of Beijing is the great burial area of the Ming emperors. The site was chosen by Emperor Yongle, who moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing in 1420. Yongle began work on the construction of his own mausoleum, and the emperor naturally became the first emperor to be buried here.
In addition to Yongle, twelve other Ming emperors are buried in the hilly area. The first two of the dynasty’s emperors are buried in Nanjing, while the last was not buried here, as the Qing dynasty had taken over when he committed suicide in Beijing.
The entire burial area is carefully selected and laid out according to geomantic principles. The Jundu mountains protect against evil spirits and winds from the north, and the burial area itself is in a peaceful valley with calm waters and good soil.
The entire burial area is surrounded by a wall, and the entrance to the Ming tombs is via the seven kilometer long Spirit Road/Shendao, which is an attraction in itself. Here stand the stone guardians of the graves in the form of both human and animal statues.
Three burial sites can be seen today: The largest, which is Emperor Yongle’s Chang Ling. Yongle died in 1424.
Ding Ling Underground Palace Tomb is the tomb of Emperor Zhu Yijun. He died in 1620. The underground vaults are 30 meters down. The third tomb is the smallest, Shao Ling. They are all very interesting with their many temple buildings in traditional Chinese style.
Wangfujing Dajie 255
Jianguomenwai Dajie 17
Liangmaqiao Lu 52, Chaoyang-qu
Anwaianli Lu 8
Fuxingmennei Dajie 101
Haidian Lu 130, Haidian-qu
Donganmen Dajie 19
Jianguomenwai Dajie 22
Wangfujing Dajie 99
Beisanhuan Xilu 38, Haidian-qu
Xiushui Shichang, Xiushui
Xidanbei Dajie 120
Qianmendong Dajie 30
Wangfujing, Qianmen, Dashilan, Xidanbei Dajie, Liulichang, Dongsi
Beijing Amusement Park
Zuo’anmennei Dajie 1
bap.com.cn/en
Beijing Planetarium
At the Beijing Zoo
Beijing Zoo/北京 動物園
Gaoliang Qiao Xiejie 218
beijingzoo.com
Chaoyang Amusement Park
Nongzhanguan Nanlu 1
ExploraScience
The Malls, Oriental Plaza, Dongcheng
explorascience.com.cn
Milu Park/麋鹿 苑
Nan Haizi Milu Yuan
Shijingshan Amusement Park
bs-amusement-park.com
World Park Shijie Gongyuan/世界 公园
Fengbao Lu 158
The Beijing area dates back many thousands of years, until the time that Beijing lived in the area of the city’s present southwest suburb, Zhoukoudian. The area was very fertile and the habitation evolved continuously.
Various state formations took shape in the millennium BC, and in the 200s BC. the first Qin emperor, Qin Shi Huang, assembled six different states for the first major unified Chinese state formation. The city of Ji, located in the current Beijing area, was named administrative center. Ji’s military and strategic role was maintained until the end of the Tang Dynasty at the beginning of the 9th century, when the Khitans from the north conquered the city.
The Khitans made Ji their second capital, and they named the city of Nanjing, meaning the Southern Capital. During the Liao dynasty of 926-1125, a number of palaces were built and the city was to be used as a 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), making Nanjing the new capital of their kingdom. Nanjing had its name changed to Zhongdu, the central capital. Zhongdu should be able to compete with the southern Song Dynasty, which ruled from Hangzhou.
Around 1150, the Jin Emperor began a large-scale expansion of Zhongdu. Palaces and many large public buildings were built. The city’s population rose and reached a million during this period.
In 1215, Mongol armies conquered Zhongdu, which was granted provincial capital status under the Mongol capital of Kaiping. In 1271, Kublai Khan established the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and made Zhongdu the capital, now under the Chinese name of Dadu, though better known by the Mongolian name of Khanbalik.
Kublai Khan’s kingdom became the second largest in world history, and the Mongols also defeated the Southern Song Dynasty, uniting the entire Chinese territory. Khanbalik was now, for the first time, the capital of all of China.
The Zhongdu of the Jin Dynasty was destroyed during several fires, and Kublai Khan founded the new capital northeast of the old city center, creating the Beijing we know today. The great construction time of palaces and defenses was in the years 1267-1293.
In the 1360s the rule of the Mongols was weakened and in 1368 the Ming armies conquered Khanbalik. The city was renamed Beiping and subject to the Ming regime in Nanjing. During the first two Ming emperors, Beiping was a regional center. Great city walls and the Forbidden City were built before Emperor Yongle in 1421 moved the capital to the city now called Beijing, the Northern Capital.
Beijing’s development continued with major facilities throughout the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The subsequent Manchurian Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) continued construction activities including the construction of large garden and park facilities. Both the Ming and Qing dynasties built on the urban plan devised in the Khanbalik era. The city plan is designed from a central axis from south to north with the imperial palace as the absolute center.
After the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, the Chinese Republic was established with the Koumintang Party as the ruling one. It was thought that Nanjing would be the capital, but Beijing maintained its position – though only until 1928, when Nanjing officially became the capital of the republic. Beijing was again called Beiping.
In 1937, Beiping became part of the Japanese-controlled Chinese territory, and the city became the capital under the name of Beijing in this state formation. In time after Japan’s rule, 1945-1949, the name again became Beiping.
Over the decades, there have been rising social tensions, and in January 1949, the Chinese rebel army entered the city. A few months later, on October 1, 1949, Mao Zedong declared the establishment of the People’s Republic of China from the Tian’anmen Gate.
Beijing’s area and population increased significantly in the latter half of the 20th century, and especially during the Deng Xiaoping period, construction began. For a number of years the development has been almost explosive with new neighborhoods, infrastructure construction, new office buildings and shopping malls etc.
Ancient imperial China meets the new modern country of the city, which was expanded enormously in connection with the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Beijing, China
Overview of Beijing
Beijing is China is known as the Middle Kingdom and the center is the capital of Beijing. For millennia, Chinese culture has evolved around the court, and since the emperors made Beijing their residence and capital, the city has been favored with one amazing construction after the other.
Beijing’s rich cultural heritage from its long history to the thriving economy today makes a fantastic cascade of impressions on a visit to the city. Beijing is memorable with everything from the great and world famous buildings of the empire to the countless constructions in modern designs and grand parks.
About the Whitehorse travel guide
Contents: Tours in the city + tours in the surrounding area
Published: Released soon
Author: Stig Albeck
Publisher: Vamados.com
Language: English
About the travel guide
The Whitehorse travel guide gives you an overview of the sights and activities of the Canadian city. Read about top sights and other sights, and get a tour guide with tour suggestions and detailed descriptions of all the city’s most important churches, monuments, mansions, museums, etc.
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Qianmen is a gate building located furthest south in Tiananmen Square. Qianmen was the main gate and southern entrance of Beijing’s city wall. A small section of the city wall has been preserved, so you can get an impression of the complex’s historical structure. The Qianmen Gate itself is the northernmost of the two large gates seen at the site, and is officially called Zhengyangmen/Zhèngyángmén (正阳门).
Originally built under Emperor Yongle in 1419, Qianmen was extensively restored in 1914. The 42 meter high gate is and was the highest of the city’s gates. The main gate itself had a projecting bastion in the shape of the Arrow Tower, Jianlou, which in its time was built together with Qianmen. The Willow Tower stands today as a magnificent independent gate building just south of Qianmen.
Jingshan Park, also called Coal Mountain, is located immediately north of the Forbidden City on Beijing’s meridian. The park was formerly the imperial family’s private garden, and the park’s hills were also created on the basis of excavations from the moat during the construction of the Imperial Forbidden City.
The surplus earth was brought here, where coal lay in loads at the foot of the mountain. Thereby the mountain got its nickname Kulbjerget. The park area was part of the Forbidden City until the beginning of the 20th century, but when roads had to be built, the walls were demolished and the Kulbjerget was thereby separated from the palace complex itself.
In the time of Emperor Qianlong in the 18th century, the park was called the Garden of 100 Fruits after the many fruit trees that grew here. The current park was built later and opened to the public in 1928. At the top of Coal Mountain itself is the Wanchunting pavilion, and from here you are rewarded with a fantastic view of the Chinese capital and in particular of the Forbidden City to the south and the Drum Tower to the north.
Taking the road towards the top from the eastern rise, you pass the spot where the last Ming emperor, Chongzhen, hanged himself in 1644 when a peasant army led by Li Zicheng invaded Beijing. A new tree has now been planted to mark the spot.
Chairman Mao Memorial Hall is best known to many as Mao Zedong’s mausoleum. Mao was from 1945 chairman of the Communist Party of China, and he was the real head of state from the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 until his death on 9 September 1976.
Mao’s body lies embalmed in the Memorial Hall, one of China’s most popular attractions, which there is often a very long queue to visit. Please note that you must be properly dressed to enter the mausoleum and that luggage and photography equipment are not allowed.
The mausoleum itself was built immediately after Mao’s death, and it was completed on May 24, 1977. It uses materials from all over China; among other things, rocks from Mount Everest and sand from the Taiwan Strait. 700,000 people from the kingdom ritually helped erect the work.
Qianmen Dajie, meaning Main Gate Street, was Beijing’s busiest commercial street in the 1800s and into the early 1900s, when it stagnated and then decayed into an ordinary street with traffic, noise and mixed shops and eateries.
It has now been rebuilt in the style of its peak, with a large entrance gate to the north, fine buildings on either side and trams in the centre. Qianmen Dajie has now been converted into a pedestrian street and is one of the leading business districts. In the evening, all the buildings are illuminated, and this gives a special atmosphere.
The trams in the middle of the pedestrian street are the first trams in the Chinese capital since 1966, when the last ordinary trams were taken out of service. Beijing’s trams had been running since 1924. The carriages on Qianmen Street are as far as possible copies of the earlier carriages.
The beautiful Beihai Park was originally the place where imperial palaces were built. They were located on Jade Island/琼华 (Qionghua), which is located in the park’s large lake, Beihai, which means North Sea. The North Sea, together with the lakes Zhonghai (Middle Sea) and Nanhai (South Sea) immediately south of Beihai Park is part of the Forbidden in the Jin, Ming and Qing dynasties.
From 1179, the Jin Emperor Shizong built a summer palace and laid out the park around it. The Mongol emperor Kublai Khan, after his conquest, made the place his residence in 1260. Today, nothing remains of the palace of Shizong and Kublai Khan. On the site, the 40-meter-high white dagoba, Bai Ta, was built from 1651. The white dagoba is a Buddhist shrine whose distinctive shape and considerable height make it visible from far and wide. The form is Tibetan, and it was chosen on the occasion of the Dalai Lama’s first visit to Beijing.
In the 18th century, Emperor Qianlong expanded the facility considerably, and most of today’s buildings date from this time, the most famous of which is the so-called Nine-Dragon Wall from 1756. The wall measures 25.5 meters in length and almost 6 meters in height , and it is composed of 427 seven-colored glazed tiles. The motif is nine dragons playing on a background of clouds.
The Nine-Dragon Wall is located to the northwest of the park, where you will also find the Five-Dragon Pavilion, which consists of five pavilions that are connected to each other via small bridges on the shores of the park’s large lake. You can enjoy the beautiful trip around the lake shore, where there are many beautiful facilities, including traditional Chinese gardens, you can also choose the short boat trip across the lake as a shortcut.
Far to the south of the park and opposite the Jade Island is the Round City, Tuancheng, whose shape has given it its name. In the Round City, you can see the Chengguangdian building, where a 1.5 meter tall Buddha figure in white jade can be seen. The figure was a gift from a Cambodian Khmer king to Emperor Guangxu in the late 19th century.
Peking duck is one of the special gastronomic specialties of the imperial Chinese cuisine. The most traditional place to enjoy the dish is at one of the restaurants called Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant, and the “real” one is immediately south of Qianmen (前门) on the exciting market street, Qianmen Dajie (前门大街).
For most people, Peking duck is very tasty and a new experience. At Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant, the actual serving of duck is like a performance in itself, and as an extra souvenir, you get a numbered certificate to take home.
Zhōnglóu or the bell tower is north of the drum tower. It was originally built in 1272, but today’s tower was built in 1745. It is 47.9 meters high and inside is the largest historical bell in China. The bell weighs 63 tons and was cast under Emperor Yongle.
Like the nearby Drum Tower, the Bell Tower’s function was to tell the time beyond the city. The bells rang at sunrise to mark the beginning of the day.
In the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, drum towers and bell towers were central elements to tell the time beyond the city. The function of the drum tower was to mark the end of the day at sunset through the drum.
Beijing’s Drum Tower or Gǔlóu is located as the old northern city gate on Beijing’s central north-south axis. The original building was built under the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan in 1272, but both this and a reconstruction in 1297 burned down. The current gate building was built under the Ming Emperor Yongle in 1420.
The drum tower measures 46.7 meters in height, and it is of course named after the drums that used to function here. Today, on the exciting trip up the tower, you can see several drum heads. From the tower there is also a good view of the surrounding hutongs.
Modern Beijing is a big city with exciting architecture, modern infrastructure and many different other facilities. In contrast to this are the remaining hutongs, which are the name for traditional, low-rise buildings. They can still be seen in some places and give an impression of ancient China.
The area between the Drum Tower and the Bell Tower is a good starting point for a tour of Beijing’s hutongs. You can choose to be cycled around the many small streets with a very dense settlement, other ways are to cycle or walk around yourself.
Hutongs are the original residential areas of Beijing, built in mazes of courtyards in the traditional Mongolian style.
The hutongs were scattered all over the city until a few decades ago, but China’s enormous development has meant that modern apartments, office towers, hotels and other buildings have sprung up in the areas where the hutongs have had to die.
Prince Gong’s Palace is one of Beijing’s best examples of a royal residence palace. It is located in the 5.7-hectare area where the emperor’s relatives lived. Prince Gong was Emperor Guangxu’s son, and it was he who had to sign the Peking Convention in 1860 against the advancing English and French. A reproduction of the convention is on display, but otherwise it is the beautiful house and the elegantly landscaped garden that impresses with its glorious atmosphere.
The mansion was originally built in 1777 for He Shen, who was a minister under Emperor Qianlong. He Shen was later accused of corruption and sentenced to death. In 1799, the mansion was seized, and in 1851, Emperor Xianfeng made it the property of his brother, Prince Gong. Gong’s grandson had to dispose of the place in 1921, and after a period of changing owners and uses, it opened to the public in 1996. Today, it stands as one of Beijing’s best examples of a royal residential mansion.
The central altar of the Temple of Earth was a place where the Ming and Qing emperors offered sacrifices to the earth god every year at the summer solstice. Previously, the large area was surrounded by a ring wall, of which only the very beautiful western entrance gate has been preserved. In the area you can see, among other things, some of the buildings that the Ming emperor Jiajing built when the site was built in 1530.
Around the altar itself is a large green area, Ditan Park, where there are many fine facilities and wonderful places for a relaxing stroll.
The Chinese emperors, as the “Sons of Heaven”, have always shown great interest in astronomy, and in 1422 Emperor Yongle had one of the defense towers of the city wall fitted out as an observatory. It was continuously expanded, not least when Jesuit monks came to Beijing in the 1600s and 1800s and set up a then-modern observatory.
At and near the Ancient Observatory you can see some later Chinese instruments, old navigation charts, portraits of earlier astronomers and other effects from the historic Chinese exploration of outer space.
The Temple of the Moon, along with the Temple of the Earth, the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of Heaven, are the four imperial sacrificial sites used by the Ming and Qing emperors.
The Temple of the Moon was built in 1530 and, as the name suggests, was the place for offerings to the Moon. Today, the site is a public park, and compared to the other sacrificial temples, there is not a large open temple site here, but instead a smaller facility with a temple building.
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