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Above: Tian'anmen Square |
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Click on the thumbnails below to see pictures of the sites. |
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Tian'anmen Square -- the Square of the Gate of Heavenly Peace -- is a vast open concrete expanse at the heart of modern Beijing that connects to the Forbidden City in the north. With Mao's Mausoleum at its focal point, and bordered by 1950s Communist-style buildings and ancient gates from Beijing's now leveled city walls. Tian'anmen Square is the heart and symbol of China, The ceremony to inaugurate the People's Republic of China took place at Tian'anmen on October 1,1949. Everyday China's national flag is raised here at sunrise and lowered at sunset. |
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Forming the very heart of Beijing, the Forbidden city, officially known as the Palace Museum, is China's most magnificent architectural complex completed in 1420. Covering an area of 720,000 square meters, with about 800 buildings and 9000 rooms, twenty-four emperors of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties ruled here. The symbolic center of the Chinese universe, the palace was the exclusive domain of the imperial court and dignitaries until the 1920s. It was forbidden to ordinary people in the past, hence the name the Forbidden City. |
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As the largest of the all-existing temples in China, the Temple of Heaven was the place where the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties worshiped heaven and prayed for good harvests. This grand temple consists of three part:" Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests", "Imperial Vault of Heaven", and "Circular Mound Altar". All the architectures are designed to facilitate the dialogue between human and heaven and form a paradigm of Chinese architectural balance and symbolism. |
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The summer Palace, located approximately 12 kilometers to the northwest of Beijing's city proper, was first built in the Qing-dynasty under the emperor Qianlong who reigned from 1736 to 1795. The palace is most associated, however, with Empress Dowager Cixi who had it rebuilt twice: once following its destruction by French and English troops in 1860, and again in 1902 after it was plundered during the Boxer Rebellion. Ci Xi named it the Park of Nurtured Harmony, but it is generally known to foreigners as the Summer Palace as it used to be an imperial retreat from the stifling summer confines of the Forbidden City. |
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The Hutongs -- a Mongolian word meaning city's alleyways -- weave across much of central Beijing and are where many Beijing residents still live. In the courtyard houses, which are on the verge of extinction under the rapid expansion of modern Beijing, evoke a nostalgiac feeling among visitors. The most interesting way to tour the hutongs is taking a man-powered pedicab or boat tour in the Shichahai area. There are many historic sites around this area such as, the ancient Bell and Drum Towers, Prince Gong's Mansion and Madam Sunyatsun's house, to name a few. |
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A symbol of the Chinese civilization and existing for more than two thousand years, the Great Wall crosses over China for thousands of miles. The Great Wall around Beijing nowadays was rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty in the 16th century. Most people go to the Badaling and Mutianyu sites where restoration work has made the wall look brand new. The Simatai site offers a more authentic experience because the original wall suffered heavy battlements and decay. Near Beijing can also find Shanhaiguan, the eastern end of the Ming-dynasty Great Wall, which is a well protected fortress lying by a beautiful beach in north China. |
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