Beijing Traveler's Information |
"On the banks of a great river in the province of Cathay there stood an ancient city of great size and splendor which was named Khanbaliq, or the Khan's city."
So wrote Marco Polo, the first European to visit the place we now call Beijing. When he published his Travels most readers considered it a work of fiction. Few people in 14th century Europe could believe that there could be cities in some distant wilderness that boasted magnificent palaces, monumental gates, stately gardens, broad avenues and resident multitudes. The Venetian was fortunate to see the city during its first Golden Age, when it was the showcase capital of Kublai Khan, the Mongol barbarian who established it on the site of an I Ith-century military border post. The choice of location was strategic -- it was close to the Mongol heartland and far from the ancient Chinese capital of Changan (today's Xian), however Kublai was an instant convert to the civilized culture of the Chinese, and his special city shows it. Khanbaliq was a mixture of Mongolian and Chinese styles best exemplified by the Tartar City, with the sumptuously-furnished palace known as the Forbidden City. Around it was a moat and militaryorder square blocks of houses and temples and places of business, all of which was surrounded by high walls pierced by massive gates.
After Kublai's death the Mongol Dynasty went into decline and was overthrown in the mid-14th century by Chinese rebels who established the Ming Dynasty and set up a capital in Nanjing. but in 1421 Emperor Yongle moved back to the city which he renamed Beijing, northern capital. Yongle was responsible for building many of Beijing's greatest monuments - including the Temple of Heaven - as well as greatly enhancing the palaces of the old Tartar City and the magnificent city gates.
The result was an extraordinary example of early city planning. When the next invaders, the Manchus, came from the north in the early 17th century, they made no attempt to change the face of Beijing. Instead they added to its treasures. most importantly building summer palaces in the outskirts of the city.
During the 20th century Beijing has undergone the turmoil of war and revolution, the effects of industrialization and, in recent years, a massive building boom to meet the demands of a modern, international metropolis. Inevitably the city has changed in size and shape. Most of the old gates are now only names on the map, skyscrapers diminish neighboring temples and the hutongs - where families live around tiny courtyards in a tight maze of alleys are being replaced by apartment blocks or five-star hotels.
Nevertheless Beijing retains plenty of evidence of its past, with aristocratic parks and palaces now open to the public, a heritage of art and history displayed for all in over 50 museums, and folk traditions that flourish in theaters, restaurants and craft shops.
It is also the undisputed capital of China's as an international power. Here you find 150 foreign embassies and missions, headquarters for all public corporations and import-export authorities, the crux of international telecommunications and key to all commercial policy.
The city, with a population of almost six million, supports over 70 institutions of higher education and 500 research institutes. It is the cultural and communications hub, with more than 40 theatrical troupes, dozens of sporting organiiations, 200 publishing houses, 70 newspapers, Xinhua News Agency, the Central People's Broadcasting Station and CCTV with national and local television channels.
The heart of Beijing would still be familiar to Emperor Yongle, but now the great avenues stretch much farther into the distance - Changan Avenue is over 12 miles - and the original square pattern of moats and walls now extends to a series of ring roads around the city, which now occupies almost 290 square miles.
Possibly the most popular symbol of China is the pavilion of the Temple of Heaven. It was built by the third Ming Emperor, Yongle, as the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, where the emperors, as sons of heaven, would communicate with the gods. The temple was believed to be the closest place to heaven, and even today it feels like a sacred place.
It also represents a Golden Age of Chinese architecture. The main hall consists of 28 carved wooden pillars supporting a 125-feet high tower of three conical roofs, all covered with blue glazed tiles, to reflect the color of the sky. It stands inl a square courtyard on a podium encircled by three tiers of decorative stone balustrades.
Also found in the temple grounds is the Echo Wall - that carries the smallest whisper - a museum of ancient musical instruments and the Circular MoundA of marble terraces.
This most famous of Chinese squares covers 100 acres in the heart of modern Beijing, south of the Forbidden City and north of the Qianmen Gate. Until the early part of this century the area was filled with buildings, which were gradually demolished, to create a square, where, on October 1, 1949, a million people gathered to hear Mao Zedong proclaim the birth of the People's Republic of China.
The Gate itself is an imposing symbol of the city, with its huge 'reviewing stand' podium (open to visitors), and tower, crowned by a double-eaved, tiled roof. Over its central arched gateway is the famous portrait of Mao Zedong.
On the eastern side of the square is the Museum of Chinese History and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution. Opposite is the Great Hall of the People, built in 1959 to house the People's Congress. It has an assembly hall for 10,000 and a banquet hall with seats for 5,000 guests. In the middle of the square is the Monument to the People's Heroes and Chairman Mao Zedong's Memorial Hall.
Officially known as the Former Imperial Palace or 'Gugong', most foreigners prefer the name it was given to indicate that only the emperor's court and ministers - plus the occasional ambassador bearing tribute - were allowed in this small 'city', until the 1920s.
The vast, exotic grandeur of the Forbidden City was brilliantly captured in 'The Last Emperor' which was filmed here. It is an architectural masterpiece, with a breathtaking symmetry of palatial pavilions, courtyards, gates, treasure halls and gardens.
It was originally built - by more than 200,000 men - in 1420 for the Emperor Yongle. With 9,000 bays in a total area of 183 acres the 'city' is divided into three parts. The first has four monumental gates and a stream spanned by five marble bridges. The magnificent Gate of Supreme Harmony, with its guard of bronze lions, leads to the 'Sea of Flagstones' and the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Beyond are the halls of the Inner Court, with small courtyards and palaces which are now used as museums for imperial collections of paintings, calligraphy, sculptures, ancient pottery, bronzes and clocks.
Also known as Prospect Hill, this hill directly north of the Forbidden City is best known as the place where the last Ming Emperor is said to have hangedÇ himself from a locust tree, on hearing that the peasant rebels were storming the city.
On the summit of the 40-feet mound is the Ten Thousand Springs Pavilion, which used to be the highest point in the city and which on clear days commands fabulous views of the Imperial Palace.
Situated to the west of Coal Hill, this is one of the most beautiful places in Beijing, and popular for skating in winter, boating in summer and sightseeing year-round.
It was created in the 12th century - when Marco Polo greatly admired it - and was extensively enhanced by Emperor Yongle, and later the Qing Emperor Qianlong. The park covers 168 acres, about half of which is occupied by the lake, with its Jade Flowering Island, on which stands the landmark White Dagoba, a Tibetan Buddhist shrine built by a Nepalese architect in 165 1 in honour of the visit of the Dalai Lama. The island also contains the temple of Etemal Peace and the Fangshan 'Imperial Cuisine' Restaurant.
In old times all Chinese cities had drum and bell towers, which advised the citizenry of the time of day and announced curfews. In Beijing the two are found in a direct meridian line north of the Forbidden City. The Drum Tower was first built in 1272, but reconstructed in 1420 when the Ming Dynasty established its capital in Beijing.
To the north is the Bell Tower, first constructed in 1420 and rebuilt of bricks in 1747 during the reign of Emperor Qianlong.
This observatory was set up in the southeast of the Tartar city by Kublai Khan, and is today a museum with an excellent collection of Ming and Qing bronze astronomical instruments. At one time these included many original models made by the great Jesuit scholars, Adam Schall von Bell and Ferdinand Verbiest, who lived at court duting the 17th century. Fifteen of the models were taken to Germany as spoils of war following the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, but returned in 1919. Eight are now displayed on the Observatory terrace.
In the heart of the Moslem quarter, this is the oldest and largest of the city's 80 mosques. It was built in 996 by Nazruddin, son of an Arab imam, and today is in excellent restored condition. A high wall surrounds the garden of ancient trees and the buildings that combine elements of Arabic and Chinese architecture.
There is a hexagonal Tower for Viewing the Moon, where the imam determines the beginning and end of Ramadan. Behind it is the main prayer hall, facing Mecca - decorated in brilliant red and gold the minaret where the muezzin calls the faithful to prayer, a bathhouse for pre-prayer ablutions and a small school.
This temple in the northeast of the city was built as a mansion in 1694. In 1725 it housed the prince who became Emperor Yongzheng, so according to tradition had to be converted to a temple after he left. During the reign of Emplror Qianlong it became a center of learning for the Yellow Hat sect of Tibetan Lamaism, and at one time had a community of 1,500 Tibetan, Mongol and Chinese lamas, as well as a 'Living Buddha'. Today there are about 70 Mongolian ]amas in residence.
The temple consists of five halls, connected by five courtyards and three archways with exquisitelycarved eaves. The prayer halls contain many superb statues - including the 75-feet high Maitreya, carved from a single white sandalwood tree - as well as Tibetan scriptures and a great copper ding cauldron. The Great Stele Pavilion has a square stone inscribe( with Lamaist prayers in Chinese, Manchu, Mongolia and Tibetan.
Somewhat off the tourist track, behind the Beijing Exhibition Center, this unusual temple is also a museum of historic tombstones. It was built in the 15t: century to house a model of the ancient Indian Buddhist temple in Bodhgaya, that had been presente( by an Indian monk to the emperor. Appropriately the temple followed the style of the model, with tive pagodas rising from a high base that is richly carved with a bas-relief of rows and rows of small Buddhas, animals and flowers. Imaginatively arranged in the temple gardens are several hundred tombstones, most: from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, accompanied by stone animals from long-gone Spirit Ways.
In the northwestern suburbs is the Summer Palace which was used by the court as a retreat from the capital's heat for 800 years. During the Qing Dynasty it became a fashionable royal resort and scene of extravagant celebrations. The Empress Dowager Cixi made it her residence and spent vast amounts of money (much from the state coffers) to create a veritable Xanadu.
As a symbol of the court it also suffered, being badly damaged during the Taiping Rebellion of 1860 and further devastated in 1900 following the Boxer Rebellion. Since then much has been restored and the palace with its large, classic Kunming Lake, is today a favorite summer retreat for Beijingers.
The lake contains small islands, ornamental bridges and the famous marble boat, which was once a teahouse. On shore, at the foot of Longevity Hill, are the imperial residences, one of which now contains a theater museum and the first automobile to be imported into China, a Mercedes Benz.
Certainly one of the world's great tourist attractions, the Great Wall was built section-by-section between the fifth century BC and the 16th century AD. It was called the 'Wall of Ten Thousand Li', which today translates as 3,333 miles, and was designed to keep out invaders from the north. The statistics are awesome as the wall. Once section reportedly took 300,000 men 10 years to build. Stretching between regular watchtowers, the wall winds from Bohai Gulf in the Yellow Sea to the Jiayuguan in mountainous Gansu Province. Much is now in ruins, but several sections have been restored. The best known is at Badaling, 50 miles north of Beijing. Here it's possible to climb or take a cable car tn the top of the wall. This section was built during the Ming Dynasty and is 7.8 meters high, 5.8 meters wide.
Another superbly-restored section of the wall is at Mutianyu, a few miles to the east. It can be reached by long flights of steps or a cable car. Further afield is the spectacular section at Jinshanling.
Northwest of the capital, the Ming Tombs are generally combined with a visit to the Great Wall. The 13 tombs are spread around a valley that looks like a natural courtyard with an entrance Spirit Way guarded by huge stone animals. Of the tombs only the underground burial chambers of the Dingling. tomb of Emperor Wanli (who reigned 1573-1620) are open to the public. On display in the museums near the tombs are marble thrones, religious regalia and the jewelry, garments, porcelain and curios that were buried with the emperor's corpse - along with live concubines!
The popular name for the bridge 10 miles southwest of Beijing comes from the fact that Polo described it in his famous Travels. It also gained fame for being the spot where the Chinese began turning back the Japanese in the Second World War.
The bridge was built in the early 12th century, over the Yongding River to cover the approach to Beijing. It is now most famous for the parapets on either side, with 140 columns crowned by lions.
(Peking Man Site)
In 1929 this limestone cave, 30 miles southwest of Beijing, became world famous with the discovery of skulls dating back 200,000 to 500,000 years. They were named 'Homo erectus pekinensis' - Peking Man, and although the original fossils were lost during the Second World War, many of the implements used by those early humans and bones of animals they hunted are on display at the comprehensive museum near the site of the discovery.
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