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Things to do in Beijing. Edware & I were there in Beijing back to May, 1997, we had a wonderful "2 weeks tour" in China. We are planning to take our ur kids to visit China in 2008, during the year of the Olympic Game. We hope they can exploring more Chinese culture by visiting there. Here are some tips to give you a brief glimpse of some of many things you can see or do in Beijing. Since Beijing is the most visited of China's cities and attractions. It offers enough in itself to fill up most vacations to China.
Even before the Ming Dynasty reestablished Beijing China's official capital in 1421, they began building the Gugong -- the Imperial Palace, more often called the Forbidden City. The emperor Yongle began construction in 1406, using plans that, according to legend, were given to him by a Taoist priest sent from Heaven. The project occupied some 200,000 workers for about 14 years. Many of the Palace's buildings were named for important ideas from Confucian philosophy. It was, after all, the home of the Son of Heaven (as the Chinese Emperor was known). The Palace's buildings contain over 8700 rooms and halls. The Palace has been an ongoing work. One building was restored after catching fire as recently as 1987. Most of the buildings date from the 1700's. The Palace was 500 years old before it was opened to the public; the first tourists were allowed to enter it during the 1920's. Nationalist Chinese removed many of the Palace's treasures in 1937 to keep the out of the hands of the Japanese area; in 1949 those treasures were taken to Taiwan. The Forbidden City's main area is surrounded first by a moat and then by a 35ft high wall. There are four main gates into the walled compound: The Meridan Gate faces south and is the largest of the gates, it accesses the Outer Courtyard; The Gate of the Divine Warrior faces north; two smaller gates, the East Flowery Gate and the West Flowery Gate, also exist. Once inside the walled city though, there are a number of other gates that lead into the various palaces and halls. A few of the more interesting places within the walled city: Halls of Harmony: Built on a raised marble foundation, the Hall of Supreme Harmony was the tallest building in Beijing during the Ming and Qing dynasties and the biggest of the three Harmony halls. Two bronze tortoises in front of the hall represent longevity. Inside is the Dragon Throne, from where the emperor exercised his authority. The Hall of Middle Harmony was the smallest of the three Harmony halls and was used mostly as a place wher the emperor could prepare to enter the large halls. The Hall of Preserving Harmony was used for New Year's banquets. Palace of Heavenly Purity: Ming emperors used this building as their sleeping quarters. Qing emperors used it as an audience hall and a state banquet facility. Originally built in 1420, it burnt down several times and the current building goes back to 1798. Imperial Flower Garden: One of the few pieces of greenery inside the walled compound. The gardenis about 12,000 square meters.The Hall of Imperial Peace stands in the middle of the garden and is guarded by golden unicorns. The garden also contains a pavillion named for each season of the year. And there is a landscaped mountain in the garden with the Pavillion of Imperial View on top of it. Hall of Union: Potential concubines passed through here to be "approved." Imperial seals are on display in a glass case. Palace of Earthly Tranquility: Ming emperors granted this building to their wives as the residences of the empress. The Qing emperors also used the building for religious ceremonies that included the sacrifice of four pigs each day. Hall of Mental Cultivation: China's last emperor, Pu Yi, used this as his personal residence. Nine Dragons Screen: One of the city's most symbolic edifices. Imperial Treasury: Includes a display of some of the palace treasures. Well
of the Concubine Zhen: This well is supposed to have become
the final resting place of the concubine Zhen Fei in 1898 when Emperoress
Cixi had her thrown down it. Cixi and her husband, Guangxu, then fled
to Xi'an. How much of this story is history and how much is legend is
hard to say... It is a huge open space in the center of Beijing. The Square is directly south of the Imperial Palace and is flanked on the east by the Museum of Chinese History, to the west by the Great Hall of the People. It
was here that Mao proclaimed China a people's republic in 1949; his
image still looks down upon the Square. Advertisement The Monument to the People's Heroes is in the center of the Square. It was dedicated in 1958 to soldiers who died in the Communist revolution. Mao's Mausoleum is on the south end of the Square.
A huge Soviet-style building, the Great Hall is home of the Chinese parliament (formally knows as the National People's Assembly). A few government offices are also housed in the building. There is a 5000 seat banquet hall, a 10,000 seat assembly hall, and some 30 reception rooms named for and styled after a region of China.
Also known as the National Museum of China. The museum dates to before Communism came to power, being founded in 1926. Over 5,500 objects are on display out of a collection of 300,000. Included: the fossilized remains of the Beijing Man, painted pottery and jade wares of the Neolithic Age, 3000-year-old Shang Dynasty bronze ware, and Song Dynasty ceramics. At the time of this writing the Museum was promoting an exhibit on Chinese Tea Wares, an collection from the art works of the Inner Mongolia that included over 200 pieces, and an exhibit from the He Chuangshi Fund for Calligraphy. The Museum of the Chinese Revolution is nearby and focuses on the history of the Communist Party in China.
South of the Imperial Palace, the park was originally the site of a temple. Sun Yatsen was a leader of the 1911 revolution that brought an end to the Manchu Dynasty. The park was named for him in 1928. Cypress trees grace the park. A white marble arch in the park was originally used to mark the spot where Germany's ambassador was assassinated during the Boxer rebellion in 1900; it was moved to the park in 1919.
North
of the Imperial Palace, this hill gives a good view of the Palace grounds
and some of the surrounding area. A great spot to take pictures from... Kong
Miao is now the Capital Museum and houses a display on the culture and
history of Beijing. Confucianius was born in Qufu, China. The temple
in Beijing is among the largest Confucian temples outside Qufu.
The Temple's main hall houses musical instruments that were important for Confucian ceremonies. The temple also contains 198 stone tables inscribed with the names of those individuals who passed the test to become a Mandarin during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties: 51,624 names. The Imperial Academy sits next to the Temple. The Academy was founded in 1306. The Academy taught language and martial arts. In 1462 it had 13,000 students. Today the Academy is the Capital Library, which houses collections on the social sciences and on local history.
The Lama Temple is Beijing's largest and best known temple. The Temple was built in 1694. During the annual Spring Festival the Temple stages a public presentation of the Devil Dance, which is supposed to teach observers not to fall to anger, greed, wine, and other evils. The Lama Temple is part of the Yellow Hat Sect of Tibetan Buddhism. It managed to survive China's Cultural Revolution through the protection of Chinese President Zhou Enlai. The temple did well in pre-Community Beijing in part because the Manchu Qing emperors, though officially Confucians, were attracted to Lamanistic Buddhism. Among its several attractions, the Temple's Hall of the Wheel of Dharma is home to a 20 foot statue of Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Yellow Hat Sect.
The lake area is one of the most beautiful parts of Beijing. Kublai Khan ruled the Mongol Yuan Dynasty's empire from Jade Island on the lake here. Marco Polo visited the spot. The lake is covered with boats in the summer, ice skaters in the winter. There are a number of buildings on the island; among the more important: the Temple of Eternal Peace, the Hall of the Wheel of Law, the Hall of Universal Peace, the Hall of Ripples, and the White Dagoba. The White Dagoba is a Tibetan styled temple built for the 5th Dalai Lama upon his visit to Beijing in 1651. The Hall of Ripples contains a restaurant which was started by the Emperor's chef in 1926 -- after he was no longer the emperor's chef because there was no longer an emperor.
Among the city's most visited parks. The Temple's complex covers an area of close to 700 acres. The complex has two groups of buildings: the northern group is set in a half circle and represents heaven; the southern group is square, representing earth. At the center of the northern group is one of China's most impressive buildings - the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. Like the Imperial Palace, the Temple of Heaven dates back the era when the Ming Dynasty reestablished Beijing as China's capital. Ming and Qing emperors came to the Temple at the Winter Solstice to honor their ancestors and pray for a good harvest. The proceedings usually lasted several days. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is built on a tri-level marble terrace and has a blue tile roof with three levels. In 1889 the Hall was struck by lightening and burned to the ground, but it was restored. The Beijing Natural History Museum is on the western edge of the Temple complex. The museum houses over 5000 pieces - fossils, plants, and animals. Outside the Temple's east gate is Hong Qiao Market. Among it's offerings are fresh seafood and pearls....
North of the lake area, the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower were both built during the reigh of Kublai Khan, in the center of the Yuan capital, Dadu. The current structures were rebuilt under Ming rule. The drums were beat to mark the hour of the closing of the city gates each night.
Beijing
has more shopping streets and districts than can be mentioned here.
But here's a short list:
Wangfujing Street is Beijing's most important shopping area, a commercial
district that dates back to the 1300's. The Friendship Store (Youyi Shangdian) was for years the only place in Beijing where foreign tourists could really shop. It has tradition Chinese souvenirs: silk, jade, porcelains, ceramics, etc. Money changing is available. Purchases can be made by credit cards. No haggling; prices are fixed. Dazhalan, in the Qianmen District, is known for its traditional shops like the Tongrentang Pharmacy, which sells Qing Court-era secret medicines. Dazhalan is the city's oldest commercial street. It sits just south of Tiananmen Square. Liulichang Street is a restored shoping district in Qianmen that specializes in arts and crafts, antiques, calligraphy supplies, and the like. The street is south of Hepingmen Subway Station. Be aware that you need an export license to take home antiques that date to 1949 or earlier. You can identify those products by their red seal. Export of antiques that date to 1795 or earlier is illegal. The Silk Market is not far from the Friendship Store. The market sells a large variety of export products that didn't make it to the docks for some reason. Carpet. Products are less expensive and of variable quality... Sanlitun Street Market also carries silk (and more). When the sun goes, the shops turn into bars. The Russian Market on the west side of Ritan Park is pretty cheap, and you get what you pay for. The market has a history; Russian traders came in droves to buy goods to resell in Russian during the era when the two communist countries were friends instead of rivals. Ghost Market, east of Longtan Park, carries souvenirs from the Cultural Revolution. The market closes at noon. Silver Street runs a block east of Wangfujing. Shops there specialize in American/European clothes. Ganjiakou Market near the Beijing Zoo carries mostly Asia products. Liangmahe Market is across the street from the Kempenski Hotel. A few dozen smaller shops. Beijing Curio City in the country's largest trade center for antiques.
Originally the "Park of Ten Thousand Creatures. The giant pandas are the zoo's main attraction. Rare golden monkeys are also housed at the zoo. There are about 600 species and a total of 7000 animals in the zoo's 30 halls and enclosures.
Despite the distance that it covers, the majority of visitors to China's Great Wall come to it at one of three locations near Beijing, where it can be reached as part of a day trip from the city. Badaling is the single most popular spot for foreign tourists in China to visit the Wall. The spot is less than 50 miles north of the city. The Badaling section of the Great Wall highlights the continuing growth of the structure throughout Chinese history. Parts of the Wall in Chin'a west date back as far as the seventh century B.C.; Badaling, by comparison, was built in 1505 A.D. by the Ming Emperor Hongzhi. Thus, portions of the Great Wall are more than 2000 years older than this, the most visited section of the structure. The Wall at Badaling averages about seven-and-a-half meters high, four meters thick, six-and-a-half meters wide at the base and a little less than six meter wide at the top. It runs about three miles along the mountain tops north of Beijing and is peppered with 19 strategically placed forts and watchtowers. Six horse or 10 men can run in formation along the cobbled road which forms the top of the Wall here...
The Old Summer Palace on Fu Hai Lake has not been a royal hang out since the British sacked in 1860 during the Second Opium War. Today the site is something of a public picnic ground. Small boats cover the lake during the summer; during the winter Beijingers ice skate on it. Close by, on Kunming Lake, the New Summer Palace (and the Garden of Cultivated Harmony) were started in 1888. Pink and green lotuses cover the lake during the summer. The Palace grounds are extensive and interesting, and are probably worth most of a day.
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The Number One Thing to Do: See the Imperial Palace.