Beijing
Facts (北京)
MY Favourite Places to Visit
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The Forbidden City (紫禁城)
The Forbidden City is a palace complex in central Beijing, China. The former seat of Imperial Chinese Dragon Throne from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty—the years 1420 to 1912, it now houses the Palace Museum. The Forbidden City served as the home of emperors and their households as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government for almost 500 years.
If I need to write about the Forbidden City, I will need endless pages. Therefore, I will provide you with my Forbidden City website if anyone wishes toexplore deeper and furher into this world wonder.
The Great Wall of China (長城)
The Great Wall of China is a series of fortifications made of stone, brick, tamped earth, wood, and other materials, generally built along an east-to-west line across the historical northern borders of China to protect the Chinese states and empires against the raids and invasions of the various nomadic groups of the Eurasian Steppe. Several walls were being built as early as the 7th century BC;. These, later joined together and made bigger and stronger, are collectively referred to as the Great Wall. Especially famous is the wall built in 220–206 BC by Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. Little of that wall remains. The Great Wall has been rebuilt, maintained, and enhanced over various dynasties. Today, the Great Wall is generally recognized as one of the most impressive architectural feats in history.
There is a Chinese saying that ïf you have not been to the Great Wall, you are not a good man"- 不到長城非好漢。
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Summer Palace (頤和園)
The Summer Palace (頤和園) is a vast ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces in Beijing, China. It was an imperial garden in Qing Dynasty. Mainly dominated by Longevity Hill (萬壽山) and Kunming Lake, The design of the Summer Palace was based on a legend in Chinese mythology about three divine mountains in the East Sea, namely Penglai, Fangzhang (方丈) and Yingzhou (瀛洲). The three islands in Kunming Lake – Nanhu Island (南湖島), Tuancheng Island (團城島) and Zaojiantang Island (藻鑒堂島) – were built to represent the three mountains, while the lake itself was based on a blueprint of the West Lake in Hangzhou.
In 1860, the French and British looted the Summer Palace at the end of the Second Opium War and on October 18, 1860 the British burned down the nearby Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan). Between 1884–95, during the reign of the Guangxu Emperor , Empress Dowager Cixi ordered 22 million silver taels, originally designated for upgrading the Qing navy (the Beiyang Fleet), to be used for reconstructing and enlarging the Summer Palace to celebrate her 60th birthday. As the funds were limited, the construction works were concentrated on the buildings in front of Longevity Hill and the dams around Kunming Lake. In 1900, towards the end of the Boxer Rebellion, the Summer Palace suffered damages again when the forces of the Eight-Nation Alliance destroyed the imperial gardens and seized many artifacts stored in the palace. The palace was restored two years later.
In December 1998, UNESCO included the Summer Palace on its World Heritage List.
Temple of Heaven (天壇)
The Temple of Heaven is an imperial complex of religious buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest.
In ancient China, the Emperor of China was regarded as the Son of Heaven, who administered earthly matters on behalf of, and representing, heavenly authority. To be seen to be showing respect to the source of his authority, in the form of sacrifices to heaven, was extremely important. The temple was built for these ceremonies, mostly comprising prayers for good harvests.
Twice a year the Emperor and all his retinue would move from the Forbidden City through Beijing to encamp within the complex, wearing special robes and abstaining from eating meat. No ordinary Chinese was allowed to view this procession or the following ceremony. In the temple complex the Emperor would personally pray to Heaven for good harvests. The highpoint of the ceremony at the winter solstice was performed by the Emperor on the Earthly Mount. The ceremony had to be perfectly completed; it was widely held that the smallest of mistakes would constitute a bad omen for the whole nation in the coming year.
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Ming Tombs (明十三陵)
The Ming tombs are a collection of mausoleums built by the emperors of the Ming dynasty of China, known as the Thirteen Tombs of the Ming Dynasty. From the Yongle Emperor onwards, 13 Ming dynasty emperors were buried in the same area.
Presently, the Ming Tombs are designated as one of the components of the World Heritage Site, the Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, which also includes a number of other locations near Beijing and in Nanjing, Hebei, Hubei, Liaoning province.
It was a long walk leading up to the tomb but definitely a nice one. Before entering the tomb is a small museum which gives you a glimpse of the brief history of the Ming Emperors who were buried in the tombs.
Temple of Confucius (孔廟)
The Temple of Confucius is the second largest Confucian Temple in China, after the one in Confucius' hometown of Qufu.
The temple contains stone tablets recording the names of many generations of scholars who passed the Imperial Examination, a reproduction of a Western Zhou dynasty stone drum made during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (1735–96), and stone stelescontaining the Thirteen Confucian Classics, presented by the city of Jintan in Jiangsu Province.
Taking a boat ride alongside the Canal, you will be able to see lots of run-down houses where they are still the main residences of many. A memorable historical and cultural site to visit. There is also a museum alongside the Canal.
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Guozijian (北京國子監)
Beijing Guozjian was the imperial college during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, and the last Guozijian of China. To the east of the Guozijian, lies the Confucius Temple, the second largest Confucius temple in all of China, and the Yonghegong Temple, the largest Lama Temple in Beijing.
The Guozijian was first built in 1306 during the 24th year of Zhiyuan Reign of the Yuan Dynasty, and was reconstructed and renovated on a large scale during Yongle and Zhengtong reigns of the Ming Dynasty. The Guozijian was shut down in 1905.
The administrative officials of Guozijian were called Chief (祭酒, Jìjiǔ), Dean of Studies (司業, Sīyè), or Proctor (監丞, Jiānchéng). The students who studied at the Guozijian were called "Jiansheng" (監生, Jiànshēng), and they mainly studied the Confucian classics.
The Old Summer Palace, also known as Yuanmingyuan (圓明園) was a complex of palaces and gardens in present-day Haidian District, Beijing, China. Widely perceived as the pinnacle work of Chinese imperial garden and palace design, the Old Summer Palace was known for its extensive collection of gardens, its building architecture and numerous art and historical treasures. The palace was constructed throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries and wwas reputed as the "Garden of Gardens" (萬園之園).
During the Second Opium War, French and British troops captured the palace on 6 October 1860, looting and destroying the imperial collections over the next few days. On 18 October 1860, he British High Commissioner to China, James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, ordered the complete destruction of the palace. The palace was so large, (covering more than 3.5 square kilometres (860 acres)) that it took 4,000 men three days to destroy it. Many exquisite artworks including sculptures, porcelain, jade, silk robes, elaborate textiles, gold objects and more were looted and are now located in 47 museums around the world, according to UNESCO.
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