Beijing Blog

Tian’anmen (the Gate of Heavenly Peace), is located in the center of Beijing. It was first built in 1417 and named Chengtianmen (the Gate of Heavenly Succession). At the end of the Ming Dynasty, it was seriously damaged by war. When it was rebuilt under the Qing in 1651, it was renamed Tian’anmen, and served as the main entrance to the Imperial City, the administrative and residential quarters for court officials and retainers. The southern sections of the Imperial City wall still stand on both sides of the Gate. The tower at the top of the gate is nine-room wide and five –room deep. According to the Book of Changes, the two numbers nine and five, when combined, symbolize the supreme status of a sovereign.

Tian’anmen

In the old days, Tian’anmen, as a part of the Imperial City, was meant for important occasions. The two rows of chaofang (antechamber), on the sides behind the main gate, were reserved for civil and military members of the government waiting for imperial audience and in front of the gate, were offices of imperial administration.

On October 1, 1949, chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed on Tian’anmen Rostrum the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Since then, Tian’anmen has been the symbol of New China. Chairman Mao’s portrait is hung above the central entrance, flanked by two slogans:” Long Live the Great Unity of the Peoples of the World”. Today, the splendour of Tian’anmen attracts millions of visitors from all over the world. The Rostrum on its top was open to the public in 1988 for the first time in its history. It offers a panoramic view of the Square and the city proper.

Situated to the south of Tian’anmen, the Square has an area of 44 hectares (109 acres) that can accommodate as many as one million people for public gatherings. It has witnessed many historical events in China’s modern history and is a place for celebrations on such festive days as International Labour Day on May 1st and National Day on October 1st.

Address:

Tian’anmen Square, Dongcheng District, Beijing

Opening Hours:

8:30 to 17:00

The Temple of Heaven was the place where the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties would worship Heaven and pray for bumper crops.

The Temple of Heaven

Built first in 1420(the 18th year of Emperor Yongle’s reign of the Ming Dynasty), and then expanded and reconstructed during the Ming Emperor Jiajing’s reign and Qing Emperor Qianlong’s reign, the Temple of Heaven is a grand and magnificent masterpiece of architecture with a formal and solemn environment. Since the founding of New China, the government has allotted a great sum of money to protect and restore the cultural monuments there. The Temple of Heaven with its long history, deep cultural content and magnificent architectural style mirrors the ancient culture of the Orient.

In the Temple of Heaven are situated such main buildings as the Hall of Prayer for Good harvests, the Hall of Heavenly Emperor, the Circular Mound, the Imperial Vault of Heaven, the Abstinence Hall, the Beamless Hall, the Long Corridor, the Longevity Pavilion in a double ring shape as well as the Echo Wall, the Three Echo Stones, and the Seven Meteoric Stones.

The Temple of Heaven is the largest architectural group for worshipping Heaven in the world. In 1961, it was listed by the State Council as “one of the key monuments under the state protection”. In 1998, it was recognized by the UNESCO as “one of the human heritages of the world”.

Address:

East of Tianqiao, Tiantanlu, Chongwen District

Opening Hours:

6:00 to 17:30 (March.1 to June.30)

6:00 to 18:00 (July.1 to Oct.31)

6:00 to 17:00 (Nov.1 to Feb.28)

The construction of the Summer Palace first started in 1750. At that time, the Qing Dynasty was in its heyday and China was a powerful Asian country with vast territories. The monarch in power then was Emperor Qianlong. With supreme power and large sums of money, he summoned skillful and ingenious artisans from all over the country to carry out this construction work in honor of his mother’s birthday. After 15 years, with one seventh of the nation’s annual revenue spent, the Garden of Clear Ripples was completed and served as a testimony to China’s scientific and technological achievements.

The Summer Palace

In 1860, this vast royal garden was burnt down along with the Yuanming Yuan (Garden of Perfection and Brightness) by Anglo-French allied forces. In 1888, Empress Dowager Cixi reconstructed the garden on the same site and renamed it the Garden of Nurtured Harmony (Summer Palace).

Characterized by its vast scope and rich cultural embodiments, the Summer Palace has become one of the most famous tourist sites in the world.

Address:

The Summer Palace, Haidian District

Opening Hours:

7:00 to 17:00 (Nov.1 to March.31)

6:30 to 18:00 (April.1 to Oct.31)

The Great Wall, symbolizing China’s ancient civilization, is one of the world’s most renowned projects. It is a distance of 75 kilometres northwest of Beijing. Its highest point at Badaling is some 800 metres above sea level.

Construction of the Wall first began during the period of the Warring States (476-221 BC). Formerly, walls were built at strategic points by different kingdoms to protect their northern territories. In 221 BC after the first Emperor of the Qin Dynasty unified China, he decided to have the walls linked up and extended.

Historical records show that about 1 million people, one-fifth of China’s population at the time, were involved in the project which took more than ten years. When it was finished we call it “Wan Li Chang Cheng” which means “Ten Thousand-Li-Long Wall”. Now, nature has taken over most of the Great Wall.

The Great Wall which we are going to visit was rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty in the 16th century. It extends from Shanhaiguan Pass, a seaport along the coast of Bohai Bay, to Jiayuguan Pass in Gansu Province. Its total length is more than 6,700 kilometres.

The Great Wall

Preservation Efforts: In the past 2000 years, the Great Wall has expanded to roughly 60,000 km. Over 20 sections of the Great Wall, including Badaling and Simatai, will be undergoing construction in June, in order to repair the historical site.

This is the Palace Museum, also known as the Purple Forbidden City. It is the largest and most well preserved imperial residence in China today. Under Ming Emperor Yongle, construction began in 1406. It took 14 years to build the Forbidden City. The first ruler who actually lived here was Ming Emperor Zhudi. For five centuries thereafter, it continued to be the residence of 23 successive emperors until 1911 when Qing Emperor Puyi was forced to abdicate the throne. In 1987, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization recognized the Forbidden City as a world cultural legacy.

It is believed that the Palace Museum, or Zi Jin Cheng (Purple Forbidden City), got its name from astronomy and folklore. The ancient astronomers divided the constellations into groups and centered them around the Ziwei Yuan (North Star). The constellation containing the North Star was called the Constellation of Heavenly God and the star itself was called the purple palace. Because the emperor was supposedly the son of the heavenly gods, his central and dominant position would be further highlighted by the use of the word purple in the name of his residence.

The Palace Museum

A panorama of the Palace Museum

Preservation Efforts: The renovation of the Forbidden City is now going full throttle in Beijing. This is the first full-scale effort to restore the imperial grandeur of its 582 year history. After the restoration, Wuying Hall, the editing center of the famous Imperial Encyclopedia in Four Volumes, opened to the public for the first time on September of last year. In 2008, the Forbidden City will reflect glory days it experienced during the reigns of Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong.

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