In 1420, Ming emperor Zhu Di moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing-formerly known as Peking. In 1911 civil revolution led to abdication of the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty. For over a period of 491 years, the Forbidden City remains to be the capital for 14 Ming emperors and 10 Qing emperors. It has been a symbol of feudalism and the center of power.

The palace occupies an area of some 720,000 square-meter with over 9,000 rooms. Historical records showed that it took up to one million laborers and 100,000 artisans to complete the construction project. Original construction materials came from all parts of the country. in the Ming Dy-nasty, the timber needed for building the palace was brought mostly from Sichuan, Hunan and Guangdong Provinces, while in the Qing Dynasty timber from northeast territories were used for renovations and ex-pansions. Bricks with a light golden color were used to pave the floors of the inte- rior halls. Although they are not made of real gold, but since they were spe cially made in Suzhou and cost a good fortune, so people called them gold bricks anyway. All the structures employed red brick walls and yellow glass tiles for the roof. The main buildings were arranged with utmost care to form sym-metrical patterns. The overall layout of the palatial complex place strong emphasis on reflecting the dignity of the emperor and is a master piece of Chinese palatial con-struction. The 1911 civil revolution brought an end to the Qing Dynasty and also marked the con-clusion of the two thous-and years of autocratic feudalism in China. However, the last emperor Po Yi stayed in the palace for thirteen years after the dethroning. Until November 5, 1924, People’s Army drove Po Yi away from the palace and re-named it Palace Museum on October 10, l925 . The Palace Museum is the largest museum in China, with a vast collection of art crafts pieces from ancient times up to the Qing Dynasty. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1945, the museum has under-gone several large scale renovations. Massive compilation works had been carried out over the years to preserve this important historical monument for the viewing of local and overseas tourists.

The Mutianyu Grate Wall The section of the Great Wall at Mutianyu is within the bound-aries of Huairou County, 70 km northeast of Beijing. It is one of the sixteen famous scenes in Beijing. Mutianyu joins Juyong Pass in the west and Gubei Entrance in the east. Together with Badaling, it is the quintes-sence of the Great Wall in the Ming Dynasty. On the section of the Great Wall at Mutian-yu the watchtowers are very closely spaced, varied in style and refined in construcion. The Zheng Guan Tower is a building on which three watchtowers crowd together. It is imposing, novel and unique, an asset of the Great Wall. Gazing into the distance on this section of the Great Wall, you are presented with a splendid sight. The wall changes with the mountain slope, leaping onto the peaks one moment, slipping into the low valleys the next, just like a huge dragon rising and ready to fly to the sky. The tourist district of Mutianyu is relatively well equipped in services. A cablecaris buiilt whereby tourists ride cable cars to climb the Great Wall.

The constructionof the city of Beijing was carried out under well-thought- out ove-rall planning: the motif that the imperial palaces were to be the dominating feature is clearly manifested in its general layout. The city spreads out on a 7.5-kilometer-long central axis running from south to north.The central axis begins at the Zheng-yang Gate and runs all the way to Tian An Men, which is the main entrance to the Forbidden City. Going fur-ther northward from Tian An Men. the central axis enters the Forbidden City and runs through the Duan Men Gate, the Wu Men Gate, the Tai He Gate, the Tai He Palace, the Bao He Palace and the Qian Qing Palace. Leaving the Forbidden city at the Shen Wu Gate,it runs through the lmperial gardens, the Di An Gate and comes to an end at the Bell Tower and the Drum Heaven and the southern tip of the axis has the Temple of Heaven and the Temple of the Land God and the Grain god.

Further north stand the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the moon.Situated at parallel locations in the south and the north are the Trmple of Earth and the Temple of Heaven. and Beijing’s streets fan out with this central line as the axis. Beijing used to comprise an inner city and an outer city, both of which were sur-rounded by high walls with gates on all foyr sides;the inner city gad nine gates and rhe outer had seven. The names of the gates have been handed down to this day though all of the walls have been demolished. Almost all of the gates have also been pulled down except the central southern gate of the inner city, the Zheng Yang Gate, which in older days only the emperors could use,the Bell Tower, the De Sheng Gate watch tower and the southeastern corner tower. All of these have now been opened to the public as museums.

Tian’anmen Gate

Tian’anmen Gate (Gate of Heavenly Peace) was built in the 15th Century and restored in the 17th Century. From imperial days, the yellow glaze-tiled double-eaves tower functioned as a rostrum for proclamations to the assembled masses. October 1, 1949, Chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of the new China. The tower has five doors and in front of it are seven bridges spanning a stream. Only the emperor could use the central door and bridge. On the top of the central door is a gigantic portrait of Chairman Mao with slogans on each side stating ‘Long Live the People’s Republic of China’ and ‘Long Live the Unity of the Peoples of the World’. Walking through the gate, you can enter the imperial city – Forbidden City with free charge while a panoramic view from the tower costs 15RMB for Foreigners.

Huabiao

Right beside a pair of marble lions in front of the Tian’anmen Gate stand obelisk of marble engraved with entwisting dragons and clouds – an ornamental architecture called Huabiao. Its history can be traced back to the Yao and Shun, legendary kings in remote antiquity. To solicit public criticism, it is said that wooden crosses were erected at marketplaces for people to write down complaints. Later during the Han (206 B.C. — 220 A.D.) wooden posts were replaced by stone pillars, which gradually became the sumptuous columns to palace gates. Huabiao can be usually found in imperial gardens and mausoleums.

On the top is a plate-shape flat called Chenglupan (dew-collecting) on which squats an animal called kong (a legendary animal for watch-keeping) facing to the south. They were called “Wangjungui” or “looking forward to the emperor’s return,” who watched over the emperor’s excursions and called him back. The couple inside the gate facing north, called Wangjunchu or “looking forward to the emperor’s progress,” were considered to supervise the emperor’s behavior in the court when he neglect court affairs.

Great Hall of the People

This is the venue of the legislature, the National People’s Congress. Summit meetings are often held in the 10,000-seat auditorium with the familiar red star embedded in a galaxy of lights in the ceiling. Also you can visit the 5000 seat banquet room where US president Richard Nixon dined in 1972. The admission costs £¡è 15.

Monument to the People’s Heroes (Renmin Yingxiong Jinianbei)

Built in 1958 on the southern side of Tian’anmen Square, this 36-meter obelisk bears brass-relief carvings of key revolutionary events such as the Chinese destroying opium in the 19th century.

Mao Zedong Memorial Hall (Mao Zhuxi Jiniantang)

Behind the Monument to the People’s Heroes is the hall where the embalmed body of Chairman Mao is kept and many Chinese show deep respect when confronted with the physical presence of Mao.

Admission:  15
Opening: 9:00 – 16:30

The Temple of Heaven is situated in the southern part of the city in Chongwen district. As famous as the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace, it is a “must” for every visitor.

In ancient China, the emperor was regarded as the “Son of Heaven”, who administered matters on the earth on behalf of the heavenly authority. To show respect to the heaven, ceremonies for sacrifices to heaven were extremely important to the emperor. The temple was built for the worship of heaven and prayers for good harvests. A double wall encloses the temple.

The upper northern half is circular, representing Heaven and the southern half is square, representing the Earth, coincident with the Chinese saying of “Round Heaven and Square Earth”. The main buildings on the north-south axis are The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest with the Pavilion of Double Ring Longevity on the left clustered at the northern end are the Imperial Vaulted Heaven and the Circular Altar at the southern. A 2.5-meter-high, 360-meter-long causeway connects the two parts and is known as the Vermilion Steps Bridge or the Sacred Way. Four Heavenly gates were built on the cardinal points.

Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest

This triple-eaved wooden structure with glazed-tiles and coloured decorative patterns is the most attractive in the temple and is the symbol of Beijing. It stands 38 meters high and 30 meters in diameter on a triple-tiered circular terrace called Altar for Grain Prayer. The terrace is edged with marble balustrades carved with dragons, phoenixes and clouds. Without nails, cement or steel rods, the whole structure was fixed by wooden mortise and wooden brackets with the support of 12 pillars.

Astronomic and calendric episteme are usually employed in the Chinese traditional architecture. There are a total of 28 pillars, which represent 28 constellations. Four thick in the centre symbolize the four seasons of a year, while the inner 12 enclosed represent the 12 months and the outer 12 for two-hour intervals in a day. And the 24 altogether represent the 24 solar terms, of approximately 15 days each, into which the lunar year is divided. The system of the 24 lunar terms is quite important to farmers since it indicates weather changing at the time when it comes round.

The coffered ceiling of the hall is unique, carved in a design of dragons and phoenixes. This may remind visitors of a dome in western churches or Arabic mosques, but different in style and design.

The marble slab floor in the hall was engraved with dragon and phoenix. In the centre, there used to be a long table with screens behind on which the tablets of the Emperor’s ancestors were placed. With predominance of Confucianism, ancestor worship had also become an important feature. Therefore, tablets were enshrined in the Ancestral Temple as well as in the Temple of Heaven. On the left is a chair for the emperor to have rest.

The Temple of Heaven is the most holy of Beijing’s Imperial temples. For this is where the Emperor came every winter solstice to worship heaven and to solemnly pray for a good harvest. Since his rule was legitimised by a mandate from heaven, a bad harvest could be interpreted as his fall from heaven’s favour and threaten the stability of his reign. So, it was not without a measure of self-interest that the Emperor fervently prayed for a very good crop.

In line with the Confucianist revival during the Ming dynasty, the sacred harvest ceremony was combined with the Emperor’s worship of his ancestors. This embellishment was also, in effect, self-interested. For according to the Confucian pattern of social organisation, just as the Emperor respected his ancestors, so a younger brother should respect an elder brother, a wife her husband, a son his father, and a nation’s subjects their ruler. Incorporating ancestor worship within the most solemn ceremony of the Imperial ritual calendar, indirectly reinforced the social philosophy that perpetuated the Emperor’s power.

The design of the Temple of Heaven complex, true to its sacred purpose, reflects the mystical cosmological laws believed to be central to the workings of the universe. Hence, complex numerological permutations operate within its design. For example, because the number nine was considered to be the most powerful digit, you will see that the slabs that form the Circular Altar have been lain in multiples of nine. Similarly within the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, the interior twenty-eight columns are divided into four central pillars to represent the seasons, twelve inner columns to represent the months and twelve outer columns to represent the two hour tranches that make up a day. There are many such examples of this intense numerology at play.

Whereas in Imperial times commoners were not allowed to enter the enormous park, now for a minimal fee Chinese citizens can enjoy it all day long. Were you to visit at dawn you’d be surprised by the number of people there performing their morning exercises. Next to an older person practising the slow and flowing movements of Tai Qi there might be a younger one performing vigorous karate-like punches and kicks. One group might be learning the ancient martial art of sword-fighting, while another might be practising a traditional dance. Should you have the energy and the inclination, it is well worth waking up early one morning and visiting this park to watch such events take place.

On a parting note – amongst Sir Isaac Newton’s lesser known achievements in the seventeenth century was the design of a nail-less bridge at Queens College, Cambridge. I wonder how he’d have felt to have known that the Chinese had already built the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest on the same principle two hundred years earlier.

Early in the 10th century, the Liao dynasty a secondary imperial palace and an island ( Jade Islet) were built here. It was expanded by digging a lake, adding more palace halls when Jin empire took over; during the Yuan dynasty was rebuilt three times. The Ming and the Qing saw more construction and renovation: The Five Dragon Pavilions and the Nine-dragon Screen and pavilions were added. A White Dagoba, an onion-shaped shrine pagoda in Tibetan style, was erected in honor of the fifth Dalai Lama’s visit to Beijing in 1651.

Now it is a popular park with a total area of over 68 hectares, half of which is a lake. It boasts one of the best of China’s classical gardens with artificial hills, pavilions, halls, temples and covered corridors.

Most visitors enter the park through its south gate, touring the island and then walk along the eastern bank to the north gate. Have a rest at the gate and a further stoke along the western bank will feast your eyes on halls, temples and pavilions. Another choice is to enter from the south gate crossing the Beihai Bridge touring the western bank first and then ferry by boat across the lake to the Islet.

Besides the lake, the main things to see are the Round City, which contains a jade vase from the time of Kublai Khan; the Temple of Eternal Peace; the Nine Dragon Screen, which is actually a 5-metre-high, 27-metre-long wall covered with glazed tiles carved into nine intertwining dragons; and the White Dagoba on Jade Isle in the center of the lake.

Round City

A round building surrounded by a 5-meter-high wall, the Round City stands at the south gate of Beihai Park, and has a distinctive courtyard studded with halls, pavilions and ancient trees.

The Hall of Receiving Light (Chengguangdian) houses a statue of Buddha, 1.5 meters high, carved from a block of lustrous jade, a present from Burma to Empress Dowager Cixi. In the Jade Urn Pavilion at the center of the Round City is a jade urn, 0.66 meter in height and 1.5 meters in diameter, which was believed to be a wine vessel by Kublai Khan. Fancy decorative patterns of clouds, dragons and animals on the surface reveal the exquisite craft of consummate craftsman.

Jade Islet

The Jade Islet, the center of the park, features luxuriant trees and a host of temple halls. Atop the isle is the 35.9-meter-high White Dagoba. The dagoba together with a painting depicting Emperor Shunzhi (the first emperor of the Qing) meeting with the Fifth Dalai is the witness of the Central Government-Tibet alliance at that time. The top is a gold-gilded copper lid decorated with dozens of bells with jingle far in the wind. In front of the Dagoba stand the Temple of Enternal Peace (Yong’an si) and Hall of Universal Peace. At the back of the island is Hall of Rippling Water.

West Bank

Opposite the Jade Isle across the lake on the west bank are unique buildings. The Five-Dragon Pavilions – a zigzag line of five glaze-tiled pavilions over the water were built in 1602 and renovated several times under the Qing. The Qing emperors used to go fishing there.

The Iron Shadow Screen ( Tieyingbi), 3.56 meters long and 1.9 meters high, was built in the Yuan. The iron-colored screen was carved out of neutral igneous rock.

Nine-Dragon Screen

Just like the one in the Forbidden City, the screen is built with colored glazed-tiles, It was used to protect a temple (no long there now) from invading evil spirits, and is considered an art treasure and one of the best of its kind.

In summer, Beihai is an ideal place to escape from heat.