Beijing, China October 2 October 89-9, 2007

Background

Beijing, or Peking as it was called until just after World War II, is the capital of The People's Republic of China and is nation's political, cultural, and educational center. It has been the seat of power in China since the days of Kublai Khan. The city covers an area of roughly 6,750 square miles and boasts a population of over 11 million people. Although the permanent residents of Beijing come from all of China's ethnic groups, more than fifty in number, those of Han ethnicity account for 96.5% of the total. The ethnic minorities, totaling approximately 300,000 people, are mostly from Hui, Manchu, and Mongolian backgrounds.

Several cities bearing various names have existed at this site since the eighth century BC. The nucleus of the present city was Kublai Khan's capital, Cambuluc (constructed 1260–90 AD). Under the name Beijing, the city was the capital of China from 1421 until 1911. The gateway to Mongolia and Manchuria, it was often the prize of contending armies.

In 1860, Great Britain and France captured Beijing and forced the Chinese government to concede the Legation Quarter for foreign settlements. This cession was among the factors responsible for the Boxer Uprising in 1900, in which the foreign colony was besieged until relieved by a combined expeditionary force of American, Japanese, and European troops. The foreign powers exacted a treaty that provided for the permanent garrisoning of foreign troops in Beijing.

The city changed hands repeatedly during the civil wars that followed the establishment of the Chinese Republic in 1911–12. From 1912 to 1927, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Hankou alternated as centers of government. In 1928, when the seat of government was transferred to Nanjing, the name Peiping was adopted. Japan occupied the city after the famous Marco Polo Bridge incident in 1937 and made the city the capital of a puppet state.

With the end of World War II and the abolition of the last foreign concessions, the city was entirely restored to Chinese sovereignty under the Nationalist Party of Chiang Kai-shek. In January 1949, it fell to the Communists, who later that year designated it the capital of the newly founded People's Republic of China and restored the name Beijing.

Since 1949, Beijing has spread well beyond its core and hundreds of new buildings, hotels, and cultural centers now dot the city and its suburbs. The government is attempting to restore and preserve important artistic and architectural works throughout China, many of which are in Beijing. However, modern construction in the city has increased since the 1990s, resulting in the loss of many of its traditional neighborhoods and historical areas.

China Travel Information

China is the third largest country in the world with a total land area of 3,691,463 square miles. The topography varies from rugged mountains, deserts, and high plateaus to rain forests and sunken basins. China is located in about the same latitude as the United States.

The four seasons in Beijing are distinct. It is dry, windy and sandy in spring and hot and rainy in summer. Autumn is the best season in a year when the sky is blue; the air is crisp, mild and humid. However, winter is cold and dry with little snow. The average temperature throughout a year is 55F,. The average temperatures of the hottest month, July and the coldest month January range from 85F and 25F. The shorter seasons, spring ( February to April) and autumn (August to October) are better seasons for visiting Beijing when it is sunny and warm with few tourists crowding in the attractions.

The RMB (Renminbi) is China's official currency. The basic unit of RMB is the Yuan (Y), worth a little more than a dime in American money. The Yuan , is divided into ten jiao, which is again divided into ten fen. Yuan notes come in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 50 and 100.

The official language is Mandarin Chinese. Local dialects include the Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, and Hakka dialects, as well as several other minority languages. Most hotels have staff who are fluent in foreign languages--- English, Japanese, Spanish,. German, French, etc.

Electric voltage is 220 volts but most luxury hotels have built-in converters in bathrooms for shavers, hair dryers, etc. (Otherwise, come equipped, because a wide variety of plug types are in use.)

Potable water is available only at top hotels, so visitors should always ask to make sure. Bring all prescription and over-the-counter medicine you might require.

For more information, check the Beijing Page.

The Great Wall

The Great Wall of China, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is included in lists of the "Seven Medieval Wonders of the World" but was not, of course, one of the classical Seven Wonders of the World. Actually, there have been four major walls--- 208 BC (the Qin Dynasty); 1st century BC (the Han Dynasty);1138 - 1198 (the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period); and 1368-1620 (Hongwu Emperor until the Ming Dynasty).

The Great Wall that is seen today was built during the Ming Dynasty and on a much larger scale and with longer lasting materials than those that preceded it. The wall's primary purpose was not to keep people out--- it could be scaled--- but to insure that nomads and invaders on the outside of the wall could not cross with their horses and then return easily to their homes with stolen property.

One of the largest building construction projects ever completed, the Great Wall stretches across the mountains of northern China, winding its way for more than 4,000 miles to Beijing. The Great Wall is not uniform in form or structure, mainly because the materials used in its construction had to be those available near the site of construction. Near Beijing, the wall is constructed from quarried limestone blocks while in other locations it may be quarried granite or fired brick. Where such "solid" materials were used, two parallel walls were erected with earth and rubble fill placed in between. They were then covered with a final paving to form a single unit. Interestingly, in some areas the huge stone blocks were cemented with a mixture of glutinous rice and eggwhite. In the extreme western desert locations, where good materials were scarce, the wall was constructed from dirt rammed between rough wood tied together with woven mats.

The Great Wall has several myths connected with it. For example, prisoners and peasants were required to work on the wall and, in addition, constant hunger and construction dangers, they were frequently under attack invading warlords. Because thousands died building the wall ,it has sometimes been called "the longest cemetery on Earth." However, the dead were not entombed in the wall because a body buried in the wall would have weakened its structure. The dead were simply buried nearby their labor sites.

Still another myth began in 1938, Richard Halliburton's Second Book of Marvels said "the Great Wall is the only man-made object visible from the moon." This myth has persisted, assuming urban legend status, sometimes even entering school textbooks. But, in fact, the Great Wall cannot be seen by the unaided eye from the distance of the moon. (Even its visibility from near-earth orbit is questionable.)

Forbidden City

At the heart of Beijing is the Forbidden City (also called Imperial Palace Museum), a is 250-acre complex of palaces, pavilions, and courtyards that was the home of China's emperor, the fabled"Son of Heaven, from 1421 to 1911. The construction of the Forbidden City started in 1406 and took 14 years and an estimated 200,000 workers took part in its construction. Highlights of this complex include by carved guardian lions, marble bridges crossing landscaped streams, and open-air courtyards where imperial ministers once gathered to hear the edicts of the Son of Heaven. Even the most seasoned travelers experience a sense of awe as they enter through the magnificent Meridian Gate.

This magnificent, palatial architectural complex of its kind in the world. It is surrounded by ten-foot-high walls that are crowned by four observation towers and surrounded by a deep moat. Entry through the walls is through four large gates, each with three openings and a broad crowning pavilion. Many of the buildings of the Palace have been repaired and rebuilt, but their basic form and layout remain in their original state. The interior buildings represent the largest and best-preserved examples of Chinese traditional architecture found today. The overall layout is centered on the three primary Halls of State--- The Hall of Supreme Harmony (Taihedian), The Hall of Middle Harmony (Zhonghedian), and The Hall of Preserving Harmony (Baohedian).

Special state ceremonies were held in the Outer Court (Wai Chao) of the Forbidden City during Imperial days--- emperors governed from their thrones, holding court sessions with their ministers, issuing imperial edicts, and initiating military expeditions. The Outer Court was also the site for the accession of a new emperor to the throne. The Inner Court was the residential area of the emperor and the imperial household as well as the place where the emperor dealt with routine state affairs.

The Forbidden City is also one of the world's foremost museums of Chinese art. Its palaces and halls are filled with innumerable works of art and cultural artifacts, including gifts of state, military campaign loot, and furnishings and possessions of members of the imperial households. A great number of these treasures represent the peak of artistic and inventive genius exhibited by the countless artisans who worked exclusively for the imperial court.

The Imperial Palace grounds are so immense that it takes ten years to paint the entire complex. By the time one full rotation of painting is done, a decade has passed and the whole process must start again. So, at any given time, there is always some painting and restoration work going on.

As a note especially for American visitors, there is actually a Starbucks within the Forbidden City! It was built to attract more western tourists but its prominent sign offended the Chinese. The shop is very small but sells all the "usual" coffees and teas, souvenir Beijing Starbucks cups, and some of food. They have since taken down offensive the Starbucks sign but employees wear Starbucks T-shirts and the coffee is served in Starbucks cups. Even without a big sign, the shop does a roaring business, partly because it's Starbucks, but also because there aren't many places where you can buy anything to eat in the Forbidden City. (Another sign of international Americanism can be found just outside of the Forbidden City's gates--- a KFC!) Finally, tourists can find "relief" but looking for the large signs directing them to the Forbidden City's toilet areas.

Tiananmen Square

The dramatic scene of political struggle and unrest in 1989, Tiananmen Square is the largest public square in the world, able to accommodate up to one million people. It is the must place to visit in Beijing City. Located at the center of Beijing near the entranced to the Forbidden City, its main attractions are the Tiananmen Tower, the Monument to the People's Heroes, the Great Hall of the People, the Mao Zedong Memorial Hall, and the Chinese National Museum. (A guard of honor raises the Five Star Red Flag every morning but you have to get up very early and arrive at the Square before sunrise in order to see the ceremony clearly as there are crowds of thousands people attending the event every day.)

At the north end of the Square is Tiananmen Tower. Initially built in 1417 during the Ming Dynasty (1368- 1644), the Square was the front door of the Forbidden City. The most important use of it in the past was as the site of the Imperial inauguration ceremonies. Until 1911, when the last feudal kingdom was overthrown, nobody could enter the Tower except for the royal family and members of the royal court.

West of the Square is the Great Hall of the People. This building, erected in 1959, is the site of the China National People's Congress meetings and provides an impressive site for other political, diplomatic, art shows, concerts and plays, and even social activities. The Hall which has three parts--- the Central Hall,;the Great Auditorium, which seats up to 10,000 people; and a Banquet Hall, which can accommodate 5,000 at a single sitting! The floor of the Central Hall is paved with marble and crystal lamps hang like stars from the ceiling.

Mao Zedong Memorial Hall is at the south side of the Square. This Hall is divided into three halls and Chairman Mao's body lies in a crystal coffin surrounded by fresh bouquets of flowers and grasses in one of the halls .

Another important place for the tourist to visit is the China National Museum at the east side of the Square facing the Great Hall of the People. It was opened in 2003 and highlights exhibits from both Chinese history, generally, and the Communist Revolution period. The Museum displays a large number of cultural relics illustrating the long history and glorious culture of China from its earliest periods until 1921 when the last emperor left the throne. Of course, it also features a lot of material objects, pictures, books, and models that show the development of post-Imperial China.