1st Visit to China
Beijing
Tiananmen Square (天安门广场)
Tiananmen (天安门)
Tiananmen was built in 1417 during the Ming Dynasty. It was the main entrance of the Forbidden City.
Tiananmen Square lies between two ancient massive gates: the Tiananmen (前门) to the north and the Qianmen (前门) to the south.
The Great Hall of the People (人民大会堂)
Along the west side of the square is the Great Hall of the People.
National Museum of China（中国国家博物院）
The National Museum of China is on the east side.
Tiananmen Square was the site of several key events in Chinese history:
* May 4 Movement in 1949
* the Proclamation of People Republic of China by Mao Zedong
on October 1, 1949
* Mass Rallies during the Cultural Revolution
* Tianmen Protest in 1989
Forbidden City (紫禁城)
Forbidden City (紫禁城)
Located at the centre of the ancient city of Beijing, Forbidden City was the imperial palace during the mid-Ming (明) and Qing (清) Dynasties.
It is now known as Palace Museum (故宫博物院)
It is now known as Palace Museum (故宫博物院)
The Forbidden City was divided into two parts:
1. the outer court used for ceremonial purposes
2. the inner court where the emperor worked and lived with his
family
Temple of Heaven (天坛)
The principal buildings in the Temple of Heaven from south to north are:
-the Circular Mound Altar (天心石) where the emperor would offer sacrifice to Heaven on the day of the Winter Soltice every year.
Circular Mound Altar (天心石)
-Imperial Vault of Heaven (皇穹宇) used to house the memorial tablets of the emperor's ancestors.
Imperial Vault of Heaven (皇穹宇)
-Hall of Prayers (祈年殿) where the emperor prayed for good harvest.
The Temple of Heaven was built during the Ming Dynasty. It is much bigger than the Forbidden City because Chinese emperors who referred themselves as the Son of Heaven, dared not build their own dwelling, Forbidden City, bigger than a dwelling for Heaven.
The northen part of the temple is semicircular and higher, representing the Heaven. The southern part is square and lower, representing the Earth. This architectural design symbolizes the relationship between Earth and Heaven and the special role played by the emperors within this relationship.
Summer Palace (颐和园)
Summer Palace is made up mainly of Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake.
Summer Palace was constructed during the reign of Emperor Qianlong (乾隆) who ruled in the 18th century. It was burnt down in 1860 by Anglo-French Forces during the 2rd Opium War.
In 1888, Empress Dowager Cixi (慈禧) embezzled navy funds to reconstruct it for her own benefit.
However, Summer Palace was damaged extensively once again by the Eight Allied Powers during Boxer Rebellion. It was rebuilt shortly after.
Yonghe Temple (雍和宫)
Yonghe Temple（雍和宫）
Yonghe Temple was first built in 1694 as the residence of prince Yongzheng (雍正). The prince lived here until 1723, when he became emperor and moved to the Forbidden City.
After that half of the temple was converted into lamasery. The other half remained as an imperial palace.
The building and the artworks of the temple combine Han and Tibetan styles.
Yonghe Temple is now the largest lamasery in China. The main attraction is an 18-m tall wooden Buddha.
Hutong (胡同)
Hutong is an ancient city alley typical in Beijing. Hutongs, in fact, are passageways formed by many closely arranged courtyards (四合院) of different sizes.
Most of the hutongs were built in Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties.
A courtyard is like a square. Rooms are built along the four sides of the square.
The courtyard we visited was in Shishahai (什刹海) area. It was a small courtyard. There was one room on each of the four sides. The parents lived in the north room. The boy lived in the west room and girl in the east. The south room was a garage.
The door of all rooms faces the yard which was in the centre of the courtyard. Trees are planted in the yard.
Great Wall of China (长城)
on a section of the Great Wall
If you haven't been to the Great Wall, you are not a real man----Mao Zedong
The Great Wall of China has long been the symbol of China. The construction of the Great Wall showed the Chinese people's resilience and innovation in protecting their country against the invading northern normadic tribes.
Parts of the wall date from the Chunqiu (春秋 722-481 BC) and the Warring States (战国 453-221 BC) periods.
They began as independent defensive walls for different states.
After Emperor Qin Shihuang had unified China, the walls were connected into a single continuous wall known as the Great Wall.
The Great Wall went through constant extension and repairs in later dynasties.
The Great Wall, as we see today, was mostly built during the Ming Dynasty.
It is over 6000 km long. It starts on the eastern end at Shanhaiguan Pass (山海关) in Hebei province and ends on the western end at Jiayuguan Pass (嘉峪关) in Gansu Province.
cloisone (景泰蓝) vases
Cloisone is an enamel in which the colours of the design are separated by thin metal strips.
Ming Dynasty Waxworks Museum
明皇蜡像馆
The museum reproduces hitorical scenes with wax figures, depicting events that happened during Ming Dynasty.
Beihai Park (北海公园 )
Beihai Park was an imperial garden, built over 1000 years ago. It is located northwest of the Forbidden City.
writing with a brush and water on the floor
at Beihai Park (北海公园)
a Changing China, Beihai Park
a White Dagoba (舍利塔) in Beihai Park
The White Dagoba (舍利塔), pagoda in Tibetan style, was built in honour of the fifth Dalai Lama's visit to Beijing in 1651.
Grand View Garden (北京大观园)
Grand View Garden (北京大观园)
Beijing Grand View Garden was built to film the Dream of the Red Chamber (红楼梦).
calligraphy written by Emperor Qianlong (乾隆)
Lugou Bridge (卢沟桥)
Countless of finely carved lions on the bridge.
Lugou Bridge is a famous stone bridge located south-west of Beijing.
It was here that Lugou Bridge Incident (卢沟桥事变) happened on July 7, 1937. The incident led to Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945).
Wangfujing（王府井）
Chengde (承德)
Chengde Summer Resort
Chengde Summer Resort is the largest imperial garden in China.
The contruction began in 1703 during the reign of Kangxi (康熙) and completed in 1792 during the reign of Qianlong (乾隆).
The Summer Resort possesses a scenery characteristic of both northern and southern China.
It is divided into two main parts: the palace and the scenic area.
Scattered around the resort are the Eight Outer Temples (外八庙). Many of them were built in Tibetan styles.
The construction of these temples contributed much to the unity among China's various minority ethnic groups.
Rehe (热河）
Commonly called Rehe for having the ever flowing and unfrozen spring there
Potala Palace (小布达拉宫)
Potala Palace
Tianjin (天津)
天津食品街
Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, The Great Wall and Chengde Summer Resort were all listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites.
