The fact that the Olympic Games are being held in Beijing this year, gives you the perfect excuse to explore this historic city. Not, of course, during the games — unless you have a sizeable bank balance, an affinity for crowds and a passion for sports — but rather on either side of the games.

The logic behind this somewhat bizarre proposal is that China has spent the past few years upgrading and improving its capital to ensure that the games are a success. So, jump on the Olympic bandwagon and reap the benefits of upgraded public transport, improved hospitality and restored monuments before/after the crowds make the experience unbearable.

Another nifty little advantage of this plan is that autumn and spring (which happen to fall on either side of the summer games) are the best seasons during which to visit Beijing.

Dating from around 1000 BC, Beijing is a veritable treasure-trove of cultural gems that only the basest of philistines could fail to appreciate. So, lest you fall into that category, here’s a list of essential sights on your journey to the Forbidden City and beyond.

The Forbidden City

Up until the 20th century, this city (which is situated in the heart of Beijing) would have been strictly out-of-bounds (hence the ‘forbidden’ moniker). Unless, of course, you happened to be royalty, a minister, or the servant of royalty.

Built in the early 1400s by the Ming dynasty Emperor Yongle (well, his 200 000 labourers at any rate), this royal complex was home to 24 emperors and empresses from the Ming and Qing dynasties for over five centuries.

Declared a World Heritage Site in 1987, the city consists of palaces, pavilions and halls which are made up of almost 9000 rooms. It is surrounded by thick walls that are over 30 feet high and a moat which is 170 feet across.

Tian’anmen Square

Next to the city and of a similar size, is Tian’anmen Square. Named after the gate which separates it from the Forbidden City (Gate of Heavenly Peace), the square is regarded as the world’s largest public area. It is estimated that more than one million people gathered in the square to witness the 10 October 1949 proclamation of the founding of the People’s Republic of China by Mao Zedong.

Tian’anmen Square, which is most well-known in the west because of the protests (and subsequent massacres) of 1989, is also the location of the Monument to the People’s Heroes, the memorial Hall of Chairman Mao Zedong, the Great Hall of the People and museums of Chinese History and the Chinese Revolution.

Summer Palace

The Summer Palace was described as ‘an outstanding expression of the creative art of Chinese landscape garden design, incorporating the works of humankind and nature in a harmonious whole,” when it was added to the Unesco World heritage list in 1998.

Situated in the cool hills 70km northwest of Beijing, the Summer Palace was designed as a seasonal getaway for royalty. It has been ransacked twice – once in 1860 by the Anglo-French troops during the Second Opium War and once in 1900 by rioters during the Boxer Rebellion – but has subsequently been repaired.

Visit the Long Corridor, which stretches over half a mile, and is literally a visual encyclopaedia of China with over 10 000 painted images of Chinese history, geography, myth and literature.

Highlights of this imperial getaway also include a marble boat, the Hall of Benevolent Longevity with its dragon throne and the Empress Dowager Cixi’s private residence which still contains most of the original furniture (including the first electric lamps in China).

Temple of Heaven

Yet another World Heritage Site (1998), the Temple of Heaven, which was also built during the reign of Emperor Yongle, is the ‘official civic symbol’ of Beijing and one of the lucky recipients of a $5.9-million pre-Olympic facelift.

The Temple of Heaven once held an important role in Chinese society. Every year on the winter solstice, the emperor and his retinue would travel from the Forbidden City to the temple to perform rites and make sacrifices on behalf of the Chinese nation.

Badaling Great Wall

Any visit to China is incomplete without a trip to the Great Wall and the Badaling section of the wall (approximately 70km from the centre of Beijing) just happens to be the most well-preserved section. Built during the Ming dynasty, this section of the wall can be accessed by foot, but (for those opposed to the steep climb) there is also a cable car.

Ming Tombs

The final resting place of 13 emperors, the Ming tombs are living monuments with all but those open to the public still containing the remains of their emperors. Currently there are three tombs open to the public – Chang Ling (the largest), Ding Ling and Zhao Ling.

The entire tomb site is surrounded by a wall and a seven-kilometre road called the ‘Spirit Way’ which leads into the complex. The Avenue of Stone Animals is flanked by sculptures of pairs of animals and court and military officials. Some of these sculptures date from 1435 AD.

Lama Temple

The Lama Temple, otherwise known as The Yonghe Temple (Harmony and Peace Palace) is the biggest Tibetan Buddhist Lama Temple in Beijing. Originally built as the residence of the Qing Prince Yong in 1694, this palace was converted into a Lamasery by the Emperor Qianlong in 1744. The temple is alleged to have survived the Cultural Revolution due to intervention by Prime Minister Zhou Enlai and was reopened to the public in 1987.

The Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happiness is the largest structure in the temple. Situated in the middle of the pavilion is a sculpture of the Maitreya (Buddha of the Future) carved out of a single trunk of a sandalwood tree. With a height of 26 metres and a diameter of eight metres, it is the tallest and biggest Maitreya of its kind in the world. Behind the Buddha, on three different levels, there are 10 000 (hence the name) small Buddhist statues.


RSS
Digg
de.li.cious
facebook