Beijing, China
Misawa ITT Tour 35th
Introduction to Beijing
Beijing is located in northern China, close to Tianjin Municipality and partially surrounded by Hebei Province. The city covers an area of
more than 16,800 square kilometers (6,487 square miles) and has a population of 13.82 million people. Beijing is at its best in late spring and autumn, particularly during the months of May, September, and October, when people can enjoy bright sunshine and blue skies. As the capital of the People’s Republic of China, Beijing is the nation’s political, economic, cultural and educational center, as well as being China’s most important center for international trade and communications. It has been the heart and soul of politics and society throughout its long history, and consequently, there is an unparalleled wealth of discovery to delight and intrigue travelers as they explore Beijing’s ancient past and enjoy its exciting modern development. How can one city boast so many phenomenal places? Beijing’s long and illustrious history started some 500,000 years ago. It is here that the ancestors of modern Homo sapiens, Peking men, lived in caves. Records show that Beijing has been an inhabited city for more than three thousand years and has endured invasions by warlords and foreign powers, devastating fires, the rise and fall of powerful imperial dynasties and has emerged each time as a strong and vibrant city. For more than 800 years, Beijing was a capital city - from the Yuan Dynasty to the Ming and Qing dynasties. Thirty-four emperors have lived and ruled the nation in Beijing, and it has been an important trading city from its earliest days. Although Beijing now is modern, fashionable and full of 21st Century vitality, you can experience authentic Beijing life and become acquainted with “old Beijing” by exploring its many teahouses, temple fairs, Beijing’s Hutong and Courtyard and enjoy the Peking Opera. Add any or all of these to your Beijing tour, and you will leave with a feeling of special appreciation in your heart for this ancient city that has truly seen it all and tells its story with matchless grace, charm and vigor.
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Introduction to Beijing
With the biggest central square in the world called the Temple of Heaven, which includes Tian’anmen Square, the Forbidden City that is the largest and best-preserved imperial palace complex, a superbly preserved section of the Great Wall, as well as the largest sacrificial complex in the world, Beijing attracts both domestic and foreign visitors who all come wonder at its century-old history and unique cultural relics. Dwelling too much on the historical past of Beijing may give the false impression that it is it little more than an ancient city, but this is definitely not so! Strolling around Beijing, you’ll find it has much in common with any other great metropolis elsewhere in today’s world. There are towering skyscrapers, busy shopping malls and an endless stream of traffic. Although you will find multinational chains with their own brands to offer, nowhere else on earth will you find such a variety of gourmet Chinese restaurants offering the very best of the eight different styles of Chinese cuisine, as well as western style dishes. Modern hotels offer the highest standards of service and convenience. After a day’s exploration of the city, nighttime can hold other surprises for you. These can vary from traditional performances, such as the Beijing Opera, acrobatics, martial arts, concerts, ballroom dancing, pubs and clubs. Each and every one has its enchantment for the tourist. No description of the capital city is complete without mention of the friendly people who throng the streets. You will encounter smiling faces everywhere and a welcome, especially from the children who love to say ‘Hello!” All these things add up to make your visit a true cultural experience of a lifetime. No words can adequately express all the charm of Beijing. Therefore, the only way to appreciate it fully is to experience for yourself. Everyone is sure to be awestruck by Beijing’s latest accomplishments combined with its ancient history.
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Great Wall of China
Forbidden City
The Great Wall of China, also known in China as the Great Wall of 10,000, is an ancient Chinese fortification built from the end of the 14th century until the beginning of the 17th century during the Ming Dynasty in order to protect China from raids by the Mongols and Turkic tribes. It was preceded by several walls built since the 3rd century BC against the raids of nomadic tribes coming from areas now in modern day Mongolia and Manchuria. The Wall stretches over a formidable 6,350 km (3,946 miles), from Shanghai Pass on the Bohai Gulf in the east, at the limit between China proper and Manchuria, to Lop Nur in the southeastern portion of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The first major wall was built during the reign of the First Emperor, the main emperor of the short-lived Qin dynasty. This wall was not constructed as a single endeavor, but rather was created by the joining of several regional walls built by the Warring States. It was located much further north than the current Great Wall, and very little remains of it. A defensive wall on the northern border was built and maintained by several dynasties at different times in Chinese history. The Great Wall that can still be seen today was built during the Ming Dynasty, on a much larger scale and with longer lasting materials (solid stone used for the sides and the top of the Wall) than any wall that had been built before. The primary purpose of the wall was not to keep out people, who could scale the wall, but to insure that semi-nomadic people on the outside of the wall could not cross with their horses or return easily with stolen property.
Lying at the center of Beijing, the Forbidden City, called Gu Gong in Chinese, was the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Now known as the Palace Museum, it lies to the north of Tiananmen Square. Rectangular in shape, it is the world’s largest palace complex and covers 74 hectares. Surrounded by a six-meter deep moat and a ten-meter high wall, there are 9,999 buildings. The wall has a gate on each side. Opposite of the Tiananmen Gate, to the north is the Gate of Devine Might (Shenwumen), which faces Jingshan Park. The distance between these two gates is 960 meters, while the distance between the gates in the east and west walls is 750 meters. There are unique and delicately structured towers on each of the four corners of the curtain wall. These afford views over both the palace and the city outside. Having been the imperial palace for some five centuries, it houses numerous rare treasures and curiosities. Listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site in 1987, the Palace Museum is now one of the most popular tourist attractions worldwide. Construction of the palace complex began in 1407, the 5th year of the Yongle reign of the third emperor of the Ming dynasty. It was completed fourteen years later in 1420. It was said that a million workers, including one hundred thousand artisans, were driven into the long-term hard labor. Stone needed was quarried from Fangshan, a suburb of Beijing. It was said a well was dug every fifty meters along the road in order to pour water onto the road in winter to slide huge stones on ice into the city. Huge amounts of timber and other materials were freighted from faraway provinces. Ancient Chinese people displayed their very considerable skills in building the Forbidden City. Take the grand red city wall for example. It has an 8.6 meters wide base reducing to 6.66 meters wide at the top. The angular shape of the wall totally frustrates attempts to climb it. The bricks were made from white lime and glutinous rice while the cement is made from glutinous rice and egg whites. These incredible materials make the wall extraordinarily strong.
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Tiananmen Square
Temple of Heaven
Located at the center of Beijing City is Tiananmen Square, where you can visit Tiananmen Tower, the Monument to the People’s Heroes, the Great Hall of the People, Mao Zedong Memorial Hall and see the national flag raising ceremony. Thousands of people come to the Square every day. It is a definite place to visit in Beijing City. At the north end of the Square is Tiananmen Tower. Initially built in 1417 during the Ming Dynasty (1368 A.D.--1644 A.D.), the Square was the front door of the Forbidden City. The most important use of it in the past was to declare in a big ceremony who became the emperor and who became the empress to the common people. Until 1911, when the last feudal kingdom was over, no one could enter the Tower except for the royal family and aristocrats. The granite Monument to the People’s Heroes is just at the center of Tiananmen Square. Built in 1952, it is the largest monument in China’s history. “ The People’s Heroes are Immortal “ written by Chairman Mao is engraved on the monument. Eight unusually large relief sculptures show to the people the development of Chinese modern history. Two rows of white marble railings enclose the monument, simply and beautifully. 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 and diplomatic activities. Twelve marble posts are in front of the Hall which has three parts--the Central Hall, the Great Auditorium and a Banqueting Hall. The floor of the Central Hall is paved with marble, and crystal lamps hang from the ceiling. The Great Auditorium behind the Central Hall seats 10,000. The Banqueting Hall is a huge hall with 5,000 seats. 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 in one of the halls surrounded by fresh bouquets of various famous flowers and grasses. The present Tiananmen Square has an area of 440,000 square meters and has become a relaxing place for the common people to fly kites and walk. On a holiday, the whole square is covered with fresh flowers.
The Temple of Heaven, literally the Altar of Heaven, is situated in southeastern urban Beijing, in the Xuanwu District. Construction of the Temple began in 1420, and was thereafter visited by all subsequent Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is a temple of Taoism. The Temple grounds covers 2.73 km² of parkland, and comprises three main groups of constructions, all built according to strict philosophical requirements: The Earthly Mount, an empty platform on three levels of marble stones, is where the Emperor prayed for favorable weather; The House of Heavenly Lord, a single-gabled circular building built on a single level of marble stone base, is where the altars were housed when not in use; The Hall of Annual Prayer, a magnificent triple-gabled circular building built on three levels of marble stone base, is where the Emperor prayed for good harvests. In ancient China, the emperor was regarded as the “Son of Heaven”, who administered earthly matters on behalf of, and representing, heavenly authority. Showing respect to the source of his authority, in the form of sacrifices to heaven, was extremely important. The temple was built for these ceremonies, mostly comprised of prayers for good harvests. Each winter solstice, the emperor and all his retinue would move through the city to encamp within the complex, wearing special robes and abstaining from eating meat; there, the Emperor would personally pray to Heaven for good harvests. The ceremony had to be perfectly completed; it was widely held that the smallest of mistakes would constitute a bad omen for the whole nation in the coming year. The Temple of Heaven is the grandest of the four great temples located in Beijing. The other prominent temples include The Temple of Sun in the east, The Temple of Earth in the north, and The Temple of Moon in the west.The Temple of Heaven was registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998.
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Wangfujing Street
Olympic Stadium
The Wangfujing Street in Beijing is the Chinese capital’s first street for shopping. Much of the road is sealed off-limits to cars and other motor vehicles, and it is not rare to see the entire street full of people turned into one of China´s most attractive and updated boulevards. The street has its origins in the Wang Family’s estate, whose well was deemed to be a national landmark and can still be seen while traversing the shoplined streets. It starts from Wangfujing Nankou, where the Oriental Plaza and the Beijing Hotel are located, and then heads north, passing the Wangfujing Xinhua Bookstore, the Beijing Department Store, as well as the Beijing Foreign Languages Bookstore, before coming to an end at the Sun Dong An Plaza. In the early 1990’s, trolleybuses and buses ran through the street, making it very cramped. Modifications in 1999 and 2000 made much of Wangfujing Street car-free (aside from the occasional tour trolley). Wangfujing is linked by the Beijing subway networks, just one stop away from Tiananmen Square. Line 1 has a stop near it, which aptly bears the same name.
The National Stadium hosted the 2008 Olympic opening and closing ceremonies, as well as athletics and football competitions. After the Olympic Games, the stadium became a center for sports, cultural and creative activities. The illuminating facilities were put into operation inside the National Stadium, nicknamed the “Bird’s Nest,” on the night of February 4, 2008. The red lights and grey steel structures of the project make up a splendid addition to the capital city’s nightscape. Citizens can enjoy the magnificent night view on the eve of and during the Spring Festival holiday.
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Beijing Zoo
Beijing Map
The land on which the Beijing Zoo sits has always been a beautiful site. In fact, it is so attractive that it was set aside by noblemen and emperors to be used as parks on their estate. In 1906, however, the land was converted into an experimental farm and zoo, which was called the Garden of Ten Thousand Animals.The zoo opened to the public for the first time in 1908. Unfortunately, it suffered greatly in periods of war and unrest, and by 1937, most of the animals had died. After 1949, the zoo was rebuilt and was again opened to the public in 1950. It was later given the simple but descriptive name, The Beijing Zoo, in 1955.
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Ming Tombs
Jingshan Park
The Ming Dynasty Tombs are located some 50 kilometers due north of Beijing at a specially selected site. The site was chosen by third Ming Dynasty emperor Yongle (1402 - 1424), who moved the Capital City of China back from Nanjing to the present location of Beijing (thus, it was Yongle who envisioned the layout of the entire ancient city of Beijing as well as a number of landmarks and monuments located therein). After establishing his Capital City and the newly built Imperial Palace of residence (the Forbidden City) in 1420, the Emperor set to work on selecting his burial site and creating his own mausoleum. The Shisan Ling site was selected by Emperor Yongle, and he was the first to be entombed there. Later, tombs of succeeding Ming Dynasty Emperors were also situated here, totaling 13 in all. The tombs of the first two Ming Emperors are located near Nanjing (the capital city during their reign). The last Ming Emperor Chongzhen was not included in the mausoleum following the overthrow by the Qing Dynasty in 1644 (Chong Zhen had hanged himself on the now famous Guilty Chinese Scholartree). The site of the Ming Dynasty Imperial Tombs was carefully chosen according to then customary Feng Shui principles. According to these, bad spirits and evil winds descending from the north must be deflected; therefore, an arc-shaped area at the foot of the Jundu Mountains north of Beijing was selected. This 40 square kilometer area - enclosed by the mountains in a pristine, quiet valley full of dark earth, tranquil water and other necessities as per Feng Shui - would become the necropolis of the Ming Dynasty. The entire tomb site is surrounded by a wall, and a seven kilometer road named the “Spirit Way” leads into the complex which is one of the finest preserved pieces of 15th century Chinese art and architecture. At present, three tombs have been excavated: Chang Ling, the largest; Ding Ling, the underground palace tomb; and Shao Ling. The last one was uncovered in 1989, but plans for new archeological research and further opening of tombs have circulated.
The Jingshan Park, to the north of the Palace Museum, is located in the center of Beijing on the north to south axis. It used to be a private garden of the imperial families in the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. According to the legend, the four constellations: the Green Dragon, the White Dragon, the Scarlet Bird, and the Black Warrior, stand in their own respective territories. The northern part of the Forbidden City is just within the Black Warrior’s territory, where a hill is indispensable. So the earth from the digging of the moat around the Forbidden City was piled up into a hill called Jingshan. Jingshan, first named “Longevity Hill”, became the “Hill of Safeguard” for the Forbidden City. The central pavilion, Wanchunting (Everlasting Spring Pavilion) with 3 eaves, 4 upturned roof corners and golden glazed-tile roof is the highest of Jingshan. To the east and west of Wanchunting are Zhoushangting (Pavilion of Surrounding Views) and Fulanting (Panoramic View Pavilion) respectively. Both of them have double eaves and 8 upturned roof corners and a green glazed-tile roof. To the east of Zhoushangting is Guanmiaoting (Pavilion of Wonderful Views), while to the west of Fulanting, is Jifangting (Fragrance Pavilion). They are small round pavilions with double-eaves and a roof of blue glazed-tiles. On the northern part of Jingshan, there are buildings, such as Shouhuangdian (Hall of Imperial Longevity) where the portraits of ancestors were housed, Yongsidian (Hall of Everlasting Memory) and Guandedian (Hall of Morals Observation), which were used as the mourning place for deceased emperors and queens in the Qing Dynasty. On the eastern side of Jingshan there used to be an old locust tree upon which Chongzhen, the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty hanged himself, when the peasant army led by Li Zicheng stormed into Beijing. Unfortunately, the old tree is gone, and in its place, a new tree of similar appearance has been planted.
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Shopping in Beijing
Nice Places of Shopping for Tourists Detailed information on different places of shopping, including markets for special goods like antiques, arts, crafts, paintings, calligraphy, silk, books, open markets, free markets, small shops and some special shops. Wangfujing Shopping Street Wangfujing, a seven hundred-year-old commercial street, is located to the east of Tiananmen Square and stretches from Chinese Art Gallery to the Dongchan’an Avenue. It houses a wide variety of shops and boutiques where you can find all kinds of commodities, some of which are world-famous brands. The recently finished Oriental Plaza (Dongfang Guangchang) adds more charm to Wangfujing. Besides modern department stores, the Foreign Language Bookstore is also in this area. The Old-Beijing-Street is now seated underground, which was built and decorated in Ming and Qing style. The outstanding characteristic of it is the centralized well-known stores selling shoes, caps, silk cloth, scissors, Chinese brushes and ink-stick, jade articles, tea, desserts, pickled vegetables, roast ducks and so on. The most popular sites for souvenir photos are the sculptures on both street sides, reflecting life of old Beijing. Xidan Commercial Street Xidan Commercial Street is on Xidanbei Dajie, west of Tiananmen Square and is famous for commerce, entertainment, dinning, finance and so forth. Like Wangfujing, you also can see modern and old stores here.
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Shopping in Beijing
Quianmen Street 10 minutes' walk from Tiananmen Square, near the Memorial Hall of Chairman Mao. Stepping on this street you will see ancient style buildings, housing and modern shops. An old style Chinese tram runs on the street, between the vintage lights. There aren't any large shopping malls there but scores of little shops. Clothes, shoes, Beijing traditional food, and other old brand shop are the highlights. The Nabluogu Lane and Drum Tower Area The streets around Nanluogu Lane and the Drum Tower are old with many ancient style Chinese buildings. Authentic Beijing snacks and the traditional food shops are the highlights around the Drum Tower. Lovely and Characteristic Chinese trinkets can be found in Nanluogu Lane. It is about 800 meters long with many cute shops. Strolling in this hutong, and bargaining with the vendors are very interesting. Nanluogu Lane is located beside Houhai Bar Street, which is another paradise for young people enjoying the night in bars. Silk Alley (Xiushui Street) Silk Alley lies in Xiushuidong Jie off Jianguomenwai Dajie, near the US Embassy. It is a good place to buy cheaper goods, and the resident foreigners in Beijing come here frequently. Whatever you want to buy, like bags, shoes, handicrafts or sweaters, you can bargain with the owners.
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Shopping in Beijing
Beijing Evening Activities
Many five star hotels have internationally known designer boutiques with higher prices than their countries of origin. You cannot barter here. With a population of over 12 million, Beijing needs and has a wide variety of shopping venues at all cost levels. Don’t miss stopping in at a neighborhood grocery store when you see one, or strolling in a neighborhood market where one will truly see fresh food. What to Buy? Silk, Chinese medicine, ceramics, pearls, jade carvings, embroidery, antiques, carpets, chops, lacquerware, painted snuff bottles, paintings and calligraphy scrolls, cloisonne, books, kites... Government stores are recommended for shopping.
Beijing Opera The Beijing Opera has existed for over 200 years and is widely regarded as the highest expression of the Chinese culture. It is known as one of the three main theatrical systems in the world. Artistically, the Beijing Opera is perhaps the most refined form of opera in the world and has deeply influenced the hearts of the Chinese people. It combines singing, musical dialogue, martial arts and fantastic costumes. There are three roles: female (dan), male (sheng) and clown (chou), each of which, depending on age and disposition, is identified by its facial makeup. How each face looks discloses the nature of the role - good, sly, cruel or bad. The plot, of course, differs with each work. Beijing Roast Duck Dinner Peking Duck has the reputation of being the most delicious food Beijing has to offer. Eating Peking Duck is seen to be one of the two things you are absolutely supposed to do while in Beijing. The other one is climbing the Great Wall. The ducks are raised for the sole purpose of becoming food. Forcefed, they are kept in cages which restrain them from moving about, so as to fatten them up and make the meat comparably tender. Peking Roasted Duck is processed in several steps: first the ducks are rubbed with spices, salt and sugar, and then kept hung in the air for some time. Then, the ducks are roasted in an oven, or hung over the fire till they become brown with rich grease perspiring outside and have a nice odor. Peking Duck is always served in well-cut slices. The whole duck must be sliced into 120 pieces and every piece has to be perfect with the complete layers of the meat. Normally there are many dishes served with the duck, including a dish of fine-cut shallot bars, a dish of cucumber bars and finally a dish of paste-like soy of fermented wheat flour. Without these, the dainty duck is surely in the shade. The place that offers the best Peking Duck is the Quan Ju De Restaurant, which has outlets at Qianmen, Hepingmen and Wangfujing. It was established 130 years ago.
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Beijing Evening Activities
Chinese Jiaozi Dinner Jiaozi, or dumplings, is a traditional and popular food with a long history in China. There is a legend about the origin of the Jiaozi. In the later years of Eastern Han Period (Dong Han) an official called Zhang Zhongjing invented a kind of food to help poor people keep warm in cold winter. This food looked like ears with mutton, hot pepper and some medicinal materials as the fillings Afterwards people began to make dumplings as well. Jiaozi is the food that will no doubt appear on tables during spring festivals. Generally, people prepare it before midnight on the last day of the passing lunar year and eat it after the New Year’s bell sounds. Jiaozi looks like shoe-shaped gold and silver ingots, so when people eat it during festivals, they really hope it could bring fortune and good luck to them, and these, of course, are their best wishes. Sometimes people will add some sweets, Chinese dates and chestnuts in fillings of some dumplings to express their wishes. They hope those who get sweets could have a sweeter life, and those who get dates and chestnuts could have babies early. Dates (Zao) are homonymic with early in Chinese, and so are chestnuts (Zhenzi). Zi is homonymic with children. Today, Jiaozi has already become an important part of Chinese cuisine.
Chinese Cuisine
Chinese cuisine is an important part of Chinese culture, which includes cuisine originating from the diverse regions of China, as well as from Overseas Chinese who have settled in other parts of the world. Because of the Chinese diaspora and historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine has influenced many other cuisines in Asia, with modifications made to cater to local palates. Chinese food staples such as rice, soy sauce, noodles, tea, and tofu, and utensils such as chopsticks and the wok, can now be found worldwide.
Peking Duck Peking duck is a dish from Beijing (Peking) that has been prepared since the imperial era. The meat is characterized by its thin, crisp skin, with authentic versions of the dish serving mostly the skin and little meat, sliced in front of the diners by the cook. The meat is often eaten with spring onion, cucumber and sweet bean sauce with pancakes rolled around the fillings. Sometimes pickled radish is also inside, and other sauces can be used.
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Misawa ITT Office
Location: Bldg. 485 Phone: 226-3555 (tours/info) Hours of Operation: Monday - Friday, 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Closed on Sundays and Federal Holidays