Dec. 10th, 2008, snow expected
Weather said it will snow this morning, but it didn’t come. Today is a gloomy day, maybe there will be some snowing tonight?
Longfusi Shopping street.
Dongsi Street.
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National Art Museum of China
The National Art Museum of China, or NAMOC (Chinese: 中国美术馆) is located on 1 Wusi Ave, Dongcheng District of Beijing, People’s Republic of China. The construction was started in 1958 and finished in 1962. It is one of the Great Ten Constructions to mark the occasion of the 10th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China. Chairman Mao wrote the name of the museum.It has a total land area of 30,000 square meters. The museum has been renovated from May 2004 to January 2005, and has been added an additional area of 5,375 square meters.
National Museum of China
The National Museum of China, a four-storied main building with two symmetrical wings, runs more than 300 meters north and south along the eastern side of Tian’anmen Square.
The building was one of ten famous architectures built in 1959 to mark the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic. It has a rectangular exterior and faces the Great Hall of the People. Twenty-four square pillars make up the magnificent west gate portico.
Guozijian (The Imperial College)
Situated in the central street and adjoining the Confucius Temple, the structure of Guozijian accords with the tradition ???Temple on the left, college on the right.??? To the east the building faces Yonghegong Temple, the biggest Lama Temple in Beijing. Guozijian is a famous cultural and historical site in Beijing.
Beijing Guozijian was the highest seat of learning and education-supervising administrative organ in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties of the ancient China. It was first built in the 24th year of Zhiyuan Reign of the Yuan Dynasty, and was renovated on a large scale during Yongle and Zhengtong reigns of the Ming Dynasty.
During the reign of Emperor Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, it was added with Biyong (the hall where emperors gave lectures), the East and West Stele Pavilions, the Glazed Archway and so on. The whole complex of Guozijian faces south, and along its central axis are Jixian Gate (the front gate), Taixue Gate (the second gate), the Glazed Archway, Biyong, Yiluntang (Hall of Sacrifice of Ethics) and Jingyiting (Jingyi Pavilion).
On its east and west sides are the six halls in the traditional symmetrical layout. With a total building area of more than 10,000 square meters, Guozijian is now the only existing architecture of state-sponsored ancient highest academy.
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The Temple of Confucius
The Temple of Confucius was first built by Kublai Khan in the Yuan Dynasty, and was restored and rebuilt on several occasions during the Ming and Qing dynasties.
In 1737, during the reign of Qing Emperor Qianlong, the major hall was renovated and was recovered with magnificent yellow glazed roof tiles. In 1860, when the worship of Confucius was further emphasized by the Qing Government, the temple under went extensive restoration which lasted until 1916.
It was the second largest Confucius Temple after the temple at Confucius hometown, Qufu, Shandong.
The Ancient Beijing Observatory
Located off the Chang’an (Eternal Peace) Avenue near the Beijing Railway Station, the Ancient Beijing Observatory was first built in 1442 during the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644). It is one of the oldest observatories in the world. The observatory was renovated in the early 1980s and reopened to the public in April 1983. After renovation it is very much as it was when it served the imperial court.
In 1227, when the Northern Song Dynasty (960 – 1127) was overthrown, the astronomical instruments in the capital at Bianliang (today’s Kaifeng, Henan Province) were moved to Beijing (then called Zhongdu, meaning Central Capital) by the Jin rulers and installed in the Jin Chief Astronomer’s Observatory. When the Yuan Dynasty (1279 – 1368) succeeded the Jin Dynasty (1115 – 1234) and established its capital in Beijing, it built a new observatory just north of the site of the present-day structure in 1279. The instruments designed by Wang Xun and Guo Shoujin and built by Nepalese craftsman Arniko served virtually unchanged as the basis of astronomical work for the last 500 years.
In 1368 when the first Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang moved the capital to Nanjing, these astronomical instruments were brought to the city. Yongle, the third Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, took power in 1403 and moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing in 1420. He did not dare to move these instruments because the tomb of the first Ming Emperor was in Nanjing. Instead he sent some artisans to the city in 1437 to make wooden copies of the Song armillary sphere and the Yuan guibiao (a type of sundial) and abridged armilla (a symplified form of the armillary sphere). A new set of bronze instruments was then cast in Beijing modelled after these wooden copies.
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Bell and Drum Towers
Bell and Drum towers, the telling time center during the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties (1271-1911), located at Dongcheng District of Beijing, is a unique tourist attraction.
Drum Tower was initially built in 1272 during the Yuan Dynasty, was rebuilt in 1297 during the Yuan Dynasty and in 1420 and 1539, during the Ming Dynasty. The two-story structure was made of wood with a height of 47 meters. On its second floor there originally were 25 drums. Among them, there were one big drum and 24 smaller drums. Now, only the big drum is left. The drum is beaten four times a day, for 15 minutes at a time. There are many shops on the first floor where you can buy what you need.
Lama Temple, Yonghe Temple
The Yonghe Lamasery was built in the 33rd year of the Kangxi reign period of the Qing Dynasty (1694) to serve as a residence for Prince Yinzhen In the third year of the Yongzheng reign period (1725), it was renamed as the Yonghe Palace.After Yongzheng’s death in 1735, his coffin was placed in the temple
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