Tian An Men Square
Tian An Men (Gate of Heavenly Peace) was the main entrance to the Royal City and the Forbidden City during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Built in 1417, it was first named the Cheng Tian Men, meaning that emperors obeyed the order of Heaven in ruling the country. Destroyed by fire twice, it was rebuilt in 1651 during the Qing Dynasty and renamed Tian An Men. It is also honored as the “Gate of the Nation.”
Forbidden City
It took Emperor Zhudi only 14 years (1406-1420) to build his royal palace in Beijing. The royal palace, popularly known as the Forbidden City, was the permanent residence of 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1911). It covers over 720,000 square meters of floor space, with more than 8,700 rooms, surrounded by city wall as high as ten meters and a city moat as wide as 52 meters.
Wanping Fortress and Lugou Bridge (Marco Polo Bridge)
Wanping Fortress was built in 1638-1640, in the Ming Dynasty for defending Li Zicheng (李自成) peasant rebellion. At the beginning it was named as Circumpolar Town “拱极城”, in 1928, it was renamed as Wanpingcheng “宛平城”. It has only two gates, the east gate named Ever Prosperous Gate “永昌门” , then renamed as “威严门” Majestic Gate, the west gate named as Favorably Govern Gate “顺治门”.
Beijing Exhibition Center
The Beijing Exhibition Center was built in the same time as 798, but the design was much different.
Xidan commercial area (西单)
The name Xidan (literally, “West Single”) came from the paifang that existed on one of the streets there.In this context, the name “Xidan” refers to the single (单) paifang that existed on the west side (西) of the city.
The paifang was recently rebuilt, and now stands at the Xidan Culture Square.
798
798 Art Zone, is a part of Dashanzi in the Chaoyang District of Beijing that houses a thriving artist community, among 50-year old decommissioned military factory buildings of unique architectural style. It is often compared with New York’s Greenwich Village or SoHo, but faces impending destruction from the forces driving Beijing’s urban sprawl.
The area is often called the 798 Art District or Factory 798 although technically, Factory 798 is only one of several structures within a complex formerly known as Joint Factory 718.
Through word-of-mouth, artists and designers started trickling in, attracted to the vast cathedral-like spaces. Despite the lack of any conscious aesthetic in the Bauhaus-inspired style, which grounded architectural beauty in practical, industrial function, the swooping arcs and soaring chimneys had an uplifting effect on modern eyes, a sort of post-industrial chic. At the artists’ requests, workers renovating the spaces preserved the prominent Maoist slogans on the arches, adding a touch of ironic “Mao kitsch” to the place.
In the days of Joint Factory 718, Dashanzi was chosen for its peripheral position well outside the city center. The artists who later moved there were coming from the edges of the city as well. Today however, the area sits right on the strategic corridor between the Capital Airport and downtown Beijing along the Airport Expressway.
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Flowers in the Beijing Botanical Garden
I just visit the Beijing Botanical Garden before the May holiday, the weather is not perfect compared with 2 days ago, maybe I should visit here again in a nicer day.
