I’m happy to introduce our new personal tour “To Be a Beijinger for a Day”. This 1 day tour focuses on the axis of Beijing. The tour will guide you through the various periods of Beijing’s history, from the 1400’s to present day.

The itinerary includes:

1. Temple of Heaven
2. Tian’anmen Square
3. Forbidden City
4. Olympic Park

Transportation: Taxi

Price: USD $60 per person, including transportation by taxi. I can pick you up from your hotel or meet at another rendezvous point. The price doesn’t include lunch and entrance fees to the attractions on the tour.

The price is on sale now, takes at 20% off, the promotion price is USD $48 per person, group price is also avaible, contact with me for further information.

Entrance Ticket :

Temple of Heaven: RMB 35 Yuan per Person;
Forbidden City: RMB 60 Yuan per Person.

Notes: There is about 3.3 miles of walking distance in the tour. You can have lunch around Di’anmen Street (Marked on the Map), as there are restaurants big or small, or if you like, KFC and McDonald’s are near by as well.

For more details of the tour, please check the Map and download the Brochure in PDF.

Preview of the PDF Brochure:

For booking please contact with me at: waddebye at gmail.com, or feedback me here:

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Qianmen (Front Gate) Street named after the Zhengyangmen Gate (正阳门), alias of which was the Front Gate by the locals, the reason was simple, it was on the axis of the city, and was the formal entrance into the inner section of the old Peking, while the Qianmen Street was in the outer section of the City. The street also functioned as a passway when the Emperor was on his visit to the Temple of Heaven.

Due to its special location, it soon came to be a combination of every thing from the Ming Dynasty, little inns for the royal examinees and merchants, restaurants, in 1855 opened the first Pianyifang Roasted Duck (便宜坊), and in 1864 came the first shop of Quanjude Peking Duck (全聚德), and the famous steamed Dumpling restaurant Duyichu (都一处). Many famous Peking brands started their business around here, the famous Dashilan (大栅栏) locates just at the west side of the street in a wandering hutong alleyway, even today, it is still one of the major shopping streets for traditional Beijing stuff.

The Qianmen Street and Dashilan Street Area, was generally called as Qianmen Wai, or Ch’ien Men Wai (前门外), was a whole-sale trading market from the high-end jewellery, jade, banking, to daily stuff like fishes, coal, commissariat, pigs, even today the names of the closeby alley remind us its local history. By the way, the area was also famous for many other entertainments, opera houses, tea houses, night clubs …

In 1900, the north part of the street was destroyed in a big fire set by the Boxers.

From 1980s, some of the old shops kept and many new shops moved into the street, with more and more old buildings demolished, the street lost both its customers and most importantly original tastes gradually. In 2006, the area was in renovation, and it was almost ready done before the Olympic Games in 2008, sure, it regains attention, even now most of the buildings are still in decorations, many visitors come just for taking photos, fancy shops like H&M, Zara are already here, and more will move in.

After the renovation, the street becomes a pedestrian street, the trolley bus is the only way to go through north to south, the ticket charge is 20yuan/person, and very likely that is only the one-way ticket.

Two comparison photos taken in Sep. 2006, and in Sep. 2009, roughly at the same spot.

Most of the buildings are renovated according to their historic records in the 1920s to 1930s, but as most of them came together in a “natural process”, to rebuild them overnight again, not surprisingly some of the details of the buildings are just handled in a much easy way.

A panaromatic view of the street.

A view from north looking to south.

A view to the north, the end building is the Arrow Tower of the Zhengyangmen Gate.

There are many Beijing elements to decorate the street, from the bench, trash bin to the design of the street lamp (in shape like a bird cage).

At the left side, the archway leads into the Quanjude Roast Duck restaurant (全聚德).

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During the Ming and Qing Dynasties grand ceremonies were held at Tian An Men. Composed of the rostrum and gate tower, the building is 34.7 meters high and has five watchtowers. Supported by nine huge columns, the building has a splendid colorful roof of glazed tiles. With painted pillars and carved beams, the hall of Tian An Men Rostrum looks majestic. Sixty huge columns, representing the Earthly Branches designate years, months, days and hours and the Heavenly stems to designate marks of order, stand in perfect harmony to demonstrate the permanent stability of the nation. Tian An Men, a masterpiece of China’s ancient architectural art, represents the superb skill and artistic talent of the Chinese people.

As one of the largest city squares in the world, Tian An Men Square occupies an area of 440, 000 square meters–spacious enough to accommodate half or even 1 million people. Many annual and special celebrations and assemblies are held here.

In the ancient time, the square was in T-shaped and was much narrow, it was surrounded by red wall, along the axis there was “Thousand Step Corridor”, with two gates (Dragon Gate in the east, Tiger Gate in the west side) opened to the now day Chang’an Avenue, just outside the corridor there were government offices (civil east, military west)

On October 1st, 1949, Chairman Mao Ze Dong declared the founding of the People’s Republic of China on the Tian An Men Rostrum. On the oncoming 60 years anniversary of P.R.China, there will have a national parade centered in the square. VIP guests could be seated at the reviewing stands close to the Tian’anmen Gate, and there will about 1 million people to take part in the celebration.

Important Buildings:

Monument to the People’s Heroes(人民英雄纪念碑), erected in 1958. On the north side of the monument, carved an inscription “Eternal glory to the people’s heroes” in Mao’s hand writing. The base of the monument is not opened to public.

Chairman Mao’s Memorial Hall, constructed in 1977, inside the hall people can visit the Mao’s crystal coffin, it is free of charge, but normally have to wait in queue for hours.

Zhengyangmen Gate and its Arrow Tower (functions as its guarding building), these two buildings was joined together by a wall, and altogether they constitute the front gate of the inner city of Peking, as we know, the wall were gone in 1960s, so these two buildings are now just standing apart.

The Great Hall of the People, it was built in Oct. 1958 and was completed 1 year after. There are more than 300 reception rooms and conference halls of various sizes.

The National Museum locates at the east side of the square, it houses a permanent exhibition displaying Chinese history from 1.7 million ago, the building is now in renovation, and will be finished in 2010

At the south east corner, stands an European style building, and that was the first Beijing Railway Station, it was in the Legation Quarter, so to the east of the square, there was a large piece of field occupied by foreign embassies before 1949.

How to get here

Taxi cannot stop close by, and there are 2 lines of Subway stop at the square, but there is a long distance to go to the center. Security scan is a must before going into the square.

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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.

By this way, the city of Beijing shapes as Fobidden City in the core, then Royal City, then Inner City, and with the Outer City located at the very south. Even today this structure still effects modern Beijing city planning mainly in 2 ways, firstly Beijing is still growing in this pan-frying pattern, 2nd Ring, 3rd Ring, 4th Ring, 5th Ring and the 6th Ring, and secondly the central axis of the Forbidden City is still the central line of Beijing, the 2008 Olympic Games Village was built exactly on the extension of this line.

The Forbidden City can be divided into the Outer Court and Inner Court. The Outer Court where emperors held important ceremonies consists of the three great halls of Tai He Dian (太和殿), Zhong He Dian (中和殿) and Bao He Dian (保和殿), which form the main body, and Wenhua Hall (文华殿) and Wuying Hall (武英殿), which are arrayed like wings on the sides.

The Inner Court, where emperors handled routine state affairs and lived with their wives and concubines, consists of Qian Qing Gong (乾清宫), Jiao Tai Dian (交泰殿), Kun Ning Gong (坤宁宫), Yangxin Hall (养心殿), literally as “the Hall of Mental Cultivation” as well as six east and west palaces and the imperial garden–Yu Hua Yuan (御花园).

The Imperial Palace is the largest and most complete ancient imperial complex so well preserved in China. It embodies collectively ancient Chinese traditions and architectural art. In 1961, it was proclaimed an important cultural site under state protection, and was listed as a World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 1987.

Of the total of 24 emperors lived here, 14 were from the Ming Dynasty(1368-1644) and 10 from of the Qing Dynasty(1644-1911). For a short time at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Imperial Palace was occupied by peasant rebels led by Li Zichen (李自成). It ended its historical mission as the imperial palace after the revolution of 1911 when the Qing Dynasty–the last dynasty in China–was overthrown. The front part or the Outer Court of the Imperial Palace was opened to the public as the Museum of Antiquities in 1914, and the Palace Museum was established in 1925.

Visit

Today, most of the halls and palaces have been opened to the public in their original state with their former ornamentation and daily-use utensils on display; others exhibit special art treasures, such as jewelry, ancient paintings, bronzes, ceramics, handicrafts, clocks and watches, presenting the age-old and splendid historical civilization of China.

It roughly takes about 1.5 hours to go through along with the axis, but for a more detailed tour it may take 3-4 hours, for example you can try the east route, where locates the Emperor Qianlong’s retirement garden, or you may try a little west as well.

A view of Forbidden City from north to south.

• Website: http://www.dpm.org.cn/
• Ticket: RMB 60 Yuan in Summer, RMB 40 Yuan in Winter

Below is a map showing part that is opened inside the Forbidden City.

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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.

History

Xidan began to develop in the Ming Dynasty as an area alongside the passage for traders from Southwestern China to enter Beijing. Restaurants and shops were eventually built for these merchants. Eventually, as the Western part of the city became the residential area for officials, Xidan became a commercial area. The location of several government agencies when Beijing was under the administration of the Republic of China also helped Xidan’s economic growth.

The area began to experience massive growth in the 1950s, as the population of Beijing began to move westwards. By the 1970s, Xidan, along with Qianmen and Wangfujing, became the three major commercial areas in Beijing.

Shops

Today this area is oriented to different consumer groups, providing mid- and high-quality commodities and compared with the Wangfujing’s fancy shops and Qianmen’s local shops, Xidan is reasonable place to shop, and compared with Xiushui Market, the vendors here are more patient and friendly.

To look for something in brands, you can try at: Joy City (大悦城), Grand Pacific (君太), Zhongyou (中友).

On the other hand, if you like something cheap, you can try at: Huawei (华威), Xinyidai Young World (新一代), Mingzhu (明珠), Minzhu Dashijie (民族大世界) or Xidan Cultural Square (西单文化广场) underground. But let me remind you, that it is always very noisy and crowdy.

The Xidan Shopping Center (西单商场), in the very north of the area, was the oldest in the aera, it is a bit tranditional department store, still in operation, but is not the center any more.

In the middle of this area, Minzhu Da Shijie (民族大世界) locates in a cluster of old style buildings. It was old mansion of a Prince (吴应熊), the son of Wu Sangui (吴三桂) in the beginning of Qing, according to an old book by Ji Xiaolan (纪晓岚), the mansion was haunted. In 1913, the Mongolian and Tibetan School (国立蒙藏学校) was founded here. Today it is a very busy commerical world at least in the day time… a 600 year Chinese date tree still survives here, in the jungle of the shops.

Xidan Cultural Square with a floor area of more than 35,000 square meters is the largest venue for a variety of cultural activities with a good environment in the downtown area of the capital at present, integrating recreation, entertainment and shopping. The central area of the commercial street is the recreation square. Xidan Cultural Square with underground restaurants, markets, cinema, bowling alley, swimming pool, rock-climbing club and the largest mirror palace in the country has become the largest venue for cultural entertainment along Chang’an Street.

Different from Wangfujing and Qianmen area, Xidan shopping area is not a pedestrian street, that is traffic is mixed with visitors, but a unique escalatored flyover bridge system connets most of the shops, it is very convenient and in the summer days, water fog was sprayed into the air to cool down the temperature.

Traffic

There are 27 buses stop at Xidan, and the most convenient way seems to be the Subway of Line 1 (after Oct. of 2009, line 4 will pass by as well), there are 3 Subway exits close by, with one of them goes into the underground shopping mall of Xidan Cultural Square, one more . Recently a street musician girl called “Xidan Girl” was famous for playing guitar at the subway entrance here.

View Xidan commercial area in a larger map

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With the upcoming of the 60th anniversery of the People’s Republic of China, there is an expansion project undergoing in the west part of Chang’an Avenue, the road will be 10-lanes wide after the project. The construction around Xinhuamen Area starts on 20th of March, and most of the work will be done in the night for not affecting day’s traffic, the project will be finished by August.

Compensation for relocation of the habitants is in progress, and where ever you go in this neighbourhood, you can hear someone talking about this, according to the estimation for the property in this area, the price goes about RMB25,095 Yuan/square meter, sounds no bad, but the local family average space seems to be not very big…

This is the announcement, and it indicates which house is going to be demolished.

At the entrance of an old courtyard, a pillar used this way to reinforce the structure.

Tiles of the roof, the pattern we know means longevity.

Inside one of the courtyard, we can tell the rooms are not very comfortable to live in.

Bird nest, kind of vrey popular local hobby.

The area is very close to the National Opera House.

Entrance into an old barracks of the Qing Dynasty.

A old entrance into a temple, the temple was built for a concubine of the Emperor Qianlong, the concubine said to be very favoured by Qianlong, and she was a muslin. I can just see part of the entrance, but cannot see any building behind it. This place is very easy to miss, a public toilet was built just in front.

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The capital museum now can book just one day before visit, and the limitation of visitors is now up to 4,000 each day, except Monday (closed).

溥仪退位诏书 （复制品）二层
Imperial edict of Emperor Puyi (the Last Emperor) on his abdication (replica), on the second floor of the museum.

象牙雕葡萄长方盒，清朝, 三层
Rectangular Ivory Box carved with design of grape, Qing Dynasty, 3rd floor.

凸花海水江牙鱼龙献寿金盘，明，丰台右安门外东庄万贵墓出土
Gold Plate with the design of fish and dragon in the ocean waves offering birthday congratulations in relief, Ming Dynasty, excavated from Wangui Graveyard at Waidongzhuang, You’anmen, Fengtai district, Beijing.

金丝冠，金，房山金陵遗址，九龙山主峰大宝顶前竖穴矿墓出土，初步认定为金太祖晚宴阿骨打之睿陵
Gold Filigreed Crown, Jin Dynasty (1115-1234), excavated in Fangshan District.

青瓷转心瓶，清乾隆年
A celadon-glazed movable-core vase painted in gold pattern and decorated in famille-rose openwork lotus and four children sculptures, Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty (1736-1795)

景德镇窑五彩人物故事图盆，明万历年，安定门出土
Five-colored basin with Human figure design in various scenes, Wanli Era of Ming Dynasty, excavated from Andingmen, Dongcheng District, Beijing.

景德镇窑青白釉水月观音菩萨像，元，西城区定阜大街西口出土，三层
Bluish white glazed carving of Water-Moon Avalokiteshvara, Jingdezheng ware, Yuan Dynasty, excavatated from the West End of Dingfu Street, Xicheng District of Beijing, 3rd floor.

檀香木佛像，清，三层
Sandalwood Buddha, Qing Dynasty, 3rd floor

石刻佛像，四层
Stone Statue of Buddha, 4th floor

An effigy in a folklore holiday celebration, 5th floor.

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National Centre for the Performing Arts is a dynamic new icon to the arts in the heart of old Beijing. The Centre’s ultra-modern architecture is in sharp contrast to its neighbours, the Great Hall of the People, Tian’anmen Square and the ancient Forbidden City.

It was designed by the French architect Paul Andreu. The Centre hosted its first official concert on December 22, 2007.

It holds three main performance venues, along with a host of resource facilities.

The 2,398-seat Operahouse is the Centre’s largest venue and boasts the most advanced staging equipment available.

The Concert Hall, which can seat an audience of 2,019, was designed with superior acoustics. It will host symphony orchestras and national music performances.

The 1,035-seat Theatre is also equipped with hi-tech, theatrical staging and audio visual equipment. It will mainly host traditional Chinese operas and modern dramas.

The interior design of main hall is as stunning as the building’s architecture. Ten very different coloured marbles from around China were used for the flooring. A huge floor to ceiling glass curtain baths the interior in sunlight or reveals the city’s lights at night. The interior walls are warmed by a massive lattice work of rich Brazilian rose wood.

The main building, which has no doors, angles or beams, is surrounded by a small lake that compliments the tranquil nature of the structure, which changes its hue depending on how the sun shines.

Visitors enter the grand hall via a stunning 80-meter-long corridor. Its glass ceiling glistens with the water from the pond above.

National Centre for the Performing Arts also hosts a variety of Auxiliary Facilities and spaces that are dedicated to public use. Jointly known as the “The Fifth Space“, they include the underwater corridor, an exhibition gallery and a resource centre along with souvenir shops and cafes.

Both inside and out, China’s new National Centre for the Performing Arts is a must-see attraction. The Centre’s surrounding Landscape: its gardens and trees, its lake and pedestrian-only paths are an invitation to a leisurely stroll around the arts facility.

How to get there: Subway Line 1 to Tian’anmen West station, take exit ‘C’ and you are there.

Website: http://www.chncpa.org/

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With a floor area of more than 60,000 square meters, Capital Museum is second only to the National Museum of China in terms of size. To see all the exhibitions in the new museum, it would take at least four or five hours, as there said to be about 5,622 items on display.

To make visits more convenient for foreign visitors, English and Japanese services are available.

A multi-purpose hall can be booked for meetings and functions, and there are plans to use it for academic lectures, seminars or movies for the public. The hall is equipped with presentation facilities including other services such as a multi-language interpreter service.

The new museum also features a cultural and museum activity area for the public. Planned activities include pottery making, a presentation showing how relics are repaired and preserved, Chinese ink rubbing, and face-painting Peking Opera style.

In the interactive multimedia hall, visitors can look forward to “The Treasure of the Capital Museum” and “A Look at Beijing”.

“The Treasure of the Capital Museum” provides high-definition photos of cultural relics.

“A Look at Beijing” features archive pictures of Beijing, historical sites, dramas and operas, and traditional folk art.

A digital movie hall opens its doors at 09:05 AM, with presentations every half hour. Designed much like an omni theater, the arc-shaped screen presents a viewing angle of 120 degrees.

Free Ticket Booking online: The Capital Museum is open to the public for free from March 28th, 2008. To ensure security of collections and comfortable visiting environment, a reservation system for free ticket now starts working online HERE, you will need to book the ticket at least 3 days in advance, and each person can book up to 5 tickets.

You can use your passport to book it, and you need to write down or print your reservation number before you go.

Further Information:

Opening hours: 09:00 AM to 05:00 PM, closed on Monday

Address: 16 Fuxingmenwai Dajie, Xicheng District, Beijing

Information: 8610-6337 0491 or 8610-6337 0492

Price: free of charge upon booking in advance

Website: http://www.capitalmuseum.org.cn/en/

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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.

The museum is now under renovation, the renovation will be finished in 2009 year and the museum will be reopened in 2010 likely. The facade of the north, west and south will be preserved, while in the east or inside will be filled with new buildings which will be a little highter.

After the renovation, the new buildings will be 40 meters high, from north to south spans over 313 meters, west to east spans over 184 meter, the total space will be 190.000 square meters, which will be 3 times bigger than the old one, and the new one will be the biggest museum in the world.

A view from the south

Website: http://www.nationalmuseum.cn/en/home/index.jsp

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