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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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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Built in 1420 (the 18th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty), Imperial Ancestral Temple (Taimiao) is situated on the east side of Tian’anmen. It used to be the imperial ancestral temple for offering sacrifices to Heaven and the Earth in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

The front hall, called Sacrificial Hall, was for holding grand sacrificial ceremonies. It stands on a tri-tiered sumeru base made of white marble. Inside the hall, the sixty-eight columns and the wooden components are all made of expensive golden-silk nanmu wood; the floor is paved with golden bricks, and the ceiling is adorned with colored gilded paintings.

The former imperial forbidden compound was turned into Beijing Working People’s Cultural Palace after 1949, with its name inscribed by Chairman Mao. It was officially opened to the public on May 1, 1950.

The cultural palace is also a center to host big events, for instance, Yanni’s concert and the opera Turadot—the latter was voted as the top ten entertainment events in China in the 20th century.

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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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On the second floor there is a bronze relief sculpture of The Old City of Beijing which fully depicts the overall layout and characteristics of Beijing in 1949. The sculpture features more than 118,000 houses and 60,000 trees and a large number of alleys, lakes and rivers.

The third floor features the evolution of the old city of Beijing with a large amount of photos, old maps, wells of the Han Dynasty and gate frusta and column heads of the Qing Dynasty, as well as models of courtyard houses and various gateways. The transformation of Beijing is traced from its primitive stage to the emergence of a city and eventually to a big metropolis and capital of a multi-nation state, as well as through the cultural and city planning characteristics.

On the forth floor there is a 3-D film cinema which covers a floor area of 400 square meters with a 120-degree arc screen and is able to show wide-screen movies and virtual-reality city animations. Available movies now include (1) The Immortal City, a 10-minute film about the 850-year history of Beijing as a capital city; (2) The New Beijing, a 3-D film lasting about 6 minutes, featuring current achievements in the development of Beijing and the progress towards 2008.

Addres: No 20, East Qianmen Avenue, Chongwen Disrict.
Opening hour: Tue-Sunday 9:00am –4:00pm ( closed on Monday )
Tel:010-67024559
http://www.bjghzl.com.cn/

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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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There is no admission fee for this lovely park, it is a ideal place after a long walk around the Tian”an Men Square or Forbidden City, quiet and clean.

Here is the river.

At the end of the west side of the park, a pavillion and a bridge are both perfect place to overlook to the roof of the Forbidden City.

At the north bank of the river, there is a Museum of Imperial City Art. Admission Fee: 20 yuan

Going to the north side, behind a very grand gate, there is a very nice courtyard restaurant. The renovation of the house and decoration are just excellent. As apparently it is not the lunch time, few visitors coming, give me a good chance to take some photos.

About 100 meters away in the north of this park, I visit a big palace like building, called Royal Archives, free of charge go into it. The main building is not open to public, and other building comes as are gallery.

Then going further to the north, at the same side of the street, I find a area filled with just recently renovated courtyard houses, not like the old ones, there are two stories building. After chatting with the local residents, I get to know this area is just renovated, and some original families just returned after the renovation. Each of these houses are consisted of 4 seperate two stories building for each family, with private toillet, shower, running water and gas, but the neighbours share the same yard in the middle of the house.

The garage for this area goes under ground, here is the entrance.

Just in the walking distance, there is a Budhist temple called “Pudu Temple”, there is a long story of this temple, and today it”s yard is opened as a square for local people.

Some decoration on the wall of the new houses.

A mini car parking in the hutong.

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