SKY TEMPLE
Read moreOne of the best places in Beijing to admire the Chinese practicing Qi quan, the exercises of qi gong, singing, dancing and other morning gymnastics.
History
Located in the south of the city in an immense park of 273 ha, this ensemble, designed under the Ming, was to be directly connected to the sky. Hence an extremely strong essoterism: colors, geometrical shapes (traditionally, the circle represents the sky and square, land), sounds, differences in height of buildings.
Incarnation of the Ming architecture to its closest degree to perfection, the Temple of Heaven gradually became the symbol of the Chinese capital. The tradition regarded the Emperor as the son of heaven, and as such he had to visit and sacrifice to his father, the Sky, and his ancestors, if he wanted to preserve harmony between the human order and the cosmic order. This is where the emperors of the Ming dynasty and Qing came, twice a year (15 th day of the 1 st lunar month and the day of the winter solstice), to worship the heavens and pray for a good harvest.
Originally, heaven and earth were both venerated in this temple, and in 1530 the temple of the earth (Ditan) was built north of Beijing. The emperor was escorted from Qian Men to the Temple of Heaven by his soldiers and ministers, royal blood princes and musicians, dancers and elephants. All doors and windows along his path were closed, because no one had to see the son of heaven.
Architectural forms are direct references to the themes of Heaven and Earth: The hall of Fastinence, or palate of the square, located near the celestial door of the west, is a forbidden city in miniature, while the temple of prayer for the good harvest (Qinian Dian) and the outdoor open air are both linked to heaven.
Visit
To the north of the whole, the temple of prayer for the good harvest is the main building. A triple terrace of 5,900 m 2 in the middle of a square courtyard leads to the temple of conical form. Its triple roof covered with blue tiles melts into the blue mass of the sky. Prodigious technological feat: this gigantic building designed in 1420 is a clever assembly of wooden elements without nail. Symbolism is reflected in the architectural technique itself: This 38 m height structure and 30 m width is supported by 28 solid wooden pillars. The four central pillars represent the four seasons, the first crown of twelve pillars, the months of the year and the second, the hours of the day and night. Each pillar is a massive trunk of cedar in Yunnan province.
The room is directly open to the outside with its wooden latching walls. It was in this room that the sacrifice of the late spring was held. The throne of Heaven (always empty since Heaven could not sit there) was in the center of this room and, after presenting his written prayer asking Heaven that all conditions were harmoniously combined for good harvests, the emperor burned it in a furnace at the foot of the throne. In the pavilions, the gods of the Sun, Moon, Stars and Wind, Rain, Thunder and Eclairs were vented. In the nineteenth century, the lightning fell on the temple which was then reconstructed in 1889.
In front of the temple of prayer to the right harvest, on the north-south axis lies the imperial arch of the sky (Huangqiongyu) with the blue roof topped with a golden ball. This much smaller structure, built in 1530, was designed to receive the shelves of the gods of the Sun and the Moon after the ceremony. The building is surrounded by a completely hermetic wall, the Echos wall, along which the slightest sound runs. In front of the steps leading to the building, the triple sound: all its product from the first stone is reproduced once; second, twice; and the third one, three times. On both sides of the imperial arch of heaven are rectangular buildings now transformed into small museums.
One of them presents an interesting collection of traditional musical instruments and a model reconstituting the processions that followed the emperor during the rites of prayer in the temple.
To the south, the altar of heaven (Huanqiu). Built at the same time as the imperial arch and rebuilt in 1740, this white marble altar is composed of three terraces culminating in the center in a symbolic representation around the imperial figure «9». Nine concentric circles radiate around a central stone: the first circle consists of 9 stones and the outer circle 81 stones. If you are in the middle of the central stone and start talking, your whole body will resonate with vibrations, as a kind of inner echo, experience! In the center of the upper terrace there was also a throne destined for heaven.
The Fasting Hall (Qinggong), located at the east gate. This is where the emperors and their ministers observed a three-day fast before each ceremony. Having dressed a dress embroidered with dragons, the emperor opened the ceremony by burning incense, offered the ancestors and the supreme emperor sacrifices of animals and gifts according to custom, silks, jade tablets… Then a herald read the written prayer of the emperor while as a herald… The latter was prostrated and burned in the furnace with the altar all offerings… as well as the text of prayer addressed to Heaven.
While everything consumed himself was dances, music and songs. Then the emperor went back into his palace in a palanquin different from the one that brought him. Today, the Hall of Fasting has become an exhibition hall presenting various instruments of sacrifice, dating mainly from Qing period.
The temple of heaven is to be visited absolutely. It is with the temple of the Lamas one of the most beautiful in Beijing, and, whatever the season, you will be enchanted by the magic of the places. In order to enjoy the time to enjoy the palaces, the park (with some very old trees quite impressive) and the general ambience of this site, count a big half-day visit. The entire site has been classified as UNESCO's World Heritage Site since 1998.
SUMMER PALAIS
Read moreSummer as well as winter, it is nice to spend the day in the beautiful surroundings of Summer Palace and its immense park. The latter is on a surface of about 280 hectares, delimited by a wall wall with few doors; with a huge lake, Kunming Lake, which covers three quarters of the surface and, in the north, a hill called "the hill of Longevity", on the flanks of which palaces and temples stretch up to the top.
History
Successively called "Garden of Golden Waters" under the Jin during the construction of the original palace, then "Garden of Wonderful Hills" while Ming had added the Temple of the Perfect Tranquility, other pavilions and enlarged the lake, it was to Emperor Qian Long (1711-1799) of the Qing the park owes its most important transformations. He was inspired by Hangzhou's architecture, which his mother emulated, Nihulu, had loved, and that is why Qian Long offered him as a gift for his sixtieth birthday the new ensemble renamed «the hill of the Millennial Longevity», standing in the «garden of clear Waves».
At the time, the court took refuge in its secondary residences outside the capital, from the arrival of the summer and its torrid chalks until 1860, where many palaces were destroyed, including the palace of summer. It was to Empress Cixi (1835-1908), the untreatable, but who took the whole thing, that it was a luxury restoration (it diverted money to bail out the imperial navy coffers) and its new name "garden where l l l… the concord is grown. The palace was once again destroyed in 1900 at the time of the Boxer revolt, and Cixi, who was very attached to it, rested it again.
Visit
In order to enter the courtyard, we first come under a large pai, a wooden porch sculpted and painted. In the middle of this double courtyard, you will see a beautiful bronze unicorn, and at the bottom is the room of Benveillance and Longevity, before which you will note four burning bronze incenses representing animals. It is said that the Empress gave its hearings in this Chamber.
Then, by heading to the lake, we arrive at the palace of the jade waves, poetic name for what was for ten years the prison in which Empress Cixi returned the emperor Guangxu trapped in the most complete isolation (he couldn't even see his wife or his concubines) after the failure.' a hundred days of reforms'. You can still see what was the furniture of Guangxu's bedroom.
We then headed to the Garden of Virtue and Harmony, where Cixi had offered, on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday, a superb theater, with all the modern mechanisms of the time - traps, water games effects… His true passion for theater sometimes pushed her on the boards during performances, under the tasting. It's Guanyin's isment.
Then you will go along the lake for a moment to arrive at the residence of Cixi, the palace of Joy and Longevity. This is where the empress took its summer quarters from June, and it was in this context that it used to be used daily for festins, said, of more than one hundred and twenty dishes and, as it only touched those closest to it, the cook thus had the ones that were the closest to her, she preferred in close proximity knowing that, for the smallest detail she was unpleasant, she was whipping servants and eunuchs, showing boundless cruelty. Notice the furniture in the throne room and some of the old ones.
The shores of the lake are lined with a long covered gallery with four pavilions running on 728 m at the foot of the millennium Longevity hill. We can also go along the shores of the lake, but the main interest of the gallery lies in the 14,000 small paintings that follow it and carefully reproduce historical or mythological scenes, landscapes or floral motifs… real masterpieces that deserve a little time to be admired, even though some have lost their colors and are damaged.
The gallery is cut in its middle by the orderly Cloud Palace, where Cixi used to celebrate his birthdays. There is still a great portrait in the empress's oil. This palace is also the starting point for ascension to the millennium of Longevity (Wanshoushan). A series of doors and stairs that end fairly steep lead through several pagoda of Buddhist worship: Bright Virtue Room, Buddhist Fragrances Pavilion, from which you can enjoy a wonderful panoramic view of the lake. Then a trail climbing through the trees completes this ascent on the Temple of the Perfect Wisdom, a brick building decorated with yellow and green ceramics and housed in Buddha's effigy statuettes.
Returning to the lake, the gallery continues to the famous marble boat, which seems strangely floody, docked on the lake and where, according to history, Cixi liked to organize banquets. There are small pontons from which you can rent canoes and cross the waters of the lake from one bridge to the next. It is the water community that has the most beautiful view of the Wanshoushan as a whole. In winter, you can cross the frozen lake on foot and even indulge in the joys of the ice chair or the skating rink with the many Chinese who walk through the family weekend.
A council, plan a good day to have the time to stroll and drink a cup of tea in a small house in the gardens, to canoe on the lake and admire the diverse plant species that make up the gardens harmoniously along the promenade. The ensemble has been classified as UNESCO's World Heritage Site since 1998.
PROHIBITED CITY
Read moreThe Forbidden City is one of the great architectural legacies of ancient China and one of the only imperial palaces still standing in China today!
History
She served the emperors of the last two dynasties, Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911), and was built in only fourteen years between 1406 and 1420, when the second Emperor of Ming, Yongle (1360-1420) 24) moved the capital from Nankin to Beijing. The speed of building this 74-hectare set surrounded by a wide water gap of 50 meters, and a wall of 10 meters high, is quite surprising! More than 200,000 craftsmen participated in the construction and supreme sophistication of construction techniques, combining modernity (prefabrication and standardization) and tradition (aesthetic and symbolic), entered into the design of this masterpiece. The City was completely cut off from the outside world until 1924, when Puyi (1906-1967), the last of the twenty-four emperors who succeeded it, was expelled.
The palace is now one of the world's largest museums, astonishing witness to imperial golden age. It is a perfect example of Chinese classical architectural and urban aesthetic theories. This gigantic City adopts traditional rectangular form (N-S: 960 m; E-O: 750 m), preserved during multiple enlargements.
The current buildings date almost all of the eighteenth century: In 1664, the Mandchous burned the existing set to rebuild the palace of the new Qing dynasty on the ruins of the old. High quality materials from Fangshan quarries in the suburbs of Beijing for stone blocks, Sichuan, Hunan and Guizhou for wood were used in construction.
Visit
The ensemble consists of three distinct parts symmetrically taking place on a north-south axis: public buildings in front, private quarters in the center, and imperial garden in the rear. 9,999 rooms in total (not one more: According to legend, Jade emperor has a palace of 10,000 pieces in the sky, his son, the land emperor should not have that privilege).
The main entrance of the City. Wumen (not to be confused with Tian 'anmen gate, entrance of the ancient Ming City) consists of five openings, that of the center reserved for the Emperor, both of the east to the military and civilian, both from the west to the members of the imperial family.
The three palaces of the Front. On the front, a row of five marble bridges, representing the five confucian virtues (kindness, intelligence, fidelity, righteousness, respect for rites…) jammed the river to Golden Waters, and then came the gate of Supreme Harmony (Taihe Men) which leads to the great courtyard: the central esplanade, which can accommodate up to 90,000 people, where official ceremonies were held.
All around the world there are galleries with books and treasures, dishes, silks, stones and other objects… which the emperor could offer as a reward. In the middle of this esplanade is a terrace with 3 floors of white marble. Each level is surrounded by a balustrade with gurgles. On the large access stairs, the imperial emblem will be noticed in the dragons winding down.
Your steps will then lead you to the Supreme Harmony Hall (Taihe Dian) held by the two symbols of justice and imperial correctness: a solar dial on the right and a grain measure on the left.
In front of the Supreme Harmony Hall and the palace of Celestial Purity, you will see magnificent bronze turtles, symbols of peace. Within the Supreme Harmony Hall, on a seven-step stage, stands a throne; history tells us that the emperor was receiving visits by foreign envoys and presided over various ceremonies.
Just above the throne, by raising your eyes, you will see in the middle of a superb upper ceiling two golden dragons playing with a giant pearl, a motif often found in decoration on the Chinese ceramics of the time. For the anecdote, some say that the dragon represents the man constantly trying to catch the pearl, which would symbolize the woman, and play with it!
Don't forget to admire the roofs of each palace! That of the Supreme Harmony Hall is the most spectacular; its double roof covered with glazed yellow tiles is richly decorated. In order to remove evil spirits, ten fabulous creatures, including a lion, a phoenix, a dragon, a winged horse, a unicorn and an immortal, are aligned with the ends of the roofs of the roof. You will find some of these creatures, but in smaller numbers on the different roofs of the palaces of the Forbidden City.
Then you will enter the room of the Harmony of the Middle (Zhonghe Dian), where the emperor came to prepare before sitting in the room of Supreme Harmony… some sort of boudoir of the time in some way!
This hall was also used to receive ministers or other ambassadors in private, but this was mainly where the messages needed to be read in imperial temples, and that is also where the state of the seed was checked annually.
Then comes the Imperial Examinations Room or Hall of the Preserved Harmony (Baohe Dian) where exams to become "doctor" (jin shi) were held after long serving as a banquet hall.
As a general rule, no women were admitted to these halls of the outside court, where the emperor had primarily a representation role.
The three palace palaces; the interior courtyard and the imperial garden. Behind the gate of Celestial Purity (Qianqing Men), guarded by four golden bronze lions, are residential districts composed of a multitude of small halls, today showrooms of imperial treasures: to the west, the "Culture of the Spirit" (Yangxin Dian), where the emperor lived and worked (this is where the last emperor Puyi signed his declaration of abdication and recognition of the Republic in 1912); in the center, the emperor held a hearing in the Palace of Heavenly Peace (Qianqing Gong), followed by the Union of the Union and Peace (Jiaotai Dian), where the imperial unions were celebrated, and the dwelling of the empress (the Palace of Earth Peace; the Kunning Gong).
Then, to access the "Palace of Celestial Purity (Qianqing Gong), we cross a large terrace lined with cranes and turtles in bronze, symbols of immortality and longevity, and we will notice the presence of burning incenses, which are also found in the palace of summer and others." Some say that odors at the time were nauseous and were masked by burning perfumes in quantity!
This palace is the largest of the three and it was the one that hosted the nights of Emperors Ming and the first Qing. He then had a function of courtroom and banqueting (it was said that Emperor Qianlong presided over the «banquet of the ten thousand old» in 1785, which numbered more than 3,000 men aged 60 and over from all corners of the Empire). The last ceremony held there was the wedding of the last emperor Puyi in 1922.
Then comes the hall of the Union (Jiaotai Dian) or also the hall of the Powerful Fertility, conceived on a square plane which was first the hall of the Empress's throne. Then, from the reign of Qianlong, the imperial seals were preserved in this room. You can still admire them in windows. Burned in different stones, 25, they had the signature role, or rather administrative pills.
The Palace of Earth Tranquility (Kunning Gong) was the residence of the Empress under the Ming and was divided into two under the Qing; a large room serving as a sanctuary dedicated to Manchuric divinities, which demanded the offerings of flesh, and a smaller room painted in red, the Eastern Soft Pavilion, which became the bridal chamber of the Qing emperors.
The "Porte de la Paix" opens on the Imperial Garden (Yuhuayuan) in the xve century. Planted with pine and cypress, with its basins, pavilions and rocks, this garden, faithful to the philosophy of all Chinese gardens, tends to give an idealized view of nature in all its aspects: " centenary trees, rocks with tormented forms, Ten Thousand Spring stands and Thousand Autumns with round roofs like on the sky, which rest on a square basis like the Earth and reflect the harmony of the universe ". A small artificial hill stands in a corner of the garden, and it is the only place where the eyes can escape beyond the walls of the Forbidden City. At the top of this hill, a booth from where the emperor watched the moon, the 9 th day of the 9 th lunar month (day of the traditional moon festival).
At the bottom of the garden is the door of the obedient virtue (Shunzenmen), which allows access to the five kitchens of the north and the "door of the military engineer" from where we can reach the hill of coal.
On both sides of the Palais de Behind is a boondoggle of buildings intended for the hosting of the emperor, its wives and the many servants. You can visit the palace of the Lord Spring where the Empress Cixi and the Palace of the Elegances accumulated with a small theater, the Spirit Food Palace and the six palaces of the west, the Palace of Abstinence and the six palaces of the east, the palace of Tranquility and Longevity.…
Walking along the corridors and courses, you will visit temporary exhibitions in some rooms, you will undoubtedly admire the collections of paintings, ancient calligraphy, jades, bronzes, ceramics (mainly exposed in the palaces of the eastern wing). You will have to wander through this magnificent «city in the City» for a long time, to try to absorb you from its splendors… And yet, it holds so many treasures that we must return to it again and again to discover them!
The ensemble has been classified as UNESCO's human heritage since 1987.
LAMA TEMPLE
Read moreLiterally «Palaces of the Eternal Harmony». It's a visit to not miss under any pretext! Located north-east of the Forbidden City, it is one of the largest, one of the most beautiful and best preserved among the temples of Beijing.
History
Formerly designed to be the palace of one of the emperor Kangxi's sons (1661-1722), Emperor Yongzheng, the building was rebuilt under the emperor Qianlong (son and successor of Yongzheng), who transformed him into a temple Tibetan where more than three hundred lamas were established responsible for studying Chinese and tattoo students. Every day there were ceremonies strongly inspired by Tibetan rites, sometimes barbarian, so we were reproducing with a doll the ritual of human sacrifice, some books even say that «red liquids were incorporated into the paste in which the doll was shaped, in order to reproduce the blood!» '. Everything was accompanied by dances executed by masked men… All this belongs to history now and you will not have the opportunity to attend such ceremonies that are no longer practiced and have been replaced by mere recitations of collective prayers around rice offerings and coins. At the fall of the last dynasty, the temple fell into ruins, and had to wait until an order was made the "national monument" to restore it… and reopen its doors in the 1980 s. Today the temple is inhabited by a community of monks, disciples of the Dalai Lama, members of the reformed Yellow Bonnets Cult (Gelukpa).
Visit
The temple consists of a succession of five courses planted with rooms of worship to the increasing importance as progress progresses northwards.
The first hall, the door of the Harmony (Yonghemen), is traditionally dedicated to Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future, which welcomes the faithful at the entrance of the temple. On both sides of Maitreya are the two pagoda of Longevity, incrusted with long-lived Buddhist symbols. Two pairs of guards protect the God of evil spirits, because according to Buddhism the Earth would be divided into four worlds protected by armed guards. Behind the screen, facing the north, is a statue of Wei Tuo, the protector of Buddhism.
Then we enter the second courtyard, the buildings that framed it are devoted to studying medicine, mathematics, eyelcerism and Buddhist philosophy. You will notice a beautiful collection of tankas (roller-colored paintings) and, at the bottom of the courtyard in the hall of the Eternal Harmony (Yonghe Dian), the three Buddhas of the present, the Past and the Future.
At the bottom of the third courtyard, the Hall of the Eternal Protection (Yongyou Dian), formerly the bedroom of Emperor Yongzheng while still only a prince, now houses three Buddha wooden Buddhas; the Longevity Buddha in the center, framed on the left by the Buddha of Medicine, and on the right by the Buddha to the roaring lion (the one who scares bad spirits).
Then we enter the fourth court. Do not forget to pause for a few moments to admire some examples of lamaic art in the side galleries, and you will discover in front of you the Salle de la Loi (Falun Dian), or take religious services on a daily basis. The architecture was developed according to the plan of a Greek cross and, by lifting your eyes, you will notice the complexity of the ceiling, unrelated to the previous flags. In the center of the hall, a huge golden statue of Tsong Kapa, the founder of the reformed Gelukpa doctrine, which instituted the abolition of marriage and hereditary mandate for its members. On the side walls of the temple, great frescoes reveal the story of Tsong Kapa, and on the wall of the Five Hundred Arhats, disciples allegedly slept in writing the sutras made by Sakyamuni.
The fifth and last courtyard reveals the Ten Thousand Bonheurs flag (Wan Fu Ge), a three-story pavilion, connected to two side pavilions by two hanging galleries. It is also called the tower of the Great Buddha, as it contains a giant statue of Maitreya. This 26 m high statue (18 m above ground and 8 m below), carved in a single trunk of santal wood from Tibet, is a gift made to Emperor Qianlong by the seventh Dalai Lama.
TIAN'ANMEN SQUARE
Read moreIt is now the heart of Beijing and the largest place in the world. Built between 1958 and 1960 to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the People's Republic (1959), this symbolic inscription of political reality in urban space is accompanied by a grandiose architectural perspective. In the middle of its 40 hectares is the monument to the Heroes of the people, and then facing the Forbidden City stands the mausoleum of the new Emperor Mao; to the West, the People's Assembly and, to the east, the Museum of History and Revolution.
So here's a concrete mass of a Stalinist neo-classical bill designed by Soviet experts for a «1,000-year-old» regime. Once a popular arena at the gates of the Imperial Palace, this place remained a great place for the expression of the masses: demonstrations of Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution; tribute to the great leader Zhou Enlai in 1976; It is here that the students chose to scroll for democracy in 1989, or that the regime celebrated the 60 years of the People's Republic in October 2009. The place is always monitored by the police, sometimes closed to avoid mass movements at important events and anniversaries. By entering the square, you'll look for the control cameras that bordering Tian 'anmen. Make sure Tian 'anmen Square is also a popular Chinese walking place that likes to get immortalized on a photo before the impressive portrait of Mao overlooking the Tian' anmen door. The Pekinians also fly their kites, and the must of the provincial and some tourists is to come to the military ritual: every morning, at dawn, the soldiers of the People's Army hate the red flag and every evening at night it drops down.
This mythical place, around which the history of contemporary China has built, is a good starting point for visiting the Chinese capital. Take a small tour of the square before visiting the Forbidden City.
HUTONG
Read moreHutong are the heart of the Chinese capital. These narrow streets, typical of the urban tradition of Beijing are some of the vibrant testimonies of the past and windows of daily life pékinoise: a mixture of old (architecture, atmosphere, gardens, temples) and modern (television antennas and perched parables on the old roofs of baked tiles, sometimes luxurious cars parked along the houses), popular (open doors on back of kitchen, old Chinese dorant in the sun, grannies m seated on mini stools, sellers at circulant auction perched on tricycles) and international (seats of Hong-Kongaises companies, karaokés and private clubs). Who did not walk in these hutong did not see the true Beijing. Most of these streets date back to the Yuan period, and the Qing and Ming dynasties perpetuated this form of urban fabric. With the opium wars and increasingly important contact with the West, a modern road gradually substituted into the traditional streets of Imperial Beijing.
Siheyuan 四合院: these traditional houses nested at the bottom of the hutong, the architecture derived from the designs introduced by Kubilai Khan, when he made Dadu (former name of Beijing) the capital of the Sino-Mongolian empire. The construction of a siheyuan is so special that it deserves some clarification. It is a single-foot house, composed of four buildings that form a closed enclosure on itself and open all on a square courtyard (hence the name "square courtyard" they are commonly given). From the outside, the often red lacquered door opens to the south through the grey walls and, after a quarrel (whose aim is to deceive the bad spirits, which, knowing that the right to be moved to them, breaks its nose over the wall), is finally between a second door in the house.
Right at the bottom of the courtyard facing south is the main building where usually the head of the family lived. In the two side buildings, the brothers and sons who had their own families were found. You could count up to six families who cohabited in a siheyuan. The fourth building opening to the north and closing the courtyard was traditionally reserved for domestic servants. In the courtyard, one or two trees, acacia, jujubier, grenadier, plum or persimmon, a grape grape or glycine, and also flowers are often noted: jasmine and peonies, and sometimes a aviary with pigeons or an aquarium.
The importance of siheyuan varies according to the social class of its inhabitants. The Chinese roofs, with nicely-spotted edges, are enough to overcome walls and form a kind of awning that can shelter the sun. Today some siheyuan, in hutong not threatened by destruction, are restored and stormed by Westerners.
Along the hutong, the small siheyuan parallel the wangfu (princely palate). Beijing included about sixty fortified palaces under the Qing, but these exuberant architectural ensembles were transformed into schools, hospitals or factories during the Cultural Revolution. These large houses placed on stone terraces were preceded by a sort of awning extending the roof, supported by columns. These are the spaces between the so-called jian columns used to measure their importance. For example, if the palaces of high-ranking princes could count up to seven jian, those of senior officials had only five or three, and most of them, only three. Today, the municipality seeks to preserve these unique legacies, despite its persistence in the rapid destruction of the old neighbourhoods to replace them with modern shops, hotels and other urbanization projects.
An example of a beautiful house to visit, if you have time: The Prince Gong Palace (Gong WangFu 恭王府), built under the Qing, which included one of the covered theatres of the capital, is open to the public every day (at No. 17 Qianhai Xijie, in the Houhai district, take bus 111). This palace has a total surface area of 32 000 m ² and was built to serve as a residence for He Shen, one of the favourites of Emperor Qianlong. Recently renovated, after being closed for many years, this palace is a small gem.
It is also in this neighbourhood that the best preserved hutong are in the capital: The entire tour of the Lacs Lakes, and east of the Tower and the Drum towers take place in the small labyrinthine alleys that deserve a long walk.
For a year or two, travel agencies have begun to exploit hutong, offering visites tours. This solution can be valid for those who do not have time to explore these neighbourhoods on foot. Independent pousse are directly offering their services on the shores of Lake Shishahai.
HOUHAI LAKE
Read moreIn the heart of the historic Beijing district, Lake Houhai used to serve as a port at the end of the great canal linking Beijing to Hangzhou in the south. Delicious for walks, at any hour of the day and night. In summer, we can make a boat, and in winter of the ice chair on the frozen lake. For small and large.
OLYMPIC PARK
Read more680 hectares of park and this within one of the driest cities in the world… that would almost dream. The forest is certainly very dry, but it is a beautiful walk point if you come to live in the surrounding area. It will allow you to go out of the beaten paths (both inside and out) the time of a pleasant walk. The place should delight children and sportsmen.
ZHONGSHAN PARK
Read moreLocated west of Tian 'anmen, adjacent to the Forbidden City, is Sun Yat-sen Park (or Zhongshan Park). Formerly, under the Jin, space was occupied by the country's Renaissance Temple, which became under the Yuan the Temple of Longevity and Renaissance of the country, and eventually hosted under the Ming's Altar and Moissons (which can always be visited), before ending as a public garden dedicated to Sun's memory. Yat-sen.
It is in this park that it makes its feet tired by a thorough visit to the Imperial Palace, in the shadow of the great cypress… You will cross as many tourists in this case as Chinese walking walking.
The entrance is made by a large pai-lou, a white marble portico decorated with blue ceramics honoring the memory of German Baron Von Ketteler, murdered during the Boxers revolt in 1900. There will be a beautiful calligraphy of the poet Guo Moruo meaning «Defending peace». A stroll along decorative and cyclose rocks will take you to the center of the park, in front of the altar of the altar of the god of the Earth and the Moissons. Another way leads to the altar, a large square terrace with white stone to symbolize the surface of the earth on which the son of heaven reigns. The terrace itself is divided into five parts each symbolizing a cardinal point (and a season) plus the center associated with the emperor. Each party shall be filled with a different color; red for the south (summer), white for the west (autumn), black for the north (winter), and green for east (spring). The center carries the color of the emperor, yellow. The wall wall of the altar is decorated with glazed tiles that echo the same colors harmoniously.
The emperor made sacrifices twice a year: in the spring, for good crops, and in the fall after thanks.
To the north of the altar is the Prières Hall, which is still used for the funeral ceremonies of important members of the party, and, to the north of this hall, the Hallebardes Hall, which served as a surrender for instruments and objects used during the sacrificial ceremonies.
Do not miss to visit the southwestern part of the park where small pavilions will be admired, including a greenhouse that still serves flower exhibitions and a small lake with its island.
MINORITY PARK
Read moreLocated in the north of Beijing, near the Olympic Centre, this park is a testament to the life and culture of the 56 different ethnic groups that make up China.
The park is divided into two parts to the north and to the south, followed by a map of streets and neighbourhoods of traditional villages, where both local handicraft shops and restaurants offer typical regional specialities. You can also attend traditional costumes that will allow you to discover the culture of these different ethnic groups. If this park lifts the veil over these remote areas of China, it remains very tourist and artificial…