City guide · 北京 Beijing

Beijing

Eight centuries as an imperial capital: the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace

Photo: N509FZ · CC BY-SA 4.0

Beijing has been a city for more than three thousand years. On the central axis, the Forbidden City was the palace of 24 Ming and Qing emperors; the Temple of Heaven in the south was where the emperor worshipped Heaven; and the Summer Palace in the north-western suburbs is the culmination of China's imperial gardens. The hutongs, courtyard houses and people in the parks at dawn are the city's other face.

History

How the city came to be

Beijing's history as a city goes back more than three thousand years. In 1153 the Jin dynasty moved its capital here and called it 'Zhongdu'; under the Yuan, Kublai Khan built Dadu, the first time Beijing served as capital of all China. Since 1279 Beijing has been China's capital except in 1368–1420 and 1928–1949. The Yongle Emperor moved the Ming capital from Nanjing to Beijing; work on the Forbidden City began in 1406 and was completed in 1420, the same year as the Temple of Heaven. The Qianlong Emperor built the Qingyi Garden, burned by Anglo-French forces in 1860 and later rebuilt and renamed the Summer Palace. In 1925 the Forbidden City became the Palace Museum.

1153The Jin dynasty moved its capital here and called it Zhongdu
1279Yuan Dadu became the capital of all China
1420The Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven were completed; the Ming moved the capital to Beijing
1750Qianlong built the Qingyi Garden (forerunner of the Summer Palace)
1860Anglo-French forces burned the Qingyi Garden and the Old Summer Palace
1925The Palace Museum was founded

Stories

Stories of the city

History · Peking duck

From the Yinshan Zhengyao to the old shops of Qianmen

In 1330 Hu Sihui, the Yuan court's dietary physician, recorded a 'roast duck' in his 'Yinshan Zhengyao'. By the late Ming dynasty the method of Peking duck had fully taken shape, and it became one of the main dishes of imperial banquets. In 1416 Bianyifang, the first restaurant specialising in roast duck, opened at Xianyukou near Qianmen; more than four centuries later, in 1864, Quanjude opened in Beijing.

History · Summer Palace

A birthday present for his mother

Around 1749 the Qianlong Emperor decided to build a garden around Wengshan and West Lake to celebrate his mother, Empress Dowager Chongqing's, 60th birthday — the Qingyi Garden. He renamed the lake 'Kunming Lake' after the Kunming Pool that Emperor Wu of Han dug for training his navy. Qianlong never spent a night in the garden, always returning the same day. In 1860 Anglo-French forces burned the Qingyi Garden; it was later rebuilt and renamed the Summer Palace (Yiheyuan).

History · Temple of Heaven

A bolt of lightning and the rebuilt Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests

The Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden City were both completed in 1420 under the Yongle Emperor; originally called the 'Altar of Heaven and Earth', it was renamed the Temple of Heaven in 1534 in the Jiajing era. In 1889 the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests was destroyed by a fire started by lightning, and the hall we see today was rebuilt to the original design afterwards. Its 4 dragon-well pillars, 12 gold pillars and 12 eave pillars symbolise the four seasons, the twelve months and the twelve two-hour periods of the day.

History · The Palace Museum (Forbidden City)

The Yongle Emperor moves the capital

Zhu Di, Prince of Yan, originally guarded Beiping. After seizing the throne in 1402 through the 'Jingnan campaign', he decided to move the capital from Nanjing to Beijing to defend the turbulent northern frontier at close quarters. Construction of the Forbidden City began in 1406 and was completed in 1420; afterwards twenty-four emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties lived and governed here, until the last emperor, Puyi, was expelled from the palace in 1924. The Palace Museum was founded in 1925.

People