The Forbidden City------Served as the Home of Emperors for 500 Years

Located in the center of Beijing, the Forbidden City (also named The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty. It is located in the center of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost 500 years, it served as the home of emperors and their households, as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government.

Since 1925, the Forbidden City has been under the charge of the Palace Museum, whose extensive collection of artwork and artifacts were built upon the imperial collections of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Part of the museum's former collection is now located in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Both museums descend from the same institution, but were split after the Chinese Civil War.

The Forbidden City is a rectangle, measuring 961 metres (3,153 ft) from north to south and 753 meters from east to west. It consists of 980 surviving buildings with 8,886 bays of rooms; however this figure may not include various antechambers. Another common figure points to 9,999 rooms including antechambers; although this number is frequently cited, it is likely an oral tradition, and it is not supported by survey evidence. The Forbidden City was designed to be the centre of the ancient, walled city of Beijing. It is enclosed in a larger, walled area called the Imperial City. The Imperial City is, in turn, enclosed by the Inner City; to its south lies the Outer City.

The Forbidden City remains important in the civic scheme of Beijing. The central north–south axis remains the central axis of Beijing. This axis extends to the south through Tiananmen gate to Tiananmen Square, the ceremonial centre of the People's Republic of China, and on to Yongdingmen. To the north, it extends through Jingshan Hill to the Bell and Drum Towers. This axis is not exactly aligned north–south, but is tilted by slightly more than two degrees. Researchers now believe that the axis was designed in the Yuan dynasty to be aligned with Xanadu, the other capital of their empire.

The Forbidden City is surrounded by a 7.9 meters high city wall and a 6 meters deep by 52 meters wide moat. The walls are 8.62 meters wide at the base, tapering to 6.66 meters at the top. These walls served as both defensive walls and retaining walls for the palace. They were constructed with a rammed earth core, and surfaced with three layers of specially baked bricks on both sides, with the interstices filled with mortar.

Traditionally, the Forbidden City is divided into two parts. The Outer Court or Front Court includes the southern sections, and was used for ceremonial purposes. The Inner Court or Back Palace includes the northern sections, and was the residence of the Emperor and his family, and was used for day-to-day affairs of state. Generally, the Forbidden City has three vertical axes. The most important buildings are situated on the central north–south axis.

Built in 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings and covers 180. The palace complex exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture, and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987, and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.
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Ming Tombs -------Thirteen Tombs of the Ming Dynasty

The Ming tombs are a collection of imperial mausoleums built by the Chinese Ming dynasty emperors. The first Ming emperor's tomb is which is near Nanjing. However, the majority of the Ming tombs are located in a cluster near Beijing and collectively known as the Thirteen Tombs of the Ming Dynasty.  They are within the suburban Changping District of Beijing municipality 42 kilometers north-northwest of Beijing city center.

The site, on the southern slope of Tianshou Mountain (originally Huangtu Mountain), was chosen based on the principles of feng shui by the third Ming dynasty emperor Yongle (1402–1424). It was he who relocated the capital of China from Nanjing to its present location in Beijing. He is credited with envisioning the layout of Ming dynasty Beijing as well as a number of other landmarks and monuments located therein. After the construction of the Imperial Palace (Forbidden City) in 1420, the Yongle Emperor selected his burial site and created his own mausoleum. The subsequent emperors placed their tombs in the same valley.

 

From the Yongle Emperor onwards, 13 Ming dynasty emperors were buried in the same area. The Xiaoling tomb of the first Ming Emperor, Hongwu, is located near his capital Nanjing; the second emperor, Jianwen was overthrown by Yongle and disappeared, without a known tomb. The "temporary" Emperor Jingtai was also not buried here, as the Emperor Tianshun had denied him an imperial burial; instead, Jingtai was buried west of Beijing. The last Ming emperor buried at the location was Chongzhen, who committed suicide by hanging (on 25 April 1644), was buried in his concubine Consort Tian's tomb, which was later declared as an imperial mausoleum Si Ling by the emperor of the short-lived Shun dynasty Li Zicheng, with a much smaller scale compared to the other imperial mausoleums built for Ming Emperors.

During the Ming dynasty the tombs were off limits to commoners, but in 1644 Li Zicheng's army ransacked and set many of the tombs on fire before advancing and capturing Beijing in April of that year.

Presently, the Ming Tombs are designated as one of the components of the World Heritage Site, the Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, which also includes a number of other locations near Beijing and in Liaoning province.

Though varying in size and architectural complexity, these tombs are similar in general layout: each takes an oblong shape with a round or oval Precious Hall at the rear. Each tomb complex starts with a stone bridge, followed by a front gate, a stele pavilion, the Gate of Eminent Favor, the Hall of Eminent Favor, a watchtower and then the Precious Hall. The layout of these Ming Tombs produced a far-reaching impact on the construction of the Eastern Tombs and Western Tombs of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Construction of the Ming tombs started in 1409 and ended with the fall of the Ming Dynasty in 1644. In over 200 years, tombs were built over an area of 40 square kilometers, with walls encircling the entire locale.

Dingling Tomb, also known as the Underground Palace, is the first imperial tomb to have been excavated in China. The tomb owner Emperor Wan Li and two of his wives were buried in 1620 in a deep marble vault located four stories underground (on the hottest of summer days, the vault remains mercifully cool). The entrance to the grounds is marked by a large red gate with a magnificent bronze lion. Gigantic marble doors stand at the entrance to the first of the three burial chambers. Inside are three coffins. Many of these precious finds can be viewed in the two exhibition halls constructed above ground.

Among the 13 Ming tombs, the Changling Tomb was the first and largest one built in the area. Its owner, Emperor Zhu Di, is well-known in Chinese history for moving the capital from Nanjing, now the capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, to Beijing. Completed in 1427, this complex took 29 years to complete. Exquisitely built, this tomb features one of the largest halls in China. Huge columns and architecture along the same lines as the grandiose Forbidden City allow the above ground portions of this tomb to cast the emperor 's long shadow even in death.

The Ming Tombs were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in August 2003. They were listed along with other tombs under the "Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties" designation.

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Summer Palace------A Masterpiece of Chinese Landscape Garden Design

The Summer Palace is a vast ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces in Beijing, China. The Summer Palace is mainly dominated by Longevity Hill and the Kunming Lake. It covers an expanse of 2.9 square kilometers, three-quarters of which is water.

The Summer Palace is located northwest of Beijing's center in Haidian District, between the Fourth and Fifth Ring Roads. Head north at Suzhou Bridge on the north-western 3rd Ring Road, north at Sihai Bridge on the north-western 4th Ring Road, or south at the northern 5th Ring Road at the Zhongguancun/Beiqing Road exit. Public transportation also serves the Summer Palace.

Located about 20 kilometers northwest of the city centre, the Summer Palace is one of the finest sights of Beijing. It has a area of 3.4 square kilometers, three-fourths of which is covered with shallow lakes. Summer Palace has a history of over 800 years old and originally was used as a summer residence for the royal family.

Facing the East Palace Gate is the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity. It was first built in 1750. In the middle of the hall stands a throne carved with a design of nine dragons. Pair of fans made of peacock feathers was put up by the side of the throne to give a graceful atmosphere.

 

Lying behind the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity is the Hall of Joy and Longevity. It was the residential area, which consists mainly of three quadrangles of one-story houses. On displays are imperial seats, long shaft fans, embroidery pieces, large porcelain fruits plates and gold plated bronze burners.

The most beautiful part of the Summer Palace is dominated by the Longevity Hill and the Kunming Lake. Between the two is the Long Corridor. It is 728 meters long and divided into 273 sections, with pavilions as connevtors. In 1990, this covered walkway was listed as the longest Painted Corridor in the Guinness book of the world Records. Most of paintings are of human figures and houses, flowers and birds, mountains and rivers, vivid and delicate. There are over 2000 paintings depicting the scenes from the Chinese classic novels, historical records,folk tales, which are telling the 5000 years history of China.

The Longevity Hill is covered by green trees with bulidings and pavilions among them. the Tower of Buddhist Incense, the highest building inside the summer palace lies in the top of the Longevity Hill. this tower used to be a palce for the emperors and the empresses to pray.

Kuming Lake occupies most of the area of the park. There in the water is the Southern Lake Island, on which stands the Temple of the Dragon King. The Seventeen-arch Birdge, which is 150 meters long, 8 meters wide, conects the island to the eastern lakeshore.

In designing, eight principles of the classic Chinese garden are observed here, that is the, interest of seasons, interest of water, interest of bridges, interest of calligraphy, interest of pavilions, interest of paintings, interest of walkways, interest of intimations. All these made it a dream garden.

In December 1998, UNESCO included the Summer Palace on its World Heritage List. It declared the Summer Palace "a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design. The natural landscape of hills and open water is combined with artificial features such as pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges to form a harmonious ensemble of outstanding aesthetic value." It is a popular tourist destination but also serves as a recreational park.

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The Temple Of Heaven

The Temple of Heaven, literally the Altar of Heaven, is a complex of religious buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest. It has been regarded as a Taoist temple, although Chinese heaven worship, especially by the reigning monarch of the day, pre-dates Taoism.

The Temple grounds cover 2.73 km² of parkland and comprises three main groups of constructions, all built according to strict philosophical requirements:

The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is a magnificent triple-gabled circular building, 36 meters in diameter and 38 meters tall, built on three levels of marble stone base, where the Emperor prayed for good harvests. The building is completely wooden, with no nails. The original building was burned down by a fire caused by lightning in 1889. The current building was re-built several years after the incident.

The Imperial Vault of Heaven is a single-gabled circular building, built on a single level of marble stone base. It is located south of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and resembles it, but is smaller. It is surrounded by a smooth circular wall, the Echo Wall, which can transmit sounds over large distances. The Imperial Vault is connected to the Hall of Prayer by the Vermilion Steps Bridge, a 360 meter long raised walkway that slowly ascends from the Vault to the Hall of Prayer.

The Circular Mound Altar is the altar proper, located south of the Imperial Vault of Heaven. It is an empty circular platform on three levels of marble stones, each decorated by lavishly carved dragons. The numbers of various elements of the Altar, including its balusters and steps, are either the sacred number nine or its nonuples.

In ancient China, the Emperor of China was regarded as the Son of Heaven, who administered earthly matters on behalf of, and representing, heavenly authority. To be seen to be showing respect to the source of his authority, in the form of sacrifices to heaven, was extremely important. The temple was built for these ceremonies, mostly comprising prayers for good harvests.

Twice a year the Emperor and all his retinue would move from the Forbidden city through Beijing to encamp within the complex, wearing special robes and abstaining from eating meat. No ordinary Chinese was allowed to view this procession or the following ceremony. In the temple complex the Emperor would personally pray to Heaven for good harvests. The highpoint of the ceremony at the winter solstice was performed by the Emperor on the Earthly Mount. The ceremony had to be perfectly completed; it was widely held that the smallest of mistakes would constitute a bad omen for the whole nation in the coming year.

Earth was represented by a square and Heaven by a circle; several features of the temple complex symbolize the connection of Heaven and Earth, of circle and square. The whole temple complex is surrounded by two cordons of walls; the outer wall has a taller, semi-circular northern end, representing Heaven, and a shorter, rectangular southern end, representing the Earth. Both the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and the Circular Mound Altar are round, each standing on a square yard, again representing Heaven and Earth.

The number nine represents the Emperor and is evident in the design of the Circular Mound Altar: a single round marmor plate is surrounded by a ring of nine plates, then a ring of 18 plates, and so on for a total of nine surrounding rings, the outermost having 9×9 plates.

The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests has four inner, twelve middle and twelve outer pillars, representing the four seasons, twelve months and twelve traditional Chinese hours respectively. Combined together, the twelve middle and twelve outer pillars represent the traditional solar term.

All the buildings within the Temple have special dark blue roof tiles, representing the Heaven.

The Seven-Star Stone Group, east of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, represents the seven peaks of Taishan Mountain, a place of Heaven worship in classical China

The surrounding park is quite extensive, with the entire complex totaling 267 hectares (660 acres). Some of it consists of playgrounds, exercise and game areas. These facilities are well used by adults, as well as by parents and grandparents bringing children to play. Some of the open spaces and side buildings are often used, particularly in the morning, for choral shows, ethnic dances, and other presentations.

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