What are the specialties of Beijing?

Beijing is a national historical and cultural city with a thousand-year history. Beijing has been the capital city of five generations in history, and in the 800 years since the Jin Dynasty, many grand and magnificent palace buildings were constructed, making Beijing the city with the largest number and richest content of imperial palaces, gardens, temple altars and mausoleums in China. Among them, the Forbidden City, also known as the Forbidden City in Beijing, which was originally the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties and housed 24 emperors, is a magnificent building that perfectly embodies the traditional Chinese classical style and oriental style, and is the largest existing palace in China and even in the whole world, which is a valuable cultural heritage of the Chinese nation. The Temple of Heaven, famous for its rational layout and exquisite construction, is the place where emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties "sacrificed to heaven" and "prayed for grain", the largest existing ancient sacrificial complex in China, and a valuable legacy of the world's architectural art. The Summer Palace is a famous tourist attraction in Beijing. The Yuanmingyuan is the most famous royal garden in China, with green mountains and water, enjoying a high reputation in the history of Chinese and foreign gardens, with high artistic value, and is known as the "Garden of Ten Thousand Gardens". The Thirteen Ming Tombs is the largest royal tomb complex in Beijing, containing the tombs of 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty, especially the Ming Dingling Mausoleum, excavated in modern times, which is of a large scale and extremely spectacular.

Temples

Beijing's religious temples are scattered all over the capital, and the famous existing ones are: Fayuan Temple, Tanzhe Temple, Jiutai Temple, Yunju Temple, and Badaisu Temple of Buddhism. Taoism's Baiyunguan and so on. The Beijing Niujie Temple of Islam. Tibetan Buddhism (Lamaism), such as the Yonghe Palace, Catholic Xishiku Catholic Church, Wangfujing Catholic Church and so on. Christianity's Gangwashi Church, Chongwenmen Church, and so on. The modern standard Chinese Mandarin is based on Beijing dialect.

The Eight Scenic Spots of Yanjing

The Eight Scenic Spots of Yanjing refer to eight scenic spots of Beijing in the olden days, including Smoke Trees in Jimen (Xitucheng), Dawn Moon in Lugou (Lugou Bridge), Sunset Shine in Jintai (Jintai Road), Spring Shade on Qiongdao (Beihai Park), Jiuyong Stacked Jade (Badaling), Autumn Breeze of Taiyi Liquid (Zhongnanhai), Baotu of Jade Spring (Yuquanshan), and Clear Snow on the Western Mountain (Xiangshan, Badaotan). Beijing region of the eight views of the earliest said in the Jin Dynasty ancient book "Mingchang Legacy", and since then successive generations of Fangzhi, including "Miscellany of the WAN Department" (Ming), "Chenqi Zhiliao" (Qing), etc. on the eight views of Yenching are mentioned, the early eight views of Yenching and the subsequent eight views of Yenching slightly different, to the Qing Dynasty Qianlong years, the Emperor personally presided over a revision of eight views of Yenching said and ordered to build the imperial eight views of Yenching monument, Yenching eight landscapes and descriptions to be fixed.

Peking Opera

Peking Opera is an authentic Chinese national treasure, loved by the people of the capital, and when you walk on the streets of Beijing, you can often hear the melodious Peking Opera passages from the side of the road. The origin of Peking Opera can also be traced back to several ancient local dramas. In 1790, the four major local opera groups from Anhui Province - the Sanqing Group, the Sixi Group, the Chungong Group, and the Hechun Group - went to Beijing to present their performances, and achieved unprecedented success. The Anhui troupe often cooperated with the Han tune artists from Hubei, and a new type of opera was born, which was based on the "Erhuang" of the Anhui tune and the "Xipi" of the Han tune, and included the essence of local operas such as Kunqu, Qinqiang and Bangzi, which was called Peking Opera. During its 200 years of development, Peking Opera has become more and more Beijingized in its lyrics, recitations and rhymes, and the instruments it uses, such as the erhu and the jinghu, have been blended with the characteristics of many ethnic groups, finally becoming a mature art. Peking Opera combines singing, dancing, martial arts, music, art, and literature, and is similar to Western opera, which is why it is called "peking opera" by Westerners. In addition to Peking Opera, Beijing also has a number of national treasures, including double reeds, comic strips, comic books, and Jingyun drums.

Hutongs

Hutongs are one of the most distinctive dwellings in Beijing, which originated in the Yuan Dynasty, and the word "hutong" means "small street" in Mongolian. Beijing's hutongs are scattered, numbering more than 7,000, each of which has its own history and legend. The names of the hutongs are various, some of them are named after people, such as Wen Chancellor Hutong; some of them are named after markets and commodities, such as Golden Fish Hutong; some of them are named after Beijing dialect, such as Bored Gourd Jar Hutong, etc. The oldest hutongs in Beijing have been surveyed. After investigation, Beijing's oldest hutong is the Three Temple Street, which has a history of more than 900 years; the longest hutong is the East and West Jiaominxiang Alley, which is 6.5 miles long; the shortest hutong is just a dozen meters long; the narrowest hutong is Qianshi Hutong in Qianmen Dajiejie area, which is only 0.7 meters wide; Nanluoguxiang in the Dongcheng District has become one of the eight characteristic commercial streets of Beijing, with a large number of friends from abroad. The Ming and Qing-style buildings and various bars on both sides add color to Beijing.

The Courtyard

The Courtyard is a courtyard surrounded by houses on the four sides of the courtyard, the outer walls of which form the side walls of the hutong. Inside the courtyard, the north room is the main room, the east and west sides of the room, in addition to the main door, there is no window or passageway connected to the hutong. The courtyard is quiet and closed, which is a traditional residence in old Beijing. The former residences of celebrities and royal palaces scattered in the city are generally more authentic siheyuan, such as the Prince Gong's Mansion on Qianhai West Street. In recent years, more and more high-rise buildings have been built in Beijing, and there are not many courtyard houses left, and now there are only two more complete courtyard areas in the Second Ring Road.

The Central Axis

The Central Axis of Beijing is the central axis of the city of Beijing in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and the city planning of Beijing is characterized by the symmetry of the left and right sides with the palace as the center. Beijing's central axis is about 7.8 kilometers long, starting from Yongding Gate in the south and ending at the Bell and Drum Tower in the north. From the south to the north, it consists of Yongdingmen, Qianmen Arrow Tower, Zhengyangmen, Zhonghuamen, Tian'anmen, Duanmen, Wulumen, Forbidden City, Shenwumen, Jingshan, Di'anmen, Houmenqiao, Drum Tower and Bell Tower. From the southern end of the central axis, Yongdingmen, there are the Temple of Heaven and the Temple of the First Peasant; the Temple of the Imperial Emperor and the Temple of the God of Jigi; Donghuamen and Xihuamen; Andingmen and Deshengmen, which are symmetrically distributed along the central axis. Mr. Liang Sicheng, a famous Chinese architect, once said that the unique and magnificent order of Beijing was created by the establishment of this central axis." Yongdingmen, Zhonghuamen and Di'anmen were all demolished after the founding of the People's Republic of China*** and the Yongdingmen Citadel has been rebuilt in recent years.

City Pond

Beijing City Pond is the general name for the city defense buildings of the capital cities of the Ming and Qing dynasties, the last two dynasties in Chinese history, which consisted of the Palace City, the Imperial City, the Inner City, and the Outer City, and included multiple facilities such as the city wall, the city gates, the urns, the corner towers, the enemy platforms, the moats, etc., and used to be China's most complete ancient city defense system in existence. Beijing City Gate is the general name of all the city gates of Beijing in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. According to the differences in levels and building specifications, they are divided into four categories: palace gates, imperial gates, inner city gates and outer city gates. Ming and Qing Dynasty Beijing has four palace gates (one said six), four imperial city gates (one said six, or seven), nine inner city gates, seven outer city gates, in the folk "within nine outside seven imperial city four" said. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, Beijing was gradually demolished, in addition to the Palace City retained better, now the Imperial City, only the Tiananmen Gate was retained, the inner city only survives in Zhengyangmen, Deshengmen archery tower, the southeast corner of the building and a section of the remnants of the wall of the Chongwenmen, the outer city was completely destroyed, only the Yongdingmen was rebuilt.

Beijing Snacks

Beijing's flavorful snacks have a long history, many varieties, exquisite ingredients, and fine production, which can be said to be reputable. Qing Dynasty "Door Bamboo Word" cloud: "three big money to sell a good flower, cut cake ghost legs chirping, a bowl of sweet syrup congee in the morning, only to eat tea soup and noodle tea; cold fruit fried cake sweet ears, hanging stove bakery Ai Wo Wo, fork fire just sold, and listen to the hard surface called meat and potatoes; roasted wheat wontons listed on the plate, the new powdered soup dumplings good ...... "These snacks are sold in the temple fair or along the street fair, people will unintentionally encounter, the old Beijing image called "touch food".

Bean juice - a delicacy that is hard to swallow

Bean noodle candy - take it gently and swallow it slowly

Sour plum soup - the "granddaddy" of sodas.

Sour plum soup - the "ancestor" of soft drinks

Tea soup without tea leaves

Small dumplings - "peasant rice" eaten in the palace "

Enema - not "enema"

Popped belly - not "popped "

Poria Sandwich Cake - both beautiful and nourishing

Preserved fruits and preserves - the ancient "four seasons of fresh fruit"

Ice-sugar gourd - sweet and sour taste of the New Year

Aiwowo - a good-looking story

Peas - melt in the mouth and still want to eat it.

Donkey rolls - no donkey

Fried liver - not "fried".

Tourist attractions

Beijing has a wealth of tourist resources, open to the public tourist attractions amounted to more than 200, there is the world's largest Imperial Palace Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Royal Garden of Beihai, the Royal Garden Summer Palace and Yuanmingyuan, and Badaling, Mutianyu Great Wall and the world's largest courtyard Gongwangfu and other attractions. There are 7,309 cultural relics and monuments in the city***, including 6 World Heritage Sites, 2 National Key Scenic Spots, 1 Chinese Famous Historical and Cultural Village (Cuanji Village), 99 National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units (including the Great Wall and the Beijing section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal), and 326 Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Beijing's main attractions include Tiananmen Square, the Great Hall of the People, the Museum of Chinese History, the Monument to the People's Heroes, Chairman Mao's Memorial Hall, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Beihai Sea, the Summer Palace, the Yuanmingyuan Garden, the Great Wall (the Great Wall of Badaling, the Great Wall at Mutianyu, and the Great Wall at Simatai), the Thirteen Tomb of the Ming Dynasty, the ruins of Peking Man in Zhoukoudian, the Central Television Tower, the Wangfujing Commercial Street, the National Stadium (the Bird's Nest), the National Swimming Center (Water Cube), National Grand Theater and so on.

9. Recreation and Leisure

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See also: Beijing Hutongs, Beijing Specialties

Beijing has a rich and colorful cultural life, with all kinds of performances and international exhibitions. Peking Opera, known as the "national essence" of China, has a history of more than 200 years, with impressive costumes, melodious singing, and a variety of face paintings. Traditional Peking Opera performances are often held at the famous Chang'an Grand Theater, Huguang Hall, Laoshe Teahouse, China Peking Opera Theater, Mei Lanfang Theater, and the National Grand Theater of China. Beijing's nightlife is equally colorful, with Houhai, Sanlitun, and Nanluoguxiang bar streets being good places to go.

The courtyard houses are the most important residential buildings in the old Beijing, and the narrow alleys formed between the green-tiled and gray-bricked courtyard houses are the famous hutongs of the old Beijing. The most characteristic of Beijing is the hutong tour in Shichahai. Riding on the wind chime tinkling pedicabs, going through the winding hutongs and entering the charming courtyard houses will let people really appreciate the charm of old Beijing.

Customs and Specialties

Beijing is one of the four ancient capitals of China. There are many local specialties:

Beijing Snacks

Beijing Opera

Beijing Rhythmic Drums

Comic Songs

Stage Drama

Teppanyin

Cloisonné

Tooth Carvings

Lacquer Carvings

Caddisfly Racing and Caddisfly Cage

Sugar Candy Man

Sugar gourds

Face kneading

Tourism

Beijing has 6 World Heritage Sites, 2 National Key Scenic Spots, 1 National Famous Historic and Cultural City, 1 National Famous Historic and Cultural Village, 99 National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units (including the Great Wall and the Beijing section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal), and 326 Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Units in the city***.

World Heritage: the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Zhoukoudian Beijing Ape Man Site, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, and the Thirteen Ming Tombs.

National Key Scenic Spots: Badaling (Thirteen Tombs), Shihua Cave

National Famous Historical and Cultural City: Beijing

Famous Historical and Cultural Village of China: Cuanji Village, Zhaitang Town, Mentougou District

Modern Culture

798 Art District

Beijing International Music Festival

Candy Club (TANGO )

Cargo

Babyface

Banana Prom Club

Tang Club

Sanlitun Bar Street

Houhai Bar Street

Lost In Beijing

Metrobus

Beijing Fashion Map

SOHO

The Beijing Fashion Week

SOHO

SHO SOHO

Human Attractions

The Summer Palace Wanshoushan Temple of Heaven (World Heritage Site, 1998)

The Forbidden City (also known as the Forbidden City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, 1987)

Shichahai

The Great Wall of Badaling (World Heritage Site, 1987)

The Summer Palace (World Cultural Heritage, 1998)

Yuanmingyuan Garden

Lugou Bridge

Thirteen Ming Tombs (World Heritage, 2003)

Mutianyu Great Wall

Simatai Great Wall

Jinsanling Great Wall

Jiuyongguan Great Wall

Arrowbuckle Great Wall

Gongjinwangfu Garden

Peking University (formerly Peking University Hall)

Hutongs (Mongolian: streets and alleys)

Beijing Zoo

Beijing Botanical Gardens

Panjiayuan Antique Market

Astronomical Observatory (a stargazing station for Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties)

De Sheng Men

Zhengyang Men

Religion

China is a country with freedom of religion and full respect for every religion. The religions practiced in Beijing are Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Christianity. Beijing's temples, monasteries, temples, temples and churches are the places of religious activities for the religious community and the believers. The most famous of them are: Catholic East Church, Catholic South Church, Gangwashi Christian Church, Chongwenmen Christian Church, Niujie Mosque, Dongsi Mosque, Guangji Temple, Guanghua Temple, Baiyunguan and Yonghegong.

Buddhism: mainly Tanzhe Temple (the oldest temple in Beijing, built 800 years ago in Beijing), Yunju Temple, Jiutai Temple, Fayuan Temple, and Jianguo Temple.

Taoism: Baiyunguan (Quanzhen Dao), Dongyue Temple (Zhengyidao)

Tibetan Buddhism (Lamaism): Yonghegong

Islam: mainly Niujie Worship Mosque, Dongzhimenwai Mosque, Dongsi Mosque.

Catholicism: Xishiku Catholic Church, Xuanwumen Catholic Church, Wangfujing Catholic Church, Xizhimen Catholic Church, Dongjiaominxiang Catholic Church.

Christianity: Chongwenmen Church, Jangwasi Church, Zhushikou Church, Kuanjie Church, Haidian Church and so on.

Orthodox: St. Nicholas Church (remains)

Shopping

Beijing has more than one hundred large and medium-sized shopping malls. Wangfujing Street, Qianmen Dajie, Xidan Commercial Street are the traditional commercial districts in Beijing; Guomao Mall, Oriental Xintiandi and Zhongguancun Plaza are the new giants of commerce that have been rising in recent years. These shopping centers allow you to enjoy shopping to the fullest.

If you are interested in antiques, go to Liulichang or Panjiayuan antique city. If you are interested in foreign trade clothing, don't miss Xiu Shui Street and Yaxiu Wholesale Clothing Market. Buying specialty products and souvenirs will also bring fun to your travel life. Cloisonné, jade, silk embroidery, etc. have a long history; folk handicrafts, such as clay figures, Peking Opera faces, kites, paper cuttings, etc., are all inexpensive and good gifts for friends and relatives.