CulturePlace of Interest Transportation
Undoubtedly, Beijing is the cultural center of China. Beijing has endowed too manyconnotations for culture. Beijing is just likethe thickest encyclopedia, containing thecultural heritage of 5,000 history of China,absorbing the exploding knowledge of thecurrent society, and foretelling the scenar-ios of the future development. If you are
an out-comer, you might nd it hard to lo
-cate a portal for merging into the melting pot of Beijing culture, as the culture in Bei- jing is so complicated and elaborate that itdeserves a life time to probe into. As thecapital for several ancient dynasties, Bei- jing owns plenty of royal elements in itscultural system. Beijing people are elegantand proud, but they seldom look down upon people from other regions. Beijing has nev-er repelled outside cultures and fashions.Beijing shows a patient and considerate at-titude for any culture so long as it is logi-cal or reasonable to some extent. So you
can easily nd the traces of a great variety
of cultures nationwide or even worldwide.At the heart of Beijing’s historical centrelies the Forbidden City, the enormous pal-ace compound that was the home of the em- perors of the Ming and Qing dynasties; theForbidden City also hosts the Palace Mu-seum, which contains imperial collectionsof Chinese art. Surrounding the ForbiddenCity are several former imperial gardens, parks and scenic areas, notably the Beihai,Shichahai, Zhongnanhai, and Zhongshan.Among the best known religious sites inthe city is the Temple of Heaven (Tian-tan), located in southeastern Beijing, alsoa UNESCO World Heritage Site, whereemperors of the Ming and Qing dynas-ties made visits for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest. GreatWall in Beijing is another place of inter-est that visitors should not miss. The GreatWall was originally built to prevent minor-ity’s invasion into China. As time goes by,
it becomes a magnicent place for travel
-ing. There are numerous fun place in Bei- jing, please come and explore by your ownThe city of Beijing has a long and richhistory that dates back over 3,000 years.
Prior to the unication of China by the First
Emperor in 221 B.C., Beijing was for cen-turies the capital of the ancient state of Yan.
During the rst millennia of imperial rule,
Beijing was but a provincial city in north-ern China. Its stature grew in the 10th tothe 13th centuries when the nomadic Khi-tan and Jurchen peoples from the steppesexpanded into northern China, and madethe city a capital of their dynasties, the Liaoand Jin. When Kublai Khan made Dadu thecapital of the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368),all of China was ruled from Beijing for the
rst time. From this time onward, with the
exception of two interludes from 1368 to1421 and 1928 to 1949, Beijng would re-main as China’s capital, serving as the seatof power for the Ming (1421-1644) andQing (1644-1912) dynasties, the early Re- public of China (1912-1928) and now thePeople’s Republic of China (1949 - present).
History
With the growth of the city following eco-nomic reforms, Beijing has evolved as themost important transportation hub in the Peo- ple’s Republic of China, and within the larger
East Asian region. Encircling the city are ve
ring roads, nine expressways and city expressroutes, eleven China National Highways, sev-eral railway routes, and an international airport.
Rail
Beijing has long been the largest railway hubin China. As of 1 May 2009, Beijing RailwayStation has 177 trains stopping daily, whileBeijing West Railway Station has 220 trains.
Roads and expressways
Beijing is connected via road links fromall parts of China as part of the Nation-al Trunk Road Network. Nine express-ways of China connect with Beijing, asdo eleven China National Highways.
Air
Beijing’s primary airport is the Beijing Capi-tal International Airport near. The capitallinks Beijing with almost every other Chi-nese city with regular air passenger service.
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