"Moscow-Beijin 1988" Beijing by Kuznetsov_Sergey

Beijing Travel Guide: 6,188 reviews and 15,389 photos

Beijin - At the soviet-chinese tecknical exibition - Beijing
Beijin - At the soviet-chinese tecknical exibition

Beijing, also known as Peking, is the capital and the second largest city of China.The total area of Beijing is approximately 16,800 sq km, and has over 7.23 million people, 3 million of which are temporary residents.The temporary residents are comprised of business persons, teachers and students.Beijing's permanent residents are from all of the different ethnic groups found in China with the Han's comprising over 96% of the population.Mandarin Chinese is the language spoken in Beijing, with Beijing's dialect being the standard form of Mandarin.

Beijing has four definite seasons. Summer and winter are the two longest seasons with fall and spring being the shortest.The climate varies according to the season with autumn being the most pleasant time to visit.Autumn is usually clear with cool temperatures, while winter is dry and, at times, bitterly cold with temperatures dropping below 5 degrees F (-15 C).Spring is usually dry but very windy (protect eyes to keep out blowing debris), while the summer is rainy and hot with temperatures soaring above 100 degrees F (38 C).

Badolin - Me at the Great Chinese Wall in the 1988 - Beijing

Badolin - Me at the Great Chinese Wall in the 1988

A city plan was first laid out in the Yuan Dynasty. Yet only after extensive reconstruction during the Ming and Qing (1644-1911), did the city emerge as an architectural masterpiece fit to serve as the capital of the Chinese empire. A north-south axis bisects the city with the ImperialPalace was knows as Danei (The Great Within). In the Ming, it was renamed the Forbidden City (Zijincheng), and more recently it has come to be called the PalaceMuseum (Gugong Bowuyuan). Designed with thousands of halls and gates arranged symmetrically around a north?south axis, its dimensions and luxuriance are a fitting symbol of the power and greatness of traditional China.

After the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, China fell prey to the Northern Warlords and Kuomintang, Beijing suffered the same fate as the rest of China, hobbling along like an old camel without a sense of direction. The Chinese People's Liberation Army formally entered Beijing on January 31, 1949, opening a new chapter in the long history of the city. It was in Tian'anmen Square on October 1st, 1949, that Chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China, with Beijing as its capital.

The city has changed totally since then. It has expanded from its old confines within the nine gates of the Inner City wall (Zhengyangmen, Chongwenmen, Xuanwumen, Chaoyangmen, Dongzhimen, Fuchengmen, Xizhimen, Andingmen and Deshengmen) to the seven outer gates (Dongbianmen, Guangqumen, Xibianmen, Guang?anmen, Yongdingmen, Zuoanmen and Youanmen) and out into the suburbs, Beijing now covers an area of about 750 square kilometers, which includes a dozen new living districts built on the outskirts of town.

Tian'anmen Square is still the center of Beijing, Chang an Boulevard now running 38 kilometers from Shijingshan in the west to Tongxian in the east. The palaces and city towers along both sides have been designated cultural relics for national protection. Former imperial residences and gardens have been opened for public viewing.

New buildings like the International Post Office and Bank of China have been built along the Second Ring Road, the former line of the Inner City wall. Old living quarters and blocks of traditional Beijing style buildings, such as Liulichang Culture Street, have been restored. Large scale construction has been undertaken along the Third Ring Road and the fourth Ring Road.

Future development in Beijing will continue to preserve the symmetry of the old city layout while integrating modern architectural design into the over all plan.

Terracotta army of the emperor Tsin Shihuandi - Beijing

Terracotta army of the emperor Tsin Shihuandi

For the first time for last forty years Chinese People Republic represents its treasures in Russia. The exhibition was opened in the Moscow State Historical museum in the summer of 2006.

It was devoted to "the eighth miracle of the world" - to terracotta army of the emperor Tsin Shihuandi. Visitors of an exhibition received a rare opportunity to see 81 original monument from the Museum of terracotta army which is in Sian. These are figures of soldiers and horses, a chariot, bronze products, subjects of life, weapon and coins.

In multimeter trenches, presumably, there are about eight thousand figures of soldiers and horses. Now researches of the monument is proceeding. It is cleared away about two thousand figures, more than thousand are restored.

  • Last visit to Beijing: Nov 1988
  • Intro Updated Oct 9, 2006
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Reviews (20)

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Comments (21)

  • Reply
    Yaqui's Profile Photo
    Sep 17, 2010 at 9:37 AM

    What a wonderful page. I enjoyed the tour!

  • Reply
    iblatt's Profile Photo
    Aug 3, 2010 at 11:46 AM

    Thanks for visiting my Ein-Boqeq page! I'm planning my trip to China now, and it's interesting to read your experince there in 1988! Ilan

  • Reply
    ines2003's Profile Photo
    Jun 30, 2010 at 6:02 PM

    you look younger and the view of pekin is amazbng bye

  • Reply
    Redang's Profile Photo
    Oct 2, 2008 at 10:39 AM

    Fantastic; it's all I can say!

  • Reply
    Luchonda's Profile Photo
    Sep 10, 2008 at 10:01 AM

    Forbidden city is a topic in Beijing, thxs for the memories

  • Reply
    scottishvisitor's Profile Photo
    Aug 31, 2008 at 12:19 PM

    Nice to see the forbidden city and the great wall - both very topical recently - thanks Sergey for sharing

  • Reply
    Mar 3, 2008 at 3:56 AM

    Another historical city in the world! volopolo

  • Reply
    elpariente's Profile Photo
    Dec 23, 2007 at 2:25 AM

    Very good and interesting tips You work hard your tips with very good information

  • Reply
    tiabunna's Profile Photo
    Oct 24, 2007 at 4:42 AM

    An interesting page on an interesting time to visit China, Sergey, before the giant changes now occurring. You were fortunate to be able to see the 'historic' Beijing.

  • Reply
    vesna04's Profile Photo
    Sep 5, 2007 at 1:08 PM

    I must visit this city once! Well done, Sergej and thanks for looking my H. page :)

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