Beijing is not only a popular tourist attraction, but a preservation of Chinese history. There are many famous landmarks that are well-preserved for us to visit. These places also have a long history. There are 59 world heritage sites in China. Of these, 7 are located in Beijing. Three of the most significant are the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, and the Summer Palace.
Most would say that the Great Wall of China is the most iconic structure in all of China. The Great Wall is one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. It is 96 kilometers long, making it the longest wall in the world. It passes through 5 provinces in the northern part of China. The construction of the Great Wall started in 0 B.C.E., and it took approximately 500 years, nine different dynasties, and millions of people to build it. As many as 400,000 people died working on the wall. Emperor Qin Shi Huang (the First Emperor) united China and started the construction of the Great Wall during the Qin Dynasty. The best-preserved section of the wall was built during the Ming Dynasty.
Ming emperors oversaw the construction of about 8,850 kilometers of the wall. During its long history, the Great Wall has protected China from many enemy invasions, but it has also suffered a considerable amount of damage. Some parts of the wall have worn away, some have been destroyed or damaged, but most of the wall remains unharmed. The Great Wall of China is an important and extraordinary structure that represents Chinese culture.
Another one of China’s most famous landmarks is the Forbidden City, located in the center of Beijing. It was built by Emperor Zhu Di during the Ming Dynasty. The construction started in 406 and finished in 40. The Palace Museum sits in the heart of the Forbidden City, north of Tiananmen Gate, which features a picture of Mao Zedong, the person who created the People’s Republic of China. The Palace Museum, along with some other palaces, lies on the Central Axis of Beijing, which is 7.8 kilometers long. Many other royal and official residences surround the Central Axis. The Palace Museum itself takes up 70,000 square meters, while the Forbidden City has an area of about 70,000 square kilometers. It is said that the Heavenly Palace has 0,000 rooms. When constructing the Palace Museum, the emperor cut the number of rooms down to 9,999.5 rooms, as the number could not exceed the amount in the Heavenly Palace. The Forbidden City seems young next to the Great Wall, having a history of around 500 years, during which it has housed 4 Ming and 0 Qin emperors. Even so, the Forbidden City has suffered much more than the Great Wall. In 1644, the rebel leader Li Zicheng set parts of the city on fire, and most of the Palace Museum was destroyed and later reconstructed. The Forbidden City had to be rebuilt a total of seven times due to both human and natural conflicts. Before, the Forbidden City was “forbidden” to the common people and only royals and officials had access, hence the name. The Forbidden City is an impressive and symbolic city that has been the home of many of China’s emperors.
The Summer Palace is a spectacular palace that used to be where emperors lived during the summer. The royal family took residence in the Summer Palace to escape the cruel summer heat. The Summer Palace was built solely for this purpose, with its lovely gardens and airy pavilions. It is not only filled with Chinese cultural heritage, Chinese philosophy, and Chinese architectural designs, but also the most beautiful natural scenery, flowers, plants, and lakes. It has an area of .9 square kilometers. The fourth emperor of the Qin Dynasty, Emperor Qianlong, ordered the construction of the Summer Palace in 1750 as a gift for his mother on her 60th birthday. It was completed in 1764. At the time, it was not called Yiheyuan (the Summer Palace). Instead, it was called Qingyiyuan (Gardens of Clear Ripples). The Summer Palace was constructed much later than the Forbidden City and the Great Wall of China, but it has been through many hardships in its mere 74 years. In 1860, the Summer Palace was destroyed by the joined forces from Great Britain and France during the Second Opium War. It was later reconstructed by Empress Dowager Cixi from 884 to 895. It was damaged again during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, and then later restored. It became open to the public in 1914. The Summer Palace is a magnificent and meaningful palace that has been the summer home of many of China’s emperors.
Beijing contains an incredible amount of Chinese history, on the bricks of the Great Wall, on the walls of the Forbidden City, and in the gardens of the Summer Palace. There are many more important landmarks in Beijing that represent different aspects of Chinese culture. Some of these structures have been through war and fighting, invasions and rebellions, enemies and armies, and yet, despite all that they have faced, they are still standing, a reminder that China stands strong, a united and unbreakable country.
