What to See in Beijing
Beijing is one of the cities in the world where the distant past (Imperial China), the past (Communist China) and the present (China today, still Communist, but too entangled in the capitalist economy of the world to be considered purely a Communist country) mix in an eclectic combination that benefits the visitor.
Perhaps no place is this as obvious as in the Tiananmen Square, the center of Beijing and site watched by a larger than life photo of Mao Tse-Tung placed over an arched gateway, square that borders the Forbidden City, residence of the Chinese Emperors since the 15th century, during the Ming and Qing dynasties. This is where the People’s Republic of China was proclaimed in October 1949 and is considered the largest public area in the world, with an estimated capacity between 500,000 and 1 million people.
Several things are worthwhile during your visit to Tiananmen Square. You can walk through and visit the stand above the Gate of Heavenly Peace, which Mao and other Communist Party members used during different events. You should visit the Memorial Hall of Chairman Mao Zedong, with Mao’s body placed in a glass sarcophagus.
Some of the museums in the square, such as the Museum of Chinese History and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution, should also be interesting, although any historical facts should be seen with reservation as written after the consolidation of the Communist regime.
Moving on to the Forbidden City, this is an amazing site of history right in the middle of modern Beijing. Its name points out, partially, to its mission: not only to host the Chinese emperor and his family, but to keep out anybody else.
The sheer figures of this complex speak as to how grandiose everything is: 9,000 rooms over 183 acres, built by 1 million workers and 100,000 artisans. Visitors enter through the Meridian Gate in the south and exit through the Gate of Divine Might: given the size of the complex, what may appear as a bureaucratic limitation of individual freedom becomes most welcome.
The Temple of Heaven is a nice spiritual completion of the urban landscape, also built during the Ming dynasty, in the 15th century. It is a complex of buildings, of which the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is central and most important. The entire site is worth a long walk and you will enjoy the typical Chinese showcases: bridges, gardens, terraces.