What to visit in Beijing, China – Part 5

The `Northern Capital’ which is what Beijing literally means is a city of somewhat startling contrasts. East (obviously) and West collide; inflexible communism exists side-by-side with an uninhibited rush for bigger, better, more glitzy. And, most importantly, ancient and medieval China make their presence felt even in the midst of shopping malls and skyscrapers. Temples and palaces lie scattered across the city, with the odd museum, gate or tower tucked away in between the squares and hutongs of the city. There are teahouses, roast duck restaurants, and souvenir shops selling everything from antique terracotta to small, brightly painted porcelain dragons. Beijing capitalises on its colourful past, and how!

So, without any further ado, here’s a quick list of the best sights in Beijing.

1. The Forbidden City (Gugong)

Arguably the best known of Beijing’s many attractions, the Forbidden City (Gugong) was the name given to the Imperial Palace, built in the early 15th century. Calling this complex a city rather than a palace makes sense, actually: it’s huge, all of 720,000 square metres. Some 8,000 rooms of the original 9,999 (how did they measure a half room?!) remain. Large halls, painted in green, red and blue and topped with curving eaves of imperial yellow, stand amidst pine trees, cool gardens, and paved courtyards. Most halls are now museum galleries that display royal memorabilia: paintings, pottery, jewellery, calligraphy even clocks. You can spend hours exploring the Forbidden City, admiring the beauty of the palaces and pavilions, or simply marvelling at the immensity of it all.

2. The Temple of Heaven (Tiantan)

The Forbidden City may be the most familiar of Beijing’s monuments for foreigners, but for Beijing residents, the `face’ of the city is Tiantan the Temple of Heaven. Tiantan consists of a series of halls and altars, constructed in the 15th century for the express use of emperors who came here for ritual worship. The circular Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, with its three tiers of painted eaves, is all wood (without the use of a single nail) and is the piece de resistance of Tiantan. Also worth a dekko are the Nine Dragons Juniper (over five hundred years old, and with a trunk so gnarled it looks as if sinuous dragons are climbing it) and the Circular Mound Altar, a huge circular altar made of white flagstones arranged in concentric circles consisting of multiples of 9 flagstones each.

3. The Great Bell Temple (Dazhong Si)