Chengdu to Beijing-Jilin-Harbin-Changchun-Beijing back to Chengdu 16-day self-guided tour (3)
August 20-September 4, 2011
August 23 morning sunny
Tiananmen Square
Today's schedule is all about playing in and around Tiananmen Square. The specific route is: Tiananmen Square → Chairman Mao Memorial Hall → Tiananmen Gate Tower → Forbidden City (Forbidden City Museum) → Jingshan (view from Jingshan Park) → Wangfujing → Tiananmen Square (see the flag-lowering ceremony).
Tiananmen Square is located in the center of Beijing, on the south side of Chang'an Avenue, on the traditional central axis of Beijing. Tiananmen Square is 880 meters long from north to south, 500 meters wide from east to west, and covers an area of 440,000 square meters. It can accommodate 1 million people to hold grand gatherings. It is the largest city square in the world - Tiananmen Square.
Tiananmen Square records the indomitable revolutionary spirit and fearless heroism of the Beijing people. The May 4th Movement, the 1st 29th Movement, and the 5th 20th Movement all left a strong color for the history of modern Chinese revolution. After the founding of New China, Tiananmen Square was widened and a Monument to the People's Heroes was built in the center of the square. Later, the Great Hall of the People was built on the west side of the square, the Chinese Revolution Museum and the Chinese History Museum were built on the east side, and the Mao Zedong Memorial Hall was built on the south side. Chairman's Memorial Hall.
The Tiananmen Gate Tower is located at the northern end of the square. Tiananmen Square was built in the fifteenth year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1417). There are five gates in the city and nine couplets in the double building, with a total height of 33.7 meters. On the more than 2,000 square meters of exquisitely carved white marble Xumi pedestal, there is a red and white pier more than 10 meters high, and on the pier is the resplendent Tiananmen Gate Tower. Below the city tower is the sparkling Jinshui River, on which there are 5 beautifully carved white marble Jinshui Bridges. The two pairs of majestic stone lions in front of the gate tower and the tall and handsome Chinese watch skillfully match each other, making Tiananmen a perfect masterpiece of architectural art.
On October 1, 1949, Chairman Mao Zedong declared the founding of the People's Republic of China on the Tiananmen Gate Tower, and raised the first five-star red flag with his own hands. Since then, the Tiananmen Gate Tower has become a symbol of new China, and its solemn and solemn image is an important part of the national emblem of our country.
The center of Tian'anmen Square is the Monument to the People's Heroes. Continue south through the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall to Zhengyangmen, which is often called Qianmen. On the west side of the square is the Great Hall of the People, and on the east side is the National Museum. On the opposite side of the square, on the north side of Chang'an Avenue is the Tiananmen Gate Tower, and below the gate tower is the sparkling Jinshui River. Every morning and evening, Tiananmen Square will hold a grand and serious flag-raising ceremony. For those who are new to Beijing, watching the flag-raising ceremony is an essential thing. But it’s impossible to do it today, it’s too late, let’s try another day! The Monument to the People's Heroes on Tiananmen Square, the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, and the National Museum in the east are all free.
August 23 morning sunny
Chairman Mao Memorial Hall
Chairman Mao Memorial Hall is located in Tiananmen Square, south of the Monument to the People's Heroes. Located at the former site of Zhonghua Gate, the foundation stone laying ceremony was held in 1976 and completed in May 1977, covering an area of more than 57,000 square meters with a total construction area of 28,000 square meters. The main body is square, and there are 44 bright pillars of Fujian yellow granite building outside. There are Guangzhou Shiwan flower decorative ceramic plates between the pillars, and the whole body is covered with Qingdao granite. There are two layers of glass cornices on the roof, with sunflower reliefs inlaid between the cornices. There are two floors of platforms at the base, and the platform sides are all made of maroon granite beside the Dadu River in Sichuan, surrounded by Fangshan white marble Wannian blue and white railings. In the middle of the steps of the south gate and the north gate, there are two white marble hanging belts, on which are carved patterns of sunflower, evergreen, wintersweet and green pine.
The memorial hall is surrounded by a green belt dominated by pines and cypresses. The tree species include Beijing Chinese pine, Qingdao cedar, juniper pine and white bark pine; there are also 36 Fangshan red fruit trees and 13 Yan'an green pine. On the east and west sides of the north gate and the south gate, there is a group of sculptures 15 meters long and 3.5 meters high.
The Chairman Mao Memorial Hall is closed every Monday. It is open from Tuesday to Sunday morning (8-12 o'clock) and closed in the afternoon. It is free to visit with a valid certificate. It should be noted that you need to go through security checks when you enter to pay your respects. You are not allowed to bring bags, cameras, Items such as water glasses enter, so bags need to be stored first. There are a lot of people queuing up every day when it is open, and sometimes there will be long queues around a few big bends.
August 23 at noon sunny
Tiananmen Gate Tower (Climbing Tiananmen Gate Tower)
Tiananmen Square is located at the northern end of Tiananmen Square and the southern end of the Forbidden City. It faces Tiananmen Square, the Monument to the People's Heroes, the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, the Great Hall of the People, and the National Museum of China across Chang'an Street. It covers an area of 4,800 square meters. It is characterized by outstanding architectural art and The special political status has attracted the attention of the world.
On October 1, 1949, at the grand founding ceremony held in Tiananmen Square, Chairman Mao Zedong solemnly declared to the world from the Tiananmen Gate Tower: The Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China was established today. The founding ceremony marked the founding of New China, and its establishment ushered in a new era in Chinese history. Since then, China has ended the humiliating history of being invaded and enslaved for more than a hundred years, and has truly become an independent country. The Chinese people have since stood up and become the masters of the country. The founding of New China strengthened the forces of world peace, democracy and socialism, and inspired the struggles of oppressed nations and peoples around the world for liberation.
Tiananmen Square is located in the center of Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China, on the traditional central axis of the city. It was the main gate of the Beijing imperial city in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was built in the 15th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1417). Tiananmen was originally named "Chengtianmen", implying the meaning of "inheriting the fortune of heaven and receiving orders from heaven". The designer is Kuai Xiang, an imperial architect of the Ming Dynasty. In the eighth year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1651), it was renamed Tiananmen Square. It is one of the most magnificent towers in ancient China. It is a place not to be missed by every tourist who comes to Beijing.
The Tiananmen Gate Tower is composed of two parts: the platform and the gate tower. There is a Xumizuo made of white marble, with a total height of 34.7 meters. The Tiananmen Gate Tower is 66 meters long and 37 meters wide. There are 60 vermilion columns on the tower, the thickest diameter is 1.2 meters, the smallest is 0.6 meters, each is 12 meters long and weighs more than 7 tons. The ground is paved with gold bricks, flat as a whetstone; on the tall and richly colored wall platform, there are two floors of double-eave buildings with yellow glazed tiles. The interior of the building is antique, with nine rooms in the east and west, and five rooms in the north and south, symbolizing the "Ninth Five-Year Zun" of imperial power. Both the north and the south sides are doors with rhombus lattice, 36 vermilion rhombus doors; the ceiling, door arches and beams are carved with traditional golden dragon paintings and auspicious patterns; The ceiling caisson makes the whole hall majestic and resplendent. The hall is composed of a 450 kg octagonal palace lantern and 16 hexagonal palace lanterns each weighing 350 kilograms, with a pattern of stars holding the moon. Visitors can visit the living room of that year, as well as graphic exhibitions, and learn about the history of Tiananmen in various periods and the important activities held here. There are five coupon gates under the city platform, and the coupon gate in the middle is the largest. It is on the southern end of the central axis of the Beijing Imperial City and is also on the central axis of the entire Beijing. In the past, only the emperor could enter and exit here. Now there is a huge portrait of Mao Zedong hanging above the central doorway, and on both sides are the large slogans "Long live the People's Republic of China" and "Long live the great unity of the people of the world".
The Jinshui River, which opened in front of Tiananmen Square, rests on a blue stream, and flies to erect seven exquisite white marble bridges, commonly known as Jinshui bridges. The bridge deck is slightly arched, and the bridge body is like a rainbow, forming a beautiful curve. In the dynasty and empire era, the most prominent bridge deck in the middle was carved with dragon stigmas, and only the emperor was allowed to pass through it, which was called "Yulu Bridge"; the two bridge decks carved with lotus stigmas on the left and right were only allowed to pass by princes, and they were called "Princes". On the other two sides, only ministers of civil and military affairs above the third rank are allowed to pass, which is called "grade bridge". On the east and west sides of the south bridge, there are white marble and stone watches standing on each side, and the clouds surround the dragon pan, which is very imposing. On Tiananmen Square, you can see the towering Tiananmen Gate from a distance. When you walk to the foot of the gate tower, the red gate tower that you have seen countless times in textbooks and TV is close at hand. On the tower, many tourists imitated Chairman Mao's classic waving posture during the founding ceremony, and took pictures here as souvenirs. There is a very wonderful sense of time travel and national pride. It is also worth mentioning that the night view of the Tiananmen Gate Tower is also very beautiful. When the lanterns first come on, the gate tower is illuminated with landscape lights, which complement each other with other buildings on Tiananmen Square, making it look extraordinarily magnificent.
On October 1, 1949, the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China was held here, which was designed into the national emblem and became a symbol of the People's Republic of China. In 1961, Mogao Caves are announced one of for first batch of national key Cultural relic preservation organs.
Visiting the Tiananmen Gate Tower is sometimes closed due to special events. Before going, you should pay more attention to the notice on the official website and plan your itinerary reasonably. However, it should be noted that Tiananmen Square is a one-way street. After the visit, you can only continue to go north. Therefore, it is recommended to arrange the gate tower and the Forbidden City on the same day. Pass through the Tiananmen Gate Tower and continue north along the central axis to reach the main entrance of the Forbidden City. It is the Meridian Gate of the entrance. If you want to turn back and not go to the Forbidden City, the quickest way is to turn right after the Meridian Gate, spend 2 yuan to enter the Taimiao (that is, the Working People's Cultural Palace), turn right and go straight from the south gate to return to Tiananmen Square .
August 23 afternoon sunny
Forbidden City (Beijing Palace Museum)
The Forbidden City is located in the center of Beijing, also known as the "Forbidden City". 24 emperors once lived here. It was the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911 A.D.), and it is now called the "Palace Museum". The entire building of the Forbidden City is resplendent and majestic. It is known as one of the five major palaces in the world (the Forbidden City in Beijing, the Palace of Versailles in France, Buckingham Palace in the United Kingdom, the White House in the United States, and the Kremlin in Russia). It is also listed as a "world cultural heritage" by UNESCO.
The palace building of the Forbidden City is the largest and most complete ancient building complex in China, with a total area of more than 720,000 square meters. There are 9,999 and a half palace rooms. It is called "the sea of palaces". Whether it is the layout, three-dimensional effect, or the majestic form, it can be called an unparalleled masterpiece.
A central axis runs through the entire Forbidden City, and this central axis is on the central axis of Beijing City. The three main halls, the three rear palaces and the imperial garden are all located on this central axis. On both sides of the central axis palace, there are also many palaces symmetrically distributed, and they are also magnificent. These palaces can be divided into two parts: the outer dynasty and the inner court. The three halls of Taihe, Zhonghe, and Baohe in the outer dynasty are the center, and the Wenhua and Wuying halls are the two wings. The inner court is centered on Qianqing Palace, Jiaotai Palace, and Kunning Palace, with the east and west palaces as two wings, and the layout is rigorous and orderly. The four corners of the Forbidden City have exquisite and exquisite turrets, which are exquisitely constructed and beautiful. The palace city is surrounded by a 10-meter-high and 3,400-meter-long palace wall, with a 52-meter-wide moat outside the wall.
Now, in some palaces of the Forbidden City, there are comprehensive museums of history and art, paintings, ceramics, bronzes, arts and crafts of Ming and Qing Dynasties, inscriptions, toys, four treasures of study, toys, treasures, and clocks. It has a large collection of ancient art treasures, including 1,052,653 pieces, accounting for one-sixth of the total number of Chinese cultural relics. It is the museum with the richest collection of cultural relics in China and a world-renowned museum of ancient culture and art. , many of which are unique and priceless national treasures.
Tips for the Forbidden City: What is the best route to visit the Forbidden City in Beijing? Presumably everyone wants to know about this aspect, so I will share it with you below, hoping to help you. 1. Enter the Forbidden City from the Meridian Gate, and then along the central axis, visit the Inner Jinshui Bridge, the Gate of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Zhonghe, the Hall of Preserving Harmony, the Gate of Qianqing, the Palace of Qianqing, the Palace of Jiaotai, and the Palace of Kunning , Imperial Garden. 2. After visiting the Imperial Garden, enter the West Sixth Palace through the door on the left side of the Imperial Garden, and visit Chuxiu Palace, Lingkun Palace, Yongshou Palace, Xianfu Palace, Changchun Palace, and Taiji Palace in turn. 3. Exit the inner right gate and return to Qianqingmen Square, go eastward and enter the inner left gate, and visit the East Sixth Palace, Yanxi Palace, Yonghe Palace, Jingyang Palace, Chengqian Palace, and Zhongcui Palace in turn. 4. After visiting the East Six Palaces, go back to Qianqingmen Square along East Chang'an Street, go east through Jingyun Gate, enter Xiqing Gate, enter Huangji Gate, visit Huangji Hall, Yongshou Palace, and Zhuoxi Building. Changyin Pavilion, Yangxing Hall, Qiankun Garden, Zhenfei Well. 5. Exit Zhenshun Gate, go west and exit Shenwu Gate, and leave the Forbidden City.
August 23 afternoon sunny
Jingshan (Jingshan Park)
Jingshan, now Jingshan Park. Located across the street outside Shenwumen, the north gate of the Forbidden City in Beijing (Jingshanqian Street, Xicheng District, Beijing), it is located on the central axis of Beijing in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, covering an area of about 33 hectares. It was originally the royal palace of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. Adjacent to Beihai in the west and across the street from the Shenwu Gate of the Forbidden City in the south, it was the royal garden of the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Jingshan Mountain in the center of the park is formed by piled up soil and was once the commanding height of the whole city.
Jingshan Mountain is towering and steep, with dense trees and magnificent scenery. It is the best place to climb high and look far in Beijing and enjoy the scenery of the whole city.
In the Yuan Dynasty more than 600 years ago, there was a small hill named "Qingshan". It is said that when the Forbidden City was built in the Ming Dynasty, coal was piled here, so it is commonly known as "Coal Mountain". During the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, the soil from the excavation of the moat was piled up here to form a tall earth mountain called "Long Live Mountain", also known as "Zhen Mountain" in Da Nei. Flowers, plants and fruit trees are planted all over the foot of the mountain, which is known as "the aftermath garden". Feudal emperors often came here to appreciate flowers, practice arrows, have banquets, and climb mountains to see the scenery. It is a beautiful royal garden.
Jingshan is composed of five peaks with a height of about 43 meters. It was the commanding height in Beijing in the old days. There are climbing roads on the east, west and north sides. The five pavilions on the top of the mountain were built in the fifteenth year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (1750). The Wanchun Pavilion located in the middle peak is a square, triple eaves, and four corners pointed yellow glazed tile pavilion, which is magnificent. On both sides of it are two octagonal green glazed tile pavilions with double eaves. The one on the west side is called "Jifang Pavilion" and the one on the east side is called "Guanmiao Pavilion". On the outside of the two pavilions, there are two round, blue glazed tile pavilions with double eaves, the "Fulan Pavilion" in the west and the "Zhoushang Pavilion" in the east. In the old days, there was a bronze Buddha statue in each pavilion, collectively called "five gods", and also known as "five flavor gods" representing sweet, pungent, bitter, sour and salty. In 1900, four statues were taken away by the Allied Forces of Eight Nations, and one statue (Vairocana Buddha in Wanchun Pavilion) was destroyed. The five pavilions stand on the ridge, the middle is high and the side is low, the master and slave are clear, and the left and right are symmetrical. In addition, the beams and pillars are flying gold, the roof tiles reflect colors, the green trees are surrounded, and the blue sky contrasts with each other, forming a magnificent and exquisite painting. When tourists come here, they must try their best to climb up, and take a glimpse of the magnificent and charming infinite scenery of the capital as a comfort!
August 23 afternoon sunny
Wangfujing (China's First Street)
Wangfujing starts from Dongsi West Street in the north and ends at Chang'an Street in the south, with a total length of just over 1,000 meters. It is the famous "China's No. 1 Street" and a must-see for tourists to Beijing. In 1999, the section from Jinyu Hutong to Dongdan Street on Wangfujing Street was planned as a pedestrian street, and became a sister street with the famous Champs Elysées Avenue in Paris. A simulation and imagination of continental Europe.
Just as the Bund is an architectural exhibition hall in Shanghai, the various department stores gathered on Wangfujing Street are also like fossils accumulated in different rock formations, showing the consumption landscape of different eras in Beijing.
But what Beijingers love more may be the Beijing Department Store, which opened in 1955. In the era of lack of material in the past, shopping at the Beijing Department Store, known as "the first store in New China", was like dining at a nearby Beijing restaurant. Beijing Department Store is to Beijingers what Jinxiaolu Market is to Kyoto people. It is full of symbols of New Year’s joy. No matter how novel and stylish Oriental Plaza is, it still cannot replace Beijing Department Store in the hearts of Beijingers.
In fact, if you want to say that it has a long history, Dong'an Market is really well-deserved. In the 29th year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty, in order to rectify the city appearance of Dong'anmenwai Street, the Qing government gathered nearby vendors in the abandoned Eight Banners Army training ground, thus forming Dong'an Market, which was also the starting point for Wangfujing to become a commercial street in the future. The newly rebuilt Dong'an Market is of course no longer the same as it used to be, but in the random memories of the older generation of literati, we can still see the lively scene of old Dong'an gathering Jixiang theaters, bookstores, restaurants, and hawkers. Most of the shops in Dong’an Market are no longer there now, only Donglaishun on the fifth floor, an old Beijing street on the first basement floor, a street of Chinese time-honored brands, and statues of singing operas, shaved heads, and rickshaws placed in front of the new Dong’an Gate. clues to the past.
Sometimes the trick history plays is not disappearing or forgetting, but letting something exist in an unexpected way. In fact, the most European style of Wangfujing is not the pedestrian street, but the Catholic Church "East Church", which has stood here since 1655 and has been rebuilt many times due to earthquakes and fires. Now "East Hall" still has a fixed time for watching mass, but because of its classical European architectural style, it makes it an excellent place to take wedding photos. The nimble wedding photographers simply put a car outside "East Hall" The pink antique car serves as the background, and the scene of the combination of religious halls and fragrant cars and beauties is as surprising as a respectable old man wearing a pink bow tie.
The name of Wangfujing is said to be because there is a palace and a well here. The well that had been buried was rediscovered in 1998 when the road was repaired, and it is located at the west of the north end of the pedestrian street. In fact, the current Wangfujing Street was once divided into three sections. The section from Dongsi West Street to Dengshikou Street was called Wangfu Street, Dengshikou West Street to Jinyu Alley was called Bamiancao, and Jinyu Alley to Chang’an Street was called Wangfu Street. Jing Street, during the "Cultural Revolution", these roads were combined and called "Renmin Road", and it was renamed Wangfujing Street in 1975. In Yuan Shikai's era, Wangfujing Street was once turned into Morrison Street. It is said that the reason was that the British reporter wrote an article to praise Yuan Shikai. In order to reward him, Wangfujing Street where Morrison lived was changed to Morrison Street. From the old photos, you can still see Morrison and his Chinese servants in front of the house. Of course, this house located on the south side of the Beijing Department Store is now gone.
August 23 afternoon sunny
Flag Raising Ceremony in Tiananmen Square
The flag-raising ceremony in Tiananmen Square is held every day. Regardless of whether it is windy, rainy or snowy, watch the flag-raising ceremony every morning according to the time when the sun comes out. It is around 4 o'clock in early summer and around 7 o'clock in winter. Watch the flag-lowering ceremony when the sun sets. If you don’t catch up with both, behind Tiananmen Square, the east side flag squad outside the Meridian Gate trains there every day, and you can see it up close.
