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Beijing

Beijing was not always the Chinese capital – different ruling dynasties have usually moved the role of capital to their home city within the country, and Beijing was no exception to this. Beijing’s founders had come from Mongolia, and the city was originally named Khanbaliq in Mongolian.  But it in turn had been built on the site of the city destroyed by the Mongolian invaders, and this in turn gave way to subsequent reinventions of the city under a more typically Chinese culture. However, as it was the custom of each new dynasty to remove the power-structure of its predecessor,  the previous capitals of China – with the exception of Xi’an, built on such a scale it was hard to eradicate – were mostly deliberately downgraded and had their palaces and royal structures removed to prevent them becoming powerful once again. Thus Beijing, as the most recent of the Imperial capitals of China,  retains the greatest number of Imperial buildings… although even these have been reduced by the change to Communism, and the 1960s policy of “cultural revolution” that aimed to destroy the previous Imperial culture.

What to see in and around Beijing

The Forbidden City

The Forbidden City was a city-within-a-city, to which access was “forbidden” to all but the select grouping of administrators and burocrats who administered the Empire on behalf of their royal masters.  A further unusual factor was that – in order to prevent these administrators favouring their own families or children with valuable official appointments – virtually the entire structure of administration was formed from castrated male eunuchs, who had no children to care for.  The Forbidden City is an enormous walled city that really needs at least a full half-day to see even the majority of palaces, temples, museums and exhibitions within its huge scope.

The Temple Of Heaven

The Temple Of Heaven was the Daoist temple at which the Emperors would make offerings for a plentiful harvest for the country  – no paradox was felt in attending both Buddhist and Daoist ceremonies.

The Summer Palace…

… was a beautiful series of gardens, lakes and summer lodges where the royal family could spend the warm summer days in relaxed comfort and elegance.  It remains one of the most pleasant spots in which to pass an afternoon in Beijing, and is one of own special favourites whenever we visit Beijing.

The Great Wall

The Great Wall can be visited at several different spots.  Contrary to popular myth, it is not complete and there are missing sections even close to Beijing – you cannot just walk on it wherever you want (although there are also long intact sections too).  There was also not just one single Great Wall – the project was begun several times in different epochs, when different areas of the country needed protection.

The Lama Temple

The Lama Temple was the most prestigious of the Buddhist Temples in Beijing – effectively the Legation of the Dalai Lama, who remained in Lhasa as the nation’s spiritual leader.  The differences between the modern Chinese State and Buddhism have been played-out here – the exhibition of “famous scenes in Buddhist history” contains some rather notorious fakes.  Nevertheless the Temple remains an important Buddhist site, and should not be “left off” your visit simply because of what the Chinese Govt choose to say about it.

The Silk Market…

… although it’s a bit of a cliché, it still has nice silk stuff that makes an unusual gift from your trip.

The Antiques Market..

… probably this ought to be called The Fake Antiques Market, but the fakes are very attractive… frankly if that Buddha statue really was from the C15th you wouldn’t be paying £10 for it anyhow.  The market also has a huge number of nice handicraft souvenirs and gifts that you can actually use (tablecloths, bedlinen sets etc) rather than mantelpiece dust-gatherers.

The Ming Tombs

This excursion is rather hokum – the tombs were robbed centuries ago, and there is nothing to see – but the trip down into them is a pleasantly cool relief from the summer heat, and there’s a nice lunch included too. Rather more attractive are the statues of fantastical beasts which once belonged to the Emperors.

Journeys stopping at Beijing

Trans-Siberian Railway
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Beijing to Shanghai

4 Days
Ride the rails between China’s two greatest cities,  to see a city whose glamour and scandal fascinated the world in the 1920’s and...

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Grand Trans-Siberian
Moscow to Beijing

15 Days
Experience the legendary Trans-Siberian Railway and the Trans-Mongolian Railway on board a private charter train. Grand Trans-Siberian offers a...


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Great Chinese Route

8 Days
China is almost a continent in itself – the diversity and range of traditions within just one country are hard to get your head around! This trip...


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Tsars Gold
Beijing to Moscow

15 Days
A journey on the iconic Trans-Siberian Railroad is one of the last great travel adventures. Take this journey of a lifetime on Tsars Gold and...


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Scenic Chinese Route

11 Days
The ‘Scenic’ is basically the ‘Great Chinese’ with the inclusion of Guilin … a place most famous for the...


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Grand Trans-Siberian
Beijing-Moscow

14 Days
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Simply Beijing

3 Days
Ideal at the end of a Trans-Siberian trip (or before beginning one) to give you a base to head for once you’ve arrived? You can add extra...


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Terracotta Trail

7 Days
It’s hard to disguise our  sneaking favouritism for Xi’an, the ancient captial of China. This multi-faceted city… yes, yes, the...


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Skytrain to Tibet

6 Days
This is a journey that will take you from the grand scale, historical riches and cultural treasures of the  Chinese capital to the mystical...


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Classic Three Capitals
Moscow to Beijing

12 Days
On a tight time frame? Then this is the trip for you – and it operates year-round for even greater flexibility. And just because you’re on a...


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Classic Eurasian Experience
Moscow to Beijing

14 Days
Our portfolio of Classic Eurasian experiences features two stops designed to more evenly break up your time aboard the Trans-Siberian. These...

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Classic Outer & Inner Mongolia
Moscow to Beijing

21 Days
Everyone’s heard of Outer Mongolia, even if they know little about it, but Inner Mongolia? This is China’s strategic frontier and home to...

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China Facts

National Capital:

Beijing

Area:

9,596,960 Sq Km

Population:

1,331,460,000

Government:

China is a single party republic country

Major Language:

Mandarin Chinese with many other variants

Life expectancy:

Men 72 and women 76

Currency:

Yuan

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