Beijing- A Brief History

I know it may not be that interesting to read about the history of Beijing, but it's impossible to fully appreciate a place without understanding what factors that influenced the way it is today. I'll be brief- after all, I only just learned the difference between the Ming and Qing Dynasties (ok, I'll be completely honest- I'm not sure I knew those dynasties existed before now!). One thing that continually blows me away over here ("over here" being Asia) is how incredibly old these civilizations are. The Chinese had an advanced civilization long before Plato and Aristotle, long before anyone had heard of Christianity, and long, long before Columbus set sail on his way to "discover" the Americas. I mean, China is old!

One of the first "inhabitants" of what is now Beijing was Peking Man, who lived in the area between 300,000 and 500,000 years ago. In the past 1000 years Beijing has served as an important political and cultural center, but its rise to prominence began during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), when Kublai Khan (grandson of Ghengis Khan) made it the center of international cultural exchanges in the Orient. The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) laid the foundation for modern day Beijing, and many of the historical sites date from this period. The Qing Dynasty ruled from 1644-1911, and on October 1, 1949 Mao Zedong declared the establishment of the People's Republic of China, with Beijing as its capital.

The city was originally designed as a series of concentric circles, with nine gates on the inner wall and seven gates on the outer wall. Although the wall no longer exists, many of the gates are still standing. The city has since overflowed its boundaries, and now covers an area of 750 square kilometers, making it one of the largest cities in the world. It also boasts a population of 16 million people, 13 million of whom are native Beijingers, and 3 million of whom are from other Chinese cities and other countries.

Today the Chinese government is trying to maintain the fine balance between old and new in Beijing. Modern skyscrapers shoot up into the sky, but the government has also made a concerted effort to maintain palaces and other architectural and artistic relics. Former imperial residences and gardens have been opened for public viewing, and the government is now concerned with protecting specific areas of old Beijing called hutongs. Future development in Beijing will continue to preserve the symmetry of the old city layout while integrating modern architectural design into the over-all plan.