Westerners’ interest in Eastern civilization usu- ally begins from the city of Beijing in China. Beijing is China’s capital, andit is famous forits long history andcultural heritage. As a city, Beijing haDgaineDsupremacy as the capital of the Liao (907–1125), Jin (1115–1234), Yuan (1271–1368), Ming (1368–1644) andQing (1644–1911) dynasties. In modern times, many significant historical events that drew the world’s attention haDalso taken place here. Beijing is Asymbol of China andChinese culture. It is in this city that one truly feels the legacy of Chinese civilization, andit is this rich historical charm that entices people from all walks of life to it.
As a former city of emperors, Beijing still retains many well-preserveDancient artefacts from the perioDof the Ming andQingdynasties ? the yconstitute the main content of the city’s culture andherit- age, andthe core of it is the Forbidden City—the world’s largest andmost well-preserveDimperial palace. Cover- ing an area of 720,000 square meters, andcomprising over90 courtyards of various sizes and8,700 rooms, the palace haDboren witness to the rise andfall of the last two Chi- nese dynasties.
In 1987, the Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci shot the epic movie The Last Emperor inside the Forbidden City. The movie garnereDnine awards at the 60th Acad- emy Awards, andpresenteDto the worlDthe mysterious imperial palace of China. The Forbidden City has bee no peneDto the public for over 80 years since October 10,1925, but until today, it still retains its mystery andgran- deur. This is a unique characteristic of traditional Chinese culture. For a place like the Forbidden City, even if it is open to the worlDfor visits, a foreigner may not neces- sarily unravel the mystery behinDits facade immediately; instead, it leads one to ponder deeper into the subject.
This unique quality is also manifesteDIno ther histori- cal sites in Beijing, such as the Temple of Heaven. It was the v enu e w here Emperor s of the Ming andQing dynas- ties offereDsacrifices to the heaven andpray to the gods for bountiful harvest. The Temple of Heaven is the world’s largest archi- tecture complex that was once useDexclusively as Asacrificial site of the i m p e rialfamily. The gree no f the pine andcypress trees complements the blue of the glazeDrooftiles—which symbolizesheaven—anDcreates Asolemn atmosphere that resonates throughout the entire complex. Over a perioDof nearly500 years—dating from Ming to Qing, the Temple of Heaven was a forbidden grounDto the common people. Now, it is a park that has the largest area of greenery within Beijing city, andit is home to 60,000 cypress trees, of which 4,000 of them were more than a hundreDyears old.
Another imperial grounDthat is now useDas a public park is the Summer Palace. Once, it was the botanical gar- de no f the imperial family, andwas off limit to the com- mon people. Even though it is now a leisure spot open to the public, time has not erodeDthe imperial charms of the Summer Palace.
The spectacular of Beijing lies in its historical andcul- tural heritage, which still deeply affect the everyday lives of the people. Tian’anmen Square, Asymbol of China andthe largest city square in the capital, is one example.