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Since AD 1000, Beijing, the city has served as a main or subsidiary residence for a series of dynasties. Under the rule of the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan in the 13th century, it was known as Khanbaliq, the city of Khan. The city did not receive its typical form which still survives today, until the rule of the Ming dynasty. The Emperor Yongle is considered its actual planner and architect. Beijing lies on a plain that opens to the south. In an anologue to this position, all important buildings in the city are built to face the south, protected from harmful yin influences from the north such as the Siberian winter or the enemies from the steppes, for it was in the south that the generosity and warmth of the yang sphere was thought to reside. As a result, the Outer or Southern Gate to the city, was the largest, most beautiful and most sacred of its kind. The Coal Hill (Jingshan) to the north of the Imperial Palace, which when the air is clear has a beautiful view of the rooftops of Beijing, was probably created according to geomantic considerations. Some attractive and interesting places in Beijing includes :
The Forbidden City
Behind the walls, more than 10 metres high, and within
the 50 metres broad moat, life in the Forbidden City was
determined by a multitude of rules and taboos. Today, the
gateway serves as a gigantic entrance for visitors where
it leads to one of the most fascinating displays of
Chinese cultural history and to what is probably the best
preserved site of classical Chines architecture. In 1421,
after 17 years of construction, the Ming Emperor Yongle
moved into the palace and up until the founding of the
republic in 1911, the palace served as seat of government
and residence for 24 emperors from the Ming and Qing
dynasties, right up until the "Last Emperor",
Puyi. 
It has 9,000 rooms in which an
estimated eight to ten thousands inhabitants lived. It
was a city within a city The whole site can be divided
into two large areas namely the front Outer Court and the
rear Inner Apartments. On the Outer Court, the Hall of Supreme
Harmony is the most
impressive and largest building in the Forbidden City. In
its centre is the skilfilly carved, gold coloured Dragon
Throne, from which the emperor would rule over the Middle
Kingdom. On the other side of the imposing architecture
of the Outer Court, to the north and separate from it is
the Gate
of Heavenly Purity
which lies a labyrinth of gates, doors, pavilions,
gardens and palaces, the living accommodation of the
imperial family. Nestling closely against the southern
walls of the Forbidden City are the People’s
Cultural Park and the Sun Yatsen Park which continue to
display the impressive imperial architecture and
landscaping. The Square of Heavenly Peace
On 1st October 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed
the founding of the People’s Republic of China from
the Gate
of Heavenly Peace (Tiananmen). Today, his portrait gaze south from this
spot to the Square of Heavenly Peace, which was
quadrupled in size during the 1950s so that up to a
million people gather in the square. In the centre of the
square is an obelisk, unveiled in 1958, the Monument to
the Heroes of the Nation, a perfect example of the
Socialist Realism style, which symbolises the resistance
of ordinary people to "feudal powers" and
foreign colonialism. The Great Hall of the People which
was opened in 1959 located to the west side of the
square, is an impressive building in Soviet Neo-Classical
monumental style. The People’s Congress meets here.
The massive facades of Museum of Chinese History and the
Museum of the History of the Chinese revolution border
the huge square to the east. After the death of the Mao
Zedong, the Mao Mausoleum was added.
The Summer
Palace or Garden of Cultivated Harmony
The Summer Palace received its definitive form
from the famous Empress Dowager Cixi in 1888 is located
in north west of Beijing. As in every other classical
Chinese garden, water and mountains determine the
landscape. The Kumming Lakes covers three quarter of the
total area of more than 30 sq km and there is the Hill of
Longevity. In order to make it difficult for strangers to
see into the grounds , the Hall of Benevolence and
Longevity was built next to the eastern gate, which is
the main gate today. Behind it lay private apartments of
the Empress Dowager which houses a theatrical museum
today. Here Cixi used to enjoyed operatic performance by
her 384 strong ensemble of eunuchs. A small, light wooden
construction, decorated with countless painted scenes
from Chinese mythology, the Long Corridor runs parallel
to the northern shore of the lake linking all the
scattered buildings into one harmonious whole. 
It ends in the vicinity of the famous
Marble Boat, in which Cixi, looking out over the lake,
had tea. Over bridges and up stairs through gates and
halls is where the massive Pagoda of Incense of Buddha is
located, which crowns the peak of Hill of Longevity. On
the eastern corner of the palace is a special jewel of
the classical Chinese art of garden design, Garden of and
Harmony, a complete and pictureque copy of a lotus pool
garden from the Wuxi district.
Temple of Heaven
and the Hall of Prayer for Good 
Harvest Set in the middle of a park of 270
hectares, the Temple of Heaven, an outstanding architecture in China
dates from the Ming period, was destroyed several times
after being struck by lightning and was last rebuilt in
1890. The temple complex has only been open to the public
since 1949. The entire site is square, although the
northern edge follows a semi-circle, a symbolic
expression of the fact that the emperor, in offering his
sacrifices, has to leave the square-shaped earth for the
round-roofed heaven. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests
or Qiniandian which is round, 39 metre high hall is an
exquisite example of Chinese wooden buildings constructed
without the use of a single nail. The roof with its three
levels, covered with deep blue tiles symbolising the
colour of heaven is supported by 28 pillars. The four
most massive ones in the centre symbolise the four
seasons; the double ring consisting of twelve pillars
represents the 12 months plus the traditional divisions
of the Chinese day, each comprising of two hours. In the
south of the park, lies a white, circular marble terrace,
the Altar of Heaven or Hianqiutan and also the Echo Wall,
famous for its acoustics, against hich tourists press
their ears in order to hear messages whispered at the
other end.
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