4 historic sites not to be missed in Beijing
Walking among the Hutongs, photographing contemporary buildings, browsing through traditional markets, is not enough in a city that has the privilege of owning one of the richest historical heritages in the world. It is no coincidence that UNESCO has collected, under its own protection, 7 monuments in Beijing alone, and a trip would not be enough to see them all.
Among the sites of historical and architectural interest, there are 4 absolutely not to be missed.
1. TEMPLE OF HEAVEN
Originally from the Ming era, built in the 15th century and rebuilt and adapted on numerous occasions over the following centuries, this temple complex was a place for sacrifices and propitiatory ceremonies. It consists of a huge park, within which there are numerous gardens, pavilions, smaller buildings, a picturesque promenade covered by a painted porch, the Imperial Walkway Bridge, and the core building of the whole complex, the representative Hall of Prayer for the Good Harvests.
It is one of the largest medieval wooden buildings in the world and stands out against the sky for about 40 meters with a circular frescoed drum and a three-storey roof covered with blue ceramic tiles.
The Temple of Heaven is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
2. SUMMER PALACE
Located on the north-west edge of the city, this place, where the royal family had established their summer residence, consists of a huge garden that develops around Kunming lake, where there are many temples, altars, arcades, residences of the nineteenth century. Each of the purple-red buildings distributed in the park is worth a visit, even those that require a small supplement on the admission ticket, but also just walking on the shores of the lake, in the shade of the eucalyptus trees and watching the boats that cross the sinuous bridges over the water is a pleasant experience.
The crowds, especially on summer days, are large, and the advice is to go into the back of the park, where you can reach high hills that offer a fantastic view of the garden, and where, in the quiet and away from tourists, the locals are dedicated to reading, martial arts or dancing. The most original area of this complex is the small waterfront town of Suzhou Market Street, where traditional shops (now mostly souvenir shops) line a wide canal and can only be reached by boat, or by a stroll along the narrow sidewalk between the shop entrances and the river.
The Summer Palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
3. LAMA TEMPLE
Officially Yonghe Gong Temple, it is a temple of Tibetan Buddhist monks (Lama) built in the seventeenth century.
The architecture is that of Beijing's religious buildings, with majestic purple-red painted bodies, pagoda roofs covered with yellow glazed ceramic tiles, colorful paintings on wooden beams, and raised courtyards surrounded by glazed walls. The complex is enveloped in a cloud of indissoluble incense that runs through the gardens, porticos and tree-lined paths.
4. FORBIDDEN CITY
The undisputed queen of Beijing is the Forbidden City, the notorious residence of the royal family that is a city within a city in the heart of the Chinese capital. A whole day is enough just to scratch the surface of this labyrinth of buildings, temples, altars, flourishing gardens and huge squares with marble fences.
On the north-south axis of the city, the main buildings of the complex are clearly visible on high stone bases, but the secondary courtyards, which often require a cheap additional ticket, are oases of peace in which you can admire the sophisticated paintings and complex architectures.
The Forbidden City is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
