Welcome to Beijing

[Bellamy]

Here're some videos about Beijing.

 

http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/player.ht...de=aboutbeijing

 

http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/player.ht...tinationbeijing

 

This is Beijing

Once a global capital, Beijing awakens with an eye to the future

By Greg Groggel, NBCOlympics.com

Posted

 

Long the cradle of Chinese civilization and culture, Beijing has returned to global prominence as the capital of the People's Republic of China. Today, Beijing offers the world more than four thousand years of history. Yet despite what may seem like an intimidating precedent, recent decades have ushered in an era of sweeping change. As the winds of modernity have been absorbed and assimilated by the fabric of the city, what has emerged is a remarkable dynamic where the old is only equaled and influenced by an even stronger sense of the new. Beijing is both a tribute to China's past and a gateway to its future.

 

 

THE HISTORY

 

China lays claim to one the longest continuous civilizations in the world with Beijing playing an important historical role. Although under a different name, Beijing first became the political capital of a unified China in 1276, under the Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty. At the time the city was world renowned and visited by Venetian explorer Marco Polo.

 

n 1368, Han Chinese seized the city from the Mongols and formed the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) moving its capital to Nanjing, in the south of China. Beginning in 1406, Emperor Yongle began to build walls 40 feet high and 30 feet thick around Beijing while adding lavish new palaces including the Forbidden City. In 1421, the Ming capital returned and the city was named Beijing for the first time. During the next two hundred years, which was one of the longest and most stable periods in China's history, Beijing was the most populous city in the world.

 

During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), contact with the west and the outside world increased considerably. Domestic policy led to confrontations with Great Britain and Japan and resulted in defeat and key domestic concessions. The 19th century was a markedly turbulent period and culminated in the end of Imperial China in 1911.

 

Following the Revolution of 1911, political leader Sun Yat-sen was named the first provisional president of the Republic of China. Lacking military might, Sun accepted a partnership with general Yuan Shikai, who then ascended to the presidency and later declared himself emperor before dying. After Sun's death in 1925, Chiang Kai-Shek took control of China and with the help of the Nationalist troops consolidated much of the country into a single entity, thus bringing an end to the warlord era.

 

However, diverging visions for China's future led to civil war, which began in earnest in 1947 and lasted until 1949, when the People's Liberation Army, led by Mao Zedong, defeated the Nationalists. On Oct. 1 1949, Mao proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from a balcony overlooking Tiananmen Square.

 

nce the Communist Party gained control of the country, China underwent a series of disruptive socioeconomic movements, most notably the disastrous Great Leap Forward campaign of the 1950s and the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), which left the nation in near ruin. With the death of Mao and several other key party leaders, China changed course and instituted what was known as the Four Modernizations, calling for reform in the areas of agriculture, industry, science and technology and defense. Led by former exiled leader Deng Xiaoping, the modernizing drive encouraged enterprise and the creation of a market economy.

 

During this period, China began establishing closer ties with the West. In 1971, while competing at the World Table Tennis Championships in Japan, China invited the U.S. team to visit the PRC, beginning "Ping-Pong Diplomacy." Less than a year later, President Richard Nixon became the first U.S. president to visit China. However, while the nation was experiencing sweeping change, the government remained authoritarian in rule. In June of 1989, protesters that included, labor activists, students, and intellectuals gathered in Tiananmen Square calling for democratic reforms. The responding military crackdown left hundreds of civilians dead and injured.

 

In the 1990s, the foundation laid by prior reforms contributed to one of the most rapid economic turnarounds in history. Yet China's growth has not come without an environmental price. The pollution and smog, particularly in large industrial cities such as Beijing, has become an important issue of the day. Balancing the growth and appetite of a burgeoning middle class will continue to be a major challenge for China well into the 21st Century.

 

 

THE LAYOUT

 

Beijing, meaning "Northern Capital," is located in northeastern China, bordering the municipality of Tianjin to the southeast and otherwise surrounded by province of Hebei. The city itself best embodies the heritage of Chinese architectural achievement. Despite a rather chaotic history, city planning remained true to the Ming dynasty blueprint, which was rooted in a traditional linear layout of a single straight line running north and south through the city's center. All else, including the six concentric ring roads, was systematically arranged in relation to this central axis.

 

Away from the main avenues, in the cobblestone alleyways of Beijing's many hutong, life quickly adopts a slower pace. The word hutong refers to the network of narrow lanes and traditional courtyard residences that are as much a part of Beijing's architectural identity as the grand palaces of the Forbidden City. They stretch across parts of the northern center and are where tradition lingers.

 

Yet like any city undergoing a thorough transformation, change is in the air. In addition to the newly minted Olympic venues, modern architectural feats have sprouted up across Beijing's landscape. The near-completed CCTV Tower, with its continuous loop of horizontal and vertical sections, and the egg-shaped National Center for Performing Arts, which fits nicely with the Beijing National Stadium's bird's nest motif, are just two examples of Beijing's modern aspirations.

 

 

THE PEOPLE

 

Humans and their ancestors have inhabited the area of Beijing for at least 500,000 years. In 1929, a human skull of a Peking Man was found in Zhoukoudian, in the municipality of Beijing. Today, Beijing is China's third largest municipality with a population of over 17.4 million.

 

The overwhelming majority of Beijing's population is Han Chinese and most residents speak a dialect of Mandarin, the official spoken language of the People's Republic of China. Chinese is written using a character-based script that traces as far back as 3,500 years, making it one of the oldest known writing systems in history. Rather than an alphabet-based system like English, Chinese relies on tens of thousands of unique characters.

 

Despite the seemingly hectic nature of the city, Beijing's citizens enjoy a large variety of recreation that offers respite from the humming streets. In the waking hours of the day, one can find neighbors practicing the ancient art of tai chi chuan throughout Beijing's many parks. In the afternoon, groups of elderly men congregate in traditional courtyards to huddle over games of mahjong and engulf themselves in lively conversation with a plate of Lamb kebabs with cumin and cold Tsingtao beer as the centerpiece.

 

Beijing's youth, however, are more likely to be found imitating the moves of Kobe Bryant (the most popular basketball player in China, outranking even Yao Ming) on the city's blacktops or at one of new shopping plazas and nightlife districts than partaking in the city's more traditional pursuits. And it's this pragmatic nature of their emerging identity that propels the city, and its people, forward

 

 

THE SIGHTS

 

The area around Beijing is home to two of China's most prized commodities: the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. The two national treasures form the backbone of Chinese identity both at home and abroad.

 

Officially known as the Palace Museum, the Forbidden City was home to 24 of China's emperors for more than 500 years. Construction was completed in 1420 with the help of 100,000 artists and nearly one million unskilled laborers. Located to the north of Tiananmen square on the city's central axis, the Forbidden City, so called because it was closed to the public until 1949, is surrounded by a 177-foot wide moat and a 33-foot high wall. In all, it contains about 800 buildings, 9,000 rooms, 37 palaces and nine monumental gates.

 

Easily the most iconic symbol of China, the Great Wall was built to protect China's vulnerable northern border. Though construction first began under Qin Shi Huangdi (221-210 BC), the wall that exists today was raised during the Ming Dynasty. At its peak, the wall stretched over 4,500 miles from the Bo Hai Sea to Gansu province. It moves along the natural ridges and boundaries of the land, giving the structure its snake-like appearance. The most famous section of the wall is Badaling, located 45 miles northwest of Beijing. Now a major tourist attraction, this section was built in the early 16th century and restored in the 1950s and 1980s.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/destinationbeij...ml#this+beijing

[Davey84]

I recently saw a special about Palace Museum; the Forbidden City it was very interesting and looked amazing

[KimboCosmo]

This video gives me cold chills

 

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=iyYcQTN0Gug

 

Can't wait...

[Bellamy]

I'm always proud to present Beijing. I still think it's the most amazing city after been to some of the most amazing cities around the world. I hope more will come to see the beauty of my city with very long history while being very modern at the same time.

[Bellamy]

http://img1.qq.com/2008/pics/12084/12084066.jpg

 

http://img1.qq.com/news/pics/12059/12059197.jpg

 

http://img1.qq.com/news/pics/12059/12059199.jpg

 

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http://news.xinhuanet.com/travel/2007-11/12/xin_462110412140873428623.jpg

 

http://www.news365.com.cn/wxzt/wx_wenhua/d28jsjycdh/zgdsjyc/200406/W020040628594074224819.jpg

 

http://www.chinazijiayou.com/images/upfile/2005-10/20051010173354.gif

 

http://www.jkwall.com/UploadFile/2006-12/200612277442176791.jpg

 

http://www.jkwall.com/UploadFile/2006-12/20061227744679262.jpg

 

http://www.jkwall.com/UploadFile/2006-12/200612277435483327.jpg

 

http://www.2tour.cn/images/beijing/tiantan01.jpg

 

http://www.bjtravelinfo.org/images/tiantan.JPG

 

http://www.img888.com/photo/upload/98257/3252/20080125_160940_68koa.jpg

[KimboCosmo]

Beautiful pictures, Bellemy! I really want to visit China one day

[DianaLuts]

looks like the air is finally clear. It looked WORSE than LA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Talk about asthma and other crap.

[Bellamy]

The sky is not clear, mostly due to the weather. The weather is foggy and cloudy these days.

[nano]

Looks so beautiful...

[Shall]

Beijing always has a really blue sky after a heavy wind. Or any day in the fall!

Do remember this tip^_^

[RONIN]

Shall, be a volunteer?

good job!

[Bellamy]

 

and check more videos about Beijing here:

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=A24805B3866E6F12

[Bellamy]

Beijing athlete's village etches a place for itself in Olympic history

 

(BEIJING, August 15) -- The Olympic Village of the 2008 Beijing Games is making some Olympic history of its own. Four-time Olympic Ping Pong gold medalist and Olympic Village spokeswoman, Deng Yaping, revealed the record-breaking details at Beijing's Main Press Center on Friday.

 

The first record -- the Village's main dining hall has served more guests in one day than any other village in the history of the Olympic Games. On opening day, the main dining hall served 18,634 guests. In comparison, 9,876 guests were served at the opening of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games while a roughly equivalent 10,515 guests were served at opening day in Athens.

 

The main dining hall continues to be a favorite stop for Olympic athletes. The number of Beijing ducks served up each day jumped from around 300 at the beginning of the Games to a whopping 600 ducks per day.

 

The Beijing Olympic Village has also received the largest number of international dignitaries in the history of the Olympic Games. As of Thursday, 62 leaders had visited the village, including French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

 

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge and his predecessor Juan Antonio Samaranch have both paid visits the Olympic Village. Mr. Rogge lived in the Village for three days. He can still be spotted on morning jogs within the complex's perimeter.

 

The Beijing Village is setting other Olympic records on the "green" front. On Wednesday, Olympic Village Mayor Chen Zhili was given the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) award. U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the presenter of the award, said the Village was an example of U.S.-China cooperation on energy and environmental issues, urging a continuation of similar joint U.S.-China efforts.

 

The Olympic Village itself includes a near-zero energy building that generates most of the power for the Village's heating and cooling systems through renewable energy sources such as solar cells and geothermal heat pumps. Technical assistance for the project was provided by the U.S. Department of Energy.

 

Apart from making leaps and bounds in environmental Olympic history, the Beijing Olympic Village is welcoming record numbers of international visitors. The Village has already hosted more receptions for individual country delegations than any other Olympic Games. The Village has held receptions for 204 different National Olympic Committees (NOCs), with an astonishing 51 delegation receptions held in one day.

 

Ms. Deng spoke proudly of the international recognition the Village has received, including some 50 letters of praise from NOC delegations and other well-wishers. Deng also spoke more modestly of the Village's room for improvement: "We have laid a solid foundation but we still have a long way to go. We hope all of our staff members and volunteers will work even harder and double their efforts."

http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/official/oly...214547787.shtml