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Beijing's History
Some half a million years ago, Peking man lived in Zhoukoudian, in the southwestern suburbs of Beijing. The climate of that
time was warmer and more humid than it is today. Forests and lakes in the area supported large numbers of living creatures.
The fossil remains of Peking man, his stone tools and evidence of use of fire, as well as later tools of 18,000 years ago, bone
needles and article of adornment from the age of Upper Cave Man are the earliest cultural relics on record in China today.
Some four to five thousand years ago, settlements to the southwest of Beijing were thriving on basic agriculture and animal
husbandry. Story has it that the legendary Yellow Emperor (Huang Di) battled against the tribal leader Chiyou in the
¡°wilderness of the prefecture of Zhuo.¡±Zhuolu, a town west of present-day Beijing, is perhaps the site of the first
metropolis in the area. Yellow Emperor¡¯s successor, Emperor Yao, was said to have established a legendary capital Youdu
(City of Quietude) that was where the city of Ji was actually built.
During the Warring States Period (475¨C221BC), the Marquis of Yan annexed the territory of the Marquis of Ji, making the
city of Ji his new capital. The approximate location was north of Guang¡¯ anmen Gate in present¨Cday Beijing near the
White Cloud Temple (Baiyunguan).
Early in the third century BC, the first Emperor of Qin (Qin Shi Huang) set about conquering six states and unifying China.
The city of Ji was named administrative center of Guangyang Commandery, one of 36 prefectures in China¡¯s first feudal
empire. For 10 centuries, through to the end of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Ji remained a strategic trading and military
center and the object of frequent power struggles.
Two emperors during that period -- Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty (581-618) and Emperor Taizong of the Tang
Dynasty -- left their mark on the city. Emperor Yang amassed troops and supplies at Ji for expeditions against Korea.
Emperor Taizong also used the city for military training. He built the Temple for Compassion for the Loyal (Minzhongsi),
which is dedicated to troops who died in battle. This temple was the precursor of the Temple of the Origin of the Dharma
(Fayuansi) located outside the old walls of the city.
At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, Ji was little different from any other large feudal cities. Several centuries later,
however, when the Tang was nearing a state of collapse, the Qidans (Khitans) came from the upper reaches of the Liaohe
River and moved south to occupy Ji and make it their second capital. They called the city Nanjing (Southern Capital) or
Yanjing. Emperor Taizong of the Liao Dynasty (916-1125) carried out reconstruction projects and built palaces, which
were used as strongholds from which the Qidans set out to conquer the central plains of China.
Mongol armies occupied Zhongdu in 1215. At this time, the city of Kaiping (in present¨Cday Inner Mongolia Autonomous
Region) served as the principal Mongol capital (Shangdu), while Yanjing was given provincial status. It was not until 1271
that Kublai Khan formally adopted the new dynasty¡¯s name -- Yuan -- and made Yanjing the capital. Kublai Khan rebuilt
the city and gave it the Chinese (Han) name of Dadu (Ta-tu) or Great Capital, though in Mongol it was known as Khanbalig
(Marco Polo¡¯s Cambaluc), the City of the Great Khan. When the Mongols finally eliminated the Southern Song and
unified China, Dadu became the political center of the country for the first time in history.
As the capital city of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), Dadu enjoyed great fame in the 13th century world. The envoys and
traders from Europe, Asia and Africa who paid visits to China were astounded by the splendor and magnificence of Dadu.
Marco Polo¡¯s description of the palaces of Cambaluc, as the called Khanbalig, us most famous of all:
On August 2, 1368, Ming troops seized Dadu and renamed it Beiping (Northern Peace). Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding
emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), however, made Nanjing his first capital. Beginning in 1406, Emperor Yongle of
the Ming Dynasty spent 15 years constructing walls 12 meters high and 10 meters thick at their base around the city of
Beiping. The construction of palace buildings and gardens began in 1417 and was completed in 1420. The following year,
Emperor Yongle formally transferred the capital from Nanjing to Beiping and, for the first time, named the city Beijing
(Northern Capital).
After the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, China fell prey to the Northern Warlords and Kuomintang, Beijing suffered
the same fate as the rest of China, hobbling along like an old camel without a sense of direction. The Chinese People¡¯s
Liberation Army formally entered Beijing on January 31, 1949, opening a new chapter in the long history of the city. It was
in Tian¡¯anmen Square on October 1st, 1949, that Chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the People¡¯s
Republic of China, with Beijing as its capital.
The city has changed totally since then. It has expanded from its old confines within the nine gates of the Inner City wall
(Zhengyangmen, Chongwenmen, Xuanwumen, Chaoyangmen, Dongzhimen, Fuchengmen, Xizhimen, Andingmen and
Deshengmen) to the seven outer gates (Dongbianmen, Guangqumen, Xibianmen, Guang¡¯ anmen, Yongdingmen, Zuoanmen
and Youanmen) and out into the suburbs, Beijing now covers an area of about 750 square kilometers, which includes a
dozen new living districts built on the outskirts of town.
New buildings like the International Post Office and Bank of China have been built along the Second Ring Road, the former
line of the Inner City wall. Old living quarters and blocks of traditional Beijing¨Cstyle buildings, such as Liulichang Culture
Street, have been restored. Large¨C scale construction has been undertaken along the Third Ring Road and the fourth Ring
Road.
Future development in Beijing will continue to preserve the symmetry of the old city layout while integrating modern
architectural design into the over¨Call plan.
Some half a million years ago, Peking man lived in Zhoukoudian, in the southwestern suburbs of Beijing. The climate of that
time was warmer and more humid than it is today. Forests and lakes in the area supported large numbers of living creatures.
The fossil remains of Peking man, his stone tools and evidence of use of fire, as well as later tools of 18,000 years ago, bone
needles and article of adornment from the age of Upper Cave Man are the earliest cultural relics on record in China today.
Some four to five thousand years ago, settlements to the southwest of Beijing were thriving on basic agriculture and animal
husbandry. Story has it that the legendary Yellow Emperor (Huang Di) battled against the tribal leader Chiyou in the
¡°wilderness of the prefecture of Zhuo.¡±Zhuolu, a town west of present-day Beijing, is perhaps the site of the first
metropolis in the area. Yellow Emperor¡¯s successor, Emperor Yao, was said to have established a legendary capital Youdu
(City of Quietude) that was where the city of Ji was actually built.
During the Warring States Period (475¨C221BC), the Marquis of Yan annexed the territory of the Marquis of Ji, making the
city of Ji his new capital. The approximate location was north of Guang¡¯ anmen Gate in present¨Cday Beijing near the
White Cloud Temple (Baiyunguan).
Early in the third century BC, the first Emperor of Qin (Qin Shi Huang) set about conquering six states and unifying China.
The city of Ji was named administrative center of Guangyang Commandery, one of 36 prefectures in China¡¯s first feudal
empire. For 10 centuries, through to the end of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Ji remained a strategic trading and military
center and the object of frequent power struggles.
Two emperors during that period -- Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty (581-618) and Emperor Taizong of the Tang
Dynasty -- left their mark on the city. Emperor Yang amassed troops and supplies at Ji for expeditions against Korea.
Emperor Taizong also used the city for military training. He built the Temple for Compassion for the Loyal (Minzhongsi),
which is dedicated to troops who died in battle. This temple was the precursor of the Temple of the Origin of the Dharma
(Fayuansi) located outside the old walls of the city.
At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, Ji was little different from any other large feudal cities. Several centuries later,
however, when the Tang was nearing a state of collapse, the Qidans (Khitans) came from the upper reaches of the Liaohe
River and moved south to occupy Ji and make it their second capital. They called the city Nanjing (Southern Capital) or
Yanjing. Emperor Taizong of the Liao Dynasty (916-1125) carried out reconstruction projects and built palaces, which
were used as strongholds from which the Qidans set out to conquer the central plains of China.
Mongol armies occupied Zhongdu in 1215. At this time, the city of Kaiping (in present¨Cday Inner Mongolia Autonomous
Region) served as the principal Mongol capital (Shangdu), while Yanjing was given provincial status. It was not until 1271
that Kublai Khan formally adopted the new dynasty¡¯s name -- Yuan -- and made Yanjing the capital. Kublai Khan rebuilt
the city and gave it the Chinese (Han) name of Dadu (Ta-tu) or Great Capital, though in Mongol it was known as Khanbalig
(Marco Polo¡¯s Cambaluc), the City of the Great Khan. When the Mongols finally eliminated the Southern Song and
unified China, Dadu became the political center of the country for the first time in history.
As the capital city of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), Dadu enjoyed great fame in the 13th century world. The envoys and
traders from Europe, Asia and Africa who paid visits to China were astounded by the splendor and magnificence of Dadu.
Marco Polo¡¯s description of the palaces of Cambaluc, as the called Khanbalig, us most famous of all:
On August 2, 1368, Ming troops seized Dadu and renamed it Beiping (Northern Peace). Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding
emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), however, made Nanjing his first capital. Beginning in 1406, Emperor Yongle of
the Ming Dynasty spent 15 years constructing walls 12 meters high and 10 meters thick at their base around the city of
Beiping. The construction of palace buildings and gardens began in 1417 and was completed in 1420. The following year,
Emperor Yongle formally transferred the capital from Nanjing to Beiping and, for the first time, named the city Beijing
(Northern Capital).
After the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, China fell prey to the Northern Warlords and Kuomintang, Beijing suffered
the same fate as the rest of China, hobbling along like an old camel without a sense of direction. The Chinese People¡¯s
Liberation Army formally entered Beijing on January 31, 1949, opening a new chapter in the long history of the city. It was
in Tian¡¯anmen Square on October 1st, 1949, that Chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the People¡¯s
Republic of China, with Beijing as its capital.
The city has changed totally since then. It has expanded from its old confines within the nine gates of the Inner City wall
(Zhengyangmen, Chongwenmen, Xuanwumen, Chaoyangmen, Dongzhimen, Fuchengmen, Xizhimen, Andingmen and
Deshengmen) to the seven outer gates (Dongbianmen, Guangqumen, Xibianmen, Guang¡¯ anmen, Yongdingmen, Zuoanmen
and Youanmen) and out into the suburbs, Beijing now covers an area of about 750 square kilometers, which includes a
dozen new living districts built on the outskirts of town.
New buildings like the International Post Office and Bank of China have been built along the Second Ring Road, the former
line of the Inner City wall. Old living quarters and blocks of traditional Beijing¨Cstyle buildings, such as Liulichang Culture
Street, have been restored. Large¨C scale construction has been undertaken along the Third Ring Road and the fourth Ring
Road.
Future development in Beijing will continue to preserve the symmetry of the old city layout while integrating modern
architectural design into the over¨Call plan.
Beijing Tour
T&J TRAVEL AND TOURS
Sales Office 1 : G/F Adriatico Square, Pan Pacific Hotel,
Malate, Manila, Philippines
Sales Office 2 : 819 Antonio Maceda St.,
Sampaloc,Manila,Philippines
Sales Office 1 : G/F Adriatico Square, Pan Pacific Hotel,
Malate, Manila, Philippines
Sales Office 2 : 819 Antonio Maceda St.,
Sampaloc,Manila,Philippines
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