When making a tourist trip to a big city such as Beijing, the capital of China, it is important to have a first vision of what you will find when you get there. And it is also important to have a basic knowledge of the history of the Chinese capital that allows you to understand the importance of the main places you are going to visit in Beijing tours.
To this end, here we are going to tell you several basic facts and historical curiosities and we are going to give you some tips for your Beijing tours, a totally essential visit on a trip to that great country that is China.
Curiosities of the history of Beijing:
At the outset, you should know that the name of Beijing is the adaptation to the Castilian of the name of the capital from the Chinese language. And the name of Beijing that you will also see frequently used is the Anglo-Saxon adaptation to English.
The origins of the city of Beijing date back to the first human settlements of 1,000 BC, but it was from the occupation by the Mongols, in 1215, when this city became more prominent in China. Indeed, after being devastated by the invasion of the Mongols, a few years later it was rebuilt and became considered the Great Capital.
And when the Ming dynasty expelled the Mongols, after a period in which China's capital was Nanjing, finally in 1405 the third Ming emperor definitively transferred that capital to Beijing. As a curiosity, I will tell you that it was at that time that the impressive Imperial Palace Forbidden City was built, as well as the Temple of Heaven.
How is Beijing today:
At present, Beijing is a huge city with more than 17 million inhabitants, the second in the population of China, after Shanghai, so the distances in your displacements can be very large.
Although the city extends with great avenues and highways that cross or surround the city, there is a lot of traffic and traffic jams are constant. Luckily, for many trips you have a Metro network, which is not too extensive but covers the most prominent areas of the city.
It is known that China is a country that is in a rapid process of development towards modernity. So, when planning a trip to China, you can say that if you visit Xian or Pingyao, you will see the China of the past. Instead, in Shanghai, you will find a reflection of what China will be in the future, one of whose best exponents is the former colony of Hong Kong, which has been integrated into that great country for years.
And in Beijing, you find the best exponent of today's China, with a modernization process that reflects a mixture between historical tradition and modernity.
What to see in the Beijing tours:
As an example of this process of adaptation to modernity, in Beijing tours you can visit some of the most important historical monuments of China.
When you travel to China, and going through the city of Beijing you will find large areas with neighborhoods of traditional houses. These neighborhoods are called Hutong, some of which, in the face of the advance of modernity have had to be protected.
During your visit to the Hutong, you can see how it was traditionally lived in Beijing, in low houses with a central courtyard, where in many cases several families lived together. But the current image of Beijing shows completely modernized urban areas, with large and very modern skyscrapers.
Monuments in Beijing:
From the monumental point, the nerve center of your visit will be the huge Tiananmen Square, where some of the most important monuments of the city are concentrated.
Apart from monuments such as the Monument to the People's Heroes or the Mao Zedong Memorial, without a doubt the place to visit is the Imperial Palace, better known as the Forbidden City. That's where much of the history of a country like China is concentrated, and during your visit to this palace complex, you will go through numerous palaces and enclaves of interest.
Temples in Beijing:
Regarding temples, the great reference is known as the Temple of Heaven, finished building in 1420, a ceremonial monument used by Chinese emperors throughout history.
