Despite a Chinese communist regime, lasting for 60 years, the 1980s set the ‘capitalist tiger’ loose. Pictures of Maoist revolutionaries in functional clothing and working masses practicing Tai Chi in Tiananmen Square have long since become things of the past.
POLITICAL AND CULTURAL CENTRE
Beijing, capital of the People’s Republic of China, is its political and cultural centre. Around 8.5 million people live within the city core – the geographic centre. The entire administrative district of Beijing has a population of 18 million people. With a 3000 year history, the city is heir to a unique cultural heritage. Of great interest are Tiananmen Square, also called «Gate to Heavenly Peace»; the Forbidden City, which houses the Imperial Palace, declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1987; and various Buddhist temples. Beijing was also the site of the 2008 Summer Olympics. Tiananmen Square is the starting point for getting an overview of the city. To the north of the square is the ‘Gate to Heavenly Peace’ with the large Mao portrait, another one of which is at the same time the south gate to the Imperial Palace. Five marble bridges lead to this gate on a slightly elevated passage. Formerly, this was reserved for the emperor. This passage brings you to more gates of the encircling wall and to the Imperial Palace – also called ‘The Forbidden City.’ If you wish to see more than the buildings along the main axis, you will need to spend an entire day visiting the living quarters and the extensive palace museum, which exhibit some of the imperial treasures.
