Ancient Beijing, Part 1

The Chinese city of Beijing has existed since 1045 B.C.  Can you imagine your city having three thousand years of history!  For most of that time, it served as the capital city until the Communist Revolution in the early twentieth century.  In the article, The Glory That was Imperial Peking, National Geographic Magazine, June, 1933, author W. Robert Moore explores the ancient city.

The city itself has had many names, and is referred to in articles of the 1930's as Peiping, Peking, etc.  Now it is know as Beijing.  The many palaces and places of worship are detailed as being virtually abandoned after the overthrow of the government of the god-king emperor and replaced by the Peoples Republic of China.

"Through the mosaic of roofs, and palace enclosures run "long wide roads through which horsemen can gallop nine abreast!"  What a contrast Peiping, with its liberal use of space presents to most cities in China!. . . Roads run straight and true. . .nothing is pinched or tortured together, except in the Chinese and residential districts. . . until you look down from the air and see the masses of trees within the walled-in gardens, you do not suspect that the city has such an abundance of greenery," (p. 765).

There is a photo of the Great Wall of China, at Nankow Pass.  We recently viewed part of the Great Wall in Mongolia in a National Geographic Magazine article.  Construction of this project began 23 centuries ago!  Can you imagine the massive undertaking which would stretch from present-day Philadelphia clear past Kansas City, U.S.A.?

Mr. Moore reported a population of over "1 million" for the Beijing of 1933.  Today, there are more than 11.5 million inhabitants.  A personal story: My late mother, Adeline, had wanted to visit China.  Dad had been stationed there in the U.S. Army during the Second World War.  They planned a cruise to China around the year, 2000.  Their friends gave them a going-away party the night before departure. On the way to the car, mom tripped on the driveway and broke her nose!  They had to cancel going on the cruise.  Mom said that after that accident, "I never had the desire to go to China again."

I will re-visit the ancient city in the next blog.