The Firewood Burning Furnace is a massive circular brick furnace built with green-glazed tiles. At the beginning of the Heaven Worship Ceremony, a ritually cleansed calf was placed on the furnace and burned with pine branches and reed bundles to welcome the heavenly deities, a ritual called “Burning Firewood to Welcome the Imperial Deity.” Upon the completion of the ceremony, all offerings, prayer plaques, and silk scrolls displayed on the altar of the Heavenly Emperor were respectfully carried to the furnace and burned, while the emperor had to stand by in reverence.
The Chongli Residence is located at No. 63-65, Dongsi Sitiao, Dongcheng District, Beijing. Chongli was a Grand Secretary during the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty, and his residence is a well-preserved example of a typical Qing Dynasty courtyard house. In Beijing, the layout of courtyard houses follows a symmetrical arrangement along a north-south central axis, governed by feudal clan hierarchical rituals. The main gate of the residence is usually situated at the southeast corner of the compound, with a screen wall (zhaobi) erected just inside to prevent outsiders from seeing activities inside the home. From there, one turns westward into the front courtyard. The southern rooms are often used as guest rooms, study halls, or utility spaces. The principal room in the rear courtyard is reserved for the elders, while the east and west wing rooms are for the younger generations. These rooms are interconnected by a surrounding corridor. Larger residences may also feature auxiliary courtyards on the sides and gardens in the back. The Chongli Residence is divided into three parts: the main courtyard, side courtyards, and a garden. It boasts a spacious layout and luxurious architecture, with the interior of the main room in the principal courtyard still preserving intact wooden lattice partitions and inscriptions personally engraved by Chongli—making it a quintessential aristocratic mansion. (National Cultural Heritage Administration)
Built in the 18th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty (1420), it is 360 meters long and 30 meters wide, a massive and lengthy brick and stone platform. It is called a bridge because there are two culverts beneath it. Danbi Bridge runs from south to north, with its southern end slightly elevated above the ground and its northern end more than 4.5 meters above the ground. It connects the Circular Mound’s Chengzhen Gate to the south and the southern brick gate of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests to the north.
The China Railway Museum at Zhengyangmen is located at the southeast corner of Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. It was reconstructed from the former “Beijing–Fengtian Railway Zhengyangmen East Station,” which had endured over a century of history. This station was built in 1903 and officially opened upon completion in 1906. After the new Beijing Railway Station commenced operations in 1959, the Zhengyangmen East Station subsequently...
The Palace of Heavenly Favour, one of the Eastern Six Palaces in the inner court, was built in the 18th year of the Yongle reign during the Ming dynasty (1420). Originally named the Palace of Eternal Peace, it was renamed the Palace of Heavenly Favour in the eighth month of the fifth year of the Chongzhen reign (1632). It was renovated in the 12th year of the Shunzhi reign (1655) and underwent minor repairs in the 12th year of the Daoguang reign (1832). The palace consists of two courtyards. Its main gate faces south and is called the Gate of Heavenly Favour.
The Palace of Eternal Longevity is one of the Western Six Palaces in the inner court. It was built in the 18th year of the Yongle reign during the Ming Dynasty (1420) and was originally named Palace of Everlasting Joy. In the 14th year of the Jiajing reign (1535), it was renamed Palace of Virtuous Deeds, and then changed again to Palace of Eternal Longevity in the 44th year of the Wanli reign (1616). During the Qing Dynasty, it underwent renovation or major repairs in the 12th year of the Shunzhi reign (1655), the 36th year of the Kangxi reign (1697)
The Palace of Prolonged Happiness was one of the six eastern palaces in the inner court. It is located on the east side of East Second Long Street and was built in the 18th year of the Yongle reign during the Ming Dynasty (1420). Originally named the Palace of Longevity, it was renamed the Palace of Auspicious Harmony in the 14th year of the Jiajing reign (1535). During the Qing Dynasty, it was renamed the Palace of Prolonged Happiness and underwent renovation in the 25th year of the Kangxi reign (1686). Throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties, it served as the residence of imperial concubines, and during the Qing Dynasty, Noble Consort TIAN and Noble Lady CHENG of Emperor Daoguang once lived here.
The Palace of Shining Harmony, one of the six eastern palaces in the inner court, is situated east of the Bell and Drum Palace and north of the Palace of Eternal Harmony. Constructed in the 18th year of the Yongle reign during the Ming Dynasty (1420), it was initially named the Palace of Everlasting Harmony and renamed the Palace of Shining Harmony in the 14th year of the Jiajing reign (1535). The Qing Dynasty retained the Ming structure and renovated the palace in the 25th year of the Kangxi reign (1686). During the Ming Dynasty, it served as the residence of imperial concubines, including Empress Xiaojing, the mother of Emperor Shenzong’s crown prince Zhu Changluo.
Princess Heping’s Mansion is located at No. 7 Zhangzizhong Road, Dongcheng District, Beijing (formerly Iron Lion Lane). It was the residence granted to Princess Heping of the Qing Dynasty’s Qianlong Emperor upon her marriage. Princess Heping (1731–1792) was the daughter of Empress Xiaoxianchun. In the 12th year of Qianlong’s reign, she married Sabetengbaljur, a Beile (noble title) of the Khorchin Mongol tribe. The original mansion was
The former site of the CCP Delegation to the Military Armistice Commission is located at Cui Ming Zhuang, No. 1 Nanheyan Street, Dongcheng District. Cui Ming Zhuang is a three-story gray-brick building with a blend of Chinese and Western architectural styles. Originally purchased in the 1930s by Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang, the site was intended for the construction of a theater, but plans were halted due to the Japanese invasion of China. After the Japanese occupied Beiping (now Beijing), they built a high-end facility on the site.
The Zhao Family Mansion was originally the residence of Zhao Wensu, a Grand Secretary of the Wen Ge during the Longqing era of the Ming Dynasty. In the early years of the Republic of China, Cao Rulin, who served as the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs under the Beiyang Government, lived here. On May 4, 1919, when news spread domestically that the Beiyang Government had suffered diplomatic setbacks at the Paris Peace Conference and that Cao Rulin and others were secretly planning to sign a - treaty, it provoked immense outrage among the Chinese people.
Shi Chuanxiang was an ordinary night-soil collector on Beijing’s sanitation front, a first-generation labor model of New China, and an outstanding representative of the Chinese working class. With the noble spirit of “preferring to get dirty himself in order to bring cleanliness to thousands of households,” he selflessly dedicated his life to the ordinary job of sanitation, making extraordinary contributions to the capital’s sanitation cause.
No. 75 Dongtangzi Hutong, formerly No. 33 Dongtangzi Hutong, located on the north side of the western section of the hutong, is a three-courtyard residence facing south with a construction area of 368 square meters. The street entrance was created by repurposing a rear room of a southern-facing wing house, showing no particular design order. The first courtyard has five southern-facing wing rooms; the second courtyard has four southern rooms and three northern rooms, with one side room each on the east and west, and three wing rooms each on the east and west sides; the third courtyard has three northern rooms with front porches. All the buildings in the courtyard feature traditional upturned eaves and clay-tiled roofs. Cai Yuanpei rented this residence from 1917 to 1920. At that time, the five southern-facing wing rooms in the first courtyard served as the living room. In October 1985, the Dongcheng District People's Government designated it as a cultural heritage site under the name “Former Residence of Cai Yuanpei.”
Originally named the "Great Prayer Hall," it was initially a rectangular building used for the joint worship of Heaven and Earth. In the 24th year of the Jiajing reign (1545), it was reconstructed as a triple-eaved circular hall, with its roof covered in blue, yellow, and green glazed tiles from top to bottom, symbolizing Heaven, Earth, and all things. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is located in the northern part of the Temple of Heaven, also known as the Altar of Prayer for Grain. It was first built in the 18th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty (142...
Located in the Temple of Heaven. It is the place where the spirit tablets of the Heavenly Emperor and the eight generations of emperors’ ancestors are enshrined. The Imperial Vault of Heaven was built in the ninth year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1530). Initially, it was a double-eaved circular building named “Tai Shen Hall,” serving as the main hall of the Circular Mound Altar. It was used for housing the divine plaques during daily worship ceremonies for the Heaven Worship rites. In the seventeenth year of the Jiajing reign (1538), it was renamed
Huangqian Hall, also known as the Resting Palace of the Prayer for Good Harvests Altar, is located north of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and serves as the repository for the spirit tablet of the Heavenly God. Constructed in the 18th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty (1420), it was initially called the "Heavenly Treasury" and originally had six rooms covered with yellow glazed tiles. In the 24th year of the Jiajing reign (1545), it was rebuilt with five rooms and renamed Huangqian Hall. During the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, the roof tiles were changed to blue. It currently has five rooms and stands on a platform enclosed by white marble railings.
The Divine Music Administration is located slightly south inside the west gate of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. Facing east, it is one of the five major architectural complexes at the Temple of Heaven and was the institution dedicated to performing music and dance during the imperial heaven-worship ceremonies of the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was built in the 18th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty. Also known as the Divine Music Observatory, it was called the Divine Music Office in the 8th year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, and was given its current name in the 19th year of Qianlong. The Divine Music Administration was the agency responsible for overseeing the performance of ancient music during heaven worship ceremonies.
There are two sites associated with Prince Rui’s Mansion: one is located in the area around Pudu Temple south of Donghuamen Street, and the other is on Waijiaojie Street. The former was the residence of Prince Rui after he entered Beijing, while the latter was a new mansion built after the restoration of the Prince Rui title during the Qianlong era. Prince Rui refers to Dorgon, the regent of the early Qing dynasty and the fourteenth son of Nurhaci, the founder of the Qing dynasty, as well as the younger brother of Hong Taiji, the Taizong Emperor.
Established on June 12, 1952, the Beijing People's Art Theatre is a Chinese drama troupe. The theatrical master Cao Yu was the theatre's first director. Over the past nearly 50 years, the Beijing People's Art Theatre has traversed a glorious path, much like our capital city. Lao She’s renowned play "Dragon Beard Ditch" was its foundational work, and soon after
The Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall is located in the center of Beijing, on the east side of Qianmen Street, adjacent to attractions such as Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. It is a museum that showcases the city’s planning evolution from history to the present. Visitors can learn about what Beijing’s urban areas looked like historically and how they have developed through the ages to become what they are today. They can also view a giant miniature model of the Forbidden City and a panoramic view of Beijing — a must-see for those interested in exploring the city’s development.