Historical and Modern Architecture Tourism in Beijing
Table of Contents
- Introduction. 2
- Traditional Architecture. 3
- Modern Architecture. 6
- Future of Architectural Tourism in Beijing. 9
4.1. The Floating Island. 10
4.2. Tiananmen: People’s Park. 10
5.1. Communist Commemoration. 13
5.2. New Skyline. 14
Historical and Modern Architecture Tourism in Beijing
1. Introduction
Beijing the capital of China brags of beautiful historical and modern structures among them the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and the iconic Great Wall. This structures have a great wealth of history that dates back thousand years back. The city’s structure has acquire global attention due to the designs acquired, as well as the size. The site has gone through major transformation involving major innovative structures like transportation systems, and national stadiums among others. This paper aims to focus on the contemporary and modern architecture that have taken place in Beijing and the impact that it has in terms of tourism. The paper will go through the varied form of arts; Great Wall, Hutongs, and Nest among others that have been developed form ancient times to current period. The paper will go on to assess what the future lays for the structures and possible steps in progress by the country to make the city one of the biggest forms of tourist destinations globally. The city has definitely noted major changes in architecture which has acquired major attention.
2. Traditional Architecture
The most ancient Chinese architecture are the cave dwellings which are still occupied to date in the plains of China. The modern caves are now refurbished with electricity and television, however, there is no need for air conditioning as the caves are naturally cool in hot weather and warm in cold seasons[1]. Additionally, people have come up with ‘nest dwellings’ that comprise of a hole made in the ground and a roof made with thatch, earth and bamboo poles. This architecture can viewed in areas like Yunnan’s Xishuangbanna.
The Chinese living in Beijing came up with simple architectural methods like mortise and tenon joints several years in the past. At the time of Xia and Shang rule, the wealthy stayed in houses that had walls of packed soil, above the ground. Bodies and animals were noted in these places due to the need for human sacrifice[2]. While the slaves stayed in the nest-dwellings.
Chinese architecture evolved with time to be quite complicated in the rule of Zhou. Here tiles were applied and plaster made from soil, sand and lime to make them tighter. We are able to see the rise of features like courtyard style of construction and of fend-shui which can still be noted in the modern art.
The most notable success of Chinese architecture is the Great Wall. This was created in the Qin dynasty that succeeded the Zhou dynasty (Frommer, 2013). Qin, popular for martial effectiveness and tyrannical rule, created the massive palaces to awe the disloyal servants.
The Han dynasty succeeded the Qin rule, and this period foresaw the rise of Buddhism. This led to new architecture styles and oversaw the creation of Buddhist pagodas.
Chinese architecture advanced under the Tang rule, with the rise of application of brick walls, glazing a sculpture to offer added decorative feeling. While the Song rule saw styles growing to be more stylish and intricate.
The multi-eaved roofs that are common in temples in the modern time have been developed with time to greater levels. Extreme care has been accorded to the carving doors, windows and inner structures.
The Monglo Yuan dynasty added creativity in architectural features with the use of steppe on horseback. As opposed to other cultural trends that come to China and Beijing, they opted to develop architectural styles that foresaw their invasion – a way to steal attention from them not being of Chinese origin.
Lastly, the Ming and Qing dynasties had rules over traditional Chinese architecture getting to greater heights with building the Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace and Forbidden City which are located in Beijing.
Source: Tour-beijing.com, 2013
Most of Beijing’s historical architecture were razed in an effort to make the city modern. However, the major symbols that are common in the city are Chinese features that date way back. The temples and palaces has their emphasis on the symmetry; the main model is the axis and the secondary framework which are located to appear as mirrored wings to form a courtyard. This leads to the creation of siheyuan, a space bound on all sides by structures joined directly or using archways or verandas. The Forbidden City is quite a huge siheyuan that comprises of a number of self-contained courtyards.
Gabled roofs are another feature that is notable among the Chinese architecture and similarly common in Beijing. Historically, common dwellings were noted to have roofs with a straight incline, while the richer people had roofs with several parts of incline (Graham, 2013). The roofs that were curved at the corners were left especially for temples and palaces. Such places were decorated on the ridges using typical or imperial construction.
Some architectural designs were in most cases left for imperial structures. It is was left only to gates used by the rulers to have five arches, with the middle one being left for the ruler himself. Yellow was the color of royalty and as a result yellow roofs were common in imperial buildings. However, historical imperial structures were common in use of red.
3. Modern Architecture
For most architects, Beijing is a place worth visiting as a tourist destination. The authorities in the city are engaged in projects of commissioning structures and it is focused to explore unconventional designs. In most times when structures are being made, architects are given a free hand to oversee zaniest ideas they can come up with[3]. The outcome is a constantly growing city skyline which is quite modern, however it does not have a consistent appearance (Wu, 2006, 2). For instance, when one walks to the western part of Tian’an Men Square, one could bypass the astounding sweeping roofs of the Forbidden City, the Communist architecture and the architecture that appears like a spaceship, National Grand Theatre.
The founding of the People’s Republic of China had its leaders coming up with a vast number of changes in the city’s architecture. They places several chunky, communist features of varied sizes (Graham, 2013). The Shi Da Jianzhu or the Ten Great Buildings made huge changes to Beijing in how it looks and one that cannot escape is the main artery, Chang’an Jie. The public structures ten in number, were constructed in ten months to remember the founding of the country. The most notable are the Great Hall of People, the National Museum, the Railway Station, Military Museum and Worker’s Stadium. It was at this period that Mao’s directives were implemented to develop further the Tian’an Men Square[4]. Mao wanted a place that was big enough to accommodate everyone in China. The Ten structures were just part of the several transformation that was taking place in China and specifically, Beijing (Ong, 2004, 34). It was labelled as the Great Leap Forward. Abiding by Zhou Enlai’s principle of acquiring everything from the contemporary age to the modern time, local and foreign, the structures were free to be used by everyone[5]. This meant that the structures could be used as a tourist destination[6]. This offered a great benchmark to develop the place as a tourist destination for local and foreign tourists. For a greater part of the designs used in the buildings, the styles to a great extent relied on Stalinist architecture. Additionally, there are certain aspects of Chinese style like the pitched roof found in National Agricultural Exhibition (French, 2005, 32).
Capital Museum
Source: Tour-beijing.com, 2013
It was not till some few years ago that Beijing started to see major growth in structures that alter the appearance of the city. A good number of the architecture applied in Beijing is acquired from other countries (Wang, 2003, 32). The most notable structures built recently have acquired designs from other nations constructed by foreign experts. Some can be noted when Beijing was given the right to host the 2008 Olympic Games that there were major modern buildings and creation of life in the city (Ong, 2004, 36). The city took major steps to modernize the city which saw huge and beautiful buildings like the CCTV Tower and the Bird’s Nest – and there were a number of restaurants opened and clubs.
The National Stadium (Bird’s nest)
The New China Central Television (CCTV) Tower
Source: Tour-beijing.com, 2013
Today, Beijing is a combination of new and old, with the ancient past and refined culture, integrated with a thriving advancement. The city’s neighbors comprise of striking range of imperial and modern architecture and several opportunities that would appeal to tourists.
The most notable is the Forbidden City, this is a master class peace of architecture that was constructed in the middle if ancient Beijing’s boundaries and was the country’s imperial palace (Ong, 2004, 38). The time period varied from mid-Ming to the Qing rule.
Tourists would find it interesting to wander around the old hutongs, places where rhythms of normal life are quite different to the exemplary setting of the downtown area. Tourists are able to explore the small shops in hutongs and buy T-shirts with innovative designs that are created from symbols and signs of the city.
The place is quite fascinating to visit with a wide range of art located in 798 art district. Galleries in the place grow like mushrooms with talented artists. The city has a wealth of history, great food and innovative art architecture.
4. Future of Architectural Tourism in Beijing
Beijing and politics are two things that are hard to separate. About all of the landmark architectures found in Beijing[7], comprising of the 10th anniversary of PRC, the 10 architectures, architectures constructed for the Olympic Games were made in a short period of time at varied phases of today’s society development[8]. The Olympics in the city offers a great opportunity for people to focus on their future lives and create confidence in what they dream about (Owen, 2005, 3). It offers a focus that one can be able to compare with the past and the present.
The Hutongs is an invaluable asset for Beijing. One cannot be able to understand Beijing without getting to see the Hutongs. For tourists, it is a great place to visit, while for the locals it is quite hard for them as they do not have private place for bathing (Ong, 2004, 39). This has led to the locals in Hutongs to be shifted by the authorities to other parts of the Beijing. Their homes are being taken up by rich individuals who recreate the places for better living.
It has been made to a place that is now well developed with the replacing of the old structures. This is the natural rule followed by life and space. The new life will reflect the future life trend. The old and new complement one another.
4.1. The Floating Island
The central business district of Beijing was created in a reflection of the western vision of modernization made in the past period. This is attributed to be a display of wealth and status. However, different from the western nations, the city is not attributed by nation nations’ desire to pursue technology or desire to place new policies for itself.
With the fast growing population in China, the city needs a literal connection and no segregation or chasing the height of structures. The city needs new and innovative structures that up to date with the current life.
4.2. Tiananmen: People’s Park
The Tiananmen Square that is seen in the modern time does not have a long history. All of the transformation it has seen in the past few years show the change of the country’s spirit. In the coming few year, there will be a more mature and democratic China that will offer opportunities for huge political gathering and trooping exercise may not be required (Ong, 2004, 41). The transportation may not for long be reliant on traffic system on the ground, it may make use of above ground system due to transformations in the system.
The future for Tiananmen Square may be transformed into a garden or park and cultural structures could be used to interface with the transportation setup. A good example is the national theatre that is located in the ‘landscape mountain’ creating what is now Zhongananhai.
5. Architecture Tourism in Beijing
Beijing has been able to adapt fast to the modern times and events like the 2008 Olympic Games. From this there was the construction of the Bird’s Nest which is an astounding and a stadium of mega events. The cost was 423 million dollars with a capacity of 90,000. The stadium is still popular with several ceremonies hosted daily that attract several tourist (Owen, 2005, 5). According to the general manager, the place has been able to attract several tourists even with poor weather and days that are not holidays. The stadium has bee of great success economically, even with a low entrance fee (7 dollars), the stadium is able to meet its needs due to the large numbers of visitor to the place[9].
The varied architectural structures have led to the construction of several transportation systems while upgrading of others. This has been with the aim of accommodating a large number of locals and tourists. Additionally, the city’s Airport center has gone through massive changes and creation of a new terminal[10]. It is able to hold about 7000 passengers on an hourly rate (Lai & Lee, 2006, 576). This changes are made in effort to meet the huge number of tourists the go all over the city. Additionally, this helps local shopping and lead to investments.
Jobs are created as a result it led to many locals. This was facilitated by the ‘Zero-employment’ policy which was used during the Olympic Games and helped most of the unemployed people. The policy helped in giving opportunity to families that do not have a stable income. This offered all of the families with a chance to work and help in the advancement of the Beijing Municipal Labor.
Environmentally, Beijing was among the leading cities that polluted the world. Studies have shown that the atmosphere was greatly polluted and even went above the WHO standards. With the rise in tourism that was brought by the architectural innovations in the stadiums and other structures, the city has followed a strategy to change greatly the city; ‘Green Olympics’ (Graham, 2013). It is from here that Beijing started to clean up its environment and atmosphere to make it a great place as well as healthy for visitors. It is due to this that pollution went down by 44 percent. This was made possible by changing coal power plants to natural gas as well as closing several power plants. However, the country has yet to take any action to the industries that polluted the environment (Owen, 2005, 7). The environment has however been made clean and a drop in the number of visible visiting the city and has similarly lead to appeal to several tourists to visit the area.
Tourism in Beijing thrives to a great extent due to the architectural structures in place. Being one of the oldest cities in China in regards to architecture, the past 15 years has been filled with major construction of the push for the 2008 Olympic. Due to this, most of the innovative and fascinating structures have arisen in the city (Lai & Lee, 2006, 562).
Tourism in Beijing would focus on several architectural sites. The common one is the Tiananmen Square which has a rising public area that comprises of Mao Zedong’s tomb. The Square was constructed in the 1600s close to the Gate of Heaven to the Forbidden City as we stated initially. The square developed with time in the 50s. The Square has been able to serve several people as it was destined to by Mao. It is the social heart for the city and a gathering place. Visitors are able to visit it though it is occupied by police officers following protests by students.
Another major ancient structure that appeals as a tourist destination is the Forbidden city which is next to the Tiananmen Square, the Summer Palace north of the city; the Temple of Heaven of south of Tiananmen Square and the Hutongs that attribute the communal life in the city. The Forbidden City is well preserved as a tourist site though it appears a shadow of its former self considering its wealth being taken from it.
The Summer Palace was known as a site for emperors an still used by tourist. They are able to relax around the Palace’s pavilions, mansions, lakes and bridges. Going far ahead there is one of the wonders of the world, 5000 kilometers in length, the Great Wall (Graham, 2013). Its construction was over 2000 years ago, however only a third of the wall can be found to date. It is a great tourist attraction and can be viewed from Badaling, located 80 kilometers of Beijing.
There is also the Hutongs that are still present for tourists to see. The awning-enclosed, man-pedaled cars are the only cars that can through the tight and winding lanes. The place is a beautiful tourist site and offers visitors a great place to see the normal life of a street in the urban villages. Tourists are able to book to get a tour of the Hutong.
5.1. Communist Commemoration
Tourists are able to get a recent style of ancient architecture by visiting the National Museum located to the east of Tiananmen Square. It’s constructed to commemorate the founding of the nation. Tourists are able to see impressive yet fascinating Chinese structures and learn about communist ideologies (Mellor & Cheng, 2006, 52). Additionally, tourism has thrived due to the experience offered by contemporary transformation of structures; 798 Arst District which is located in northern part of Beijing. The structure has grown from industrial tussles in 2001 to today’s Factory 798. This has led to the creation of electronics, innovative galleries, studios, restaurants and working spaces for artists and other locals.
5.2. New Skyline
Focus at the fast rising and modern architecture shows the country’s fast paced acceptance of transformation when one gets to Beijing’s Airport. The design was courtesy of British architect Norman Foster. The terminal was constructed for the sake of the 2008 Olympics. This offered the country and specifically the city a huge face lift.
Beijing Capital Airport
Source: Tour-beijing.com, 2013
Additionally, among the most fascinating things of Beijing architecture is the CCTV location. This was designed by the Dutch as a home of the country’s television network (Mellor & Cheng, 2006, 68). The structure’s slanting feature has been fascinating to many visitors globally. The city’s other edgy, top-class structures constructed by the French architect and glass egg-shaped National theatre as well as two structures constructed due to the Olympic games: Herzog & de Meuron’s National Stadium also called the ‘Bird’s nest’ due to its interwoven shape. And he blue National Aquatics also called ‘Water Cube’. These structures are based 20 km from the city center and are of great tourist attraction.
Over a period of time, the modern architectural that has taken place in Beijing have become one of the world’s biggest arts that attracts several tourists (Ong, 2004, 52). Studies that have been done have shown that the locals of the city are of the opinion that the architectural structures, both ancient and modern have led to an increase in the number of tourists in the city[11]. The structures have acquired global attention and are attractive. They are attributed to be unique by tourists. Additionally, they have been able to show the city’s culture to others and due to this aspect tourists are attracted to the Chinese traditions that may lead to a rise in future tourist economy.
There are still several tourists who visit the country side to have a view of the art that has been in existence for years (Mellor & Cheng, 2006, 74). Tourism in Beijing, and expanding to other major cities, is still growing due to the structural reforms that has been facilitated by the architecture. Hence, this shows a significant connection between tourism and contemporary and modern architecture. For the city to continue to have tis rigid tourism industry, it has to continue to give priority to the environment, security and capacity.
6. Conclusion
Beijing is a city that is rich in terms of contemporary and modern architecture. The country has a rich history of designs that were constructed decades ago by the ruling dynasties. The structures have gone through major transformations due to the rise in technology. Great contrast can be seen in both periods of life but with a similarity in that they both appeal to tourism. This is the focus of the paper, it has been able to focus on a number of historical and modern architecture among them, the Great Wall, Nest, Tiananmen Square, CCTV location and Hutongs. The paper has gone to focus on the tourist implication that has been brought about by the architecture which involve, economic growth, environmental quality and the rise in tourist visiting the city.
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[1] Graham, Mark, The buzz of Beijing’ modern and historical architecture, (2012), http://www.ays.com.hk/articles/buzz-beijing%E2%80%99-modern-and-historical-architecture#sthash.hoKMtZOG.dpuf (accessed November 14, 2013).
[2] Frommer’s, Art & Architecture, (2013), http://www.frommers.com/destinations/beijing/702177 (accessed November 14, 2013).
[3] Ong, R. New Beijing, great Olympics: Beijing and its unfolding legacy. Stanford Journal of East-Asian
Affairs, Volume 14, Issue 2 (2004): 35–49.
[4] Wu, H. Remaking Beijing: Tiananmen Square and the creation of a political space. London: Reaktion, 2006.
[5] Tour-beijing.com, “Beijing Top 10 Contemporary Buildings Self Guided Tour,” (2013),
http://www.tour-beijing.com/top_10_new_buildings/ (accessed November 14, 2013).
[6] French, H. W. Alarm and disarray on rise in China. New York Times, Aug. 24, 2005, A2.
[7] Wang, H. China’s new order: Society, politics and economy in transition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press, 2003.
[8] Owen, J. Estimating the costs and benefits of hosting Olympic Games: What can Beijing expect from its
2008 Games? The Industrial Geographer, Volume 3, Issue 1 (2005): 1–18.
[9] Lai, G., & Lee, R. P. L. Market reforms and psychological distress in urban Beijing. International Sociology, Volume 21, Issue 4 (2006): 551–579.
[10] Graham, Mark, The buzz of Beijing’ modern and historical architecture, (2012), http://www.ays.com.hk/articles/buzz-beijing%E2%80%99-modern-and-historical-architecture#sthash.hoKMtZOG.dpuf (accessed November 14, 2013).
[11] Mellor, W., & Cheng, A. Beijing home to US$160b worth of construction. Vancouver Sun, Mar., 2006.
Jermaine Byrant
Nicole Johnson
OVER
RATING
YEARS
