Since becoming a signatory to the "Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage" in 1985, China has seen 57 of its heritage sites recognized and inscribed on the "World Heritage List." This impressive tally comprises 39 cultural heritage sites, 14 natural heritage sites, and 4 world heritage - mixed property sites.
China is home to an immense and diverse array of cultural heritage sites that are rich in content. Beijing stands as the city with the highest number of world cultural heritage sites globally, with a total of seven. When visiting Beijing, these sites are definitely not to be missed!
The most complete and abundantly preserved imperial architecture in China today belongs to the Ming and Qing dynasties, encompassing palaces, gardens, altars, and tombs. The imperial structures in the ancient capital of Beijing are imbued with a rich tapestry of historical and cultural significance. Join us on a journey through the world cultural heritage sites in the Beijing area and experience the allure of imperial architecture!
Architecture of imperial palace——The Palace Museum
In 1987 Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (the Palace Museum) was listed as a UNESCO world heritage site.
The Palace Museum in Beijing, formerly known as the Forbidden City, is located at the heart of Beijing's central axis. The ancient architectural complex of the Forbidden City, primarily from the Ming and Qing dynasties, is the largest and most well-preserved ancient palace complex in China, covering an area of 720,000 square meters and boasting over a thousand Ming and Qing-era wooden structures. With its rich variety of architectural styles and a complete range of building forms, the Forbidden City serves as an encyclopedia of ancient Chinese official architecture, reflecting the distinctive characteristics of Chinese civilization.
The architectural complex of the Palace Museum is one of the representatives of ancient Chinese architectural art and one of the greatest achievements of ancient imperial architecture in China. Additionally, the Palace Museum boasts the largest number of Chinese cultural collections in the world, making it the most visited museum globally.
The Palace Museum in Beijing is not only the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties, but also an important carrier and epitome of over 5,000 years of Chinese civilization. Its magnificent architecture, rich collections, and vast number of classics have made it a source of worldwide admiration.
The Palace Museum is also a concentrated embodiment of Chinese-style romance. One can admire the beauty of flowers in spring, listen to the rain in summer, observe the leaves in autumn and enjoy the snow in winter. Throughout the four seasons, the Palace Museum showcases different kinds of beauty. The red walls and yellow tiles here are the perfect interpretation of Chinese style.
The exhibition "The Forbidden City and Palace of Versailles: Exchanges Between China and France in the 17th and 18th Centuries" is currently on display at the Palace Museum in Beijing, where approximately 200 exquisite cultural relics from institutions including the Palace Museum and Versailles Palace have converged in the Hall of Literary Glory (Wenhua Dian), narrating a remarkable Sino-French romance that began over 300 years ago. As one of the significant events of the Sino-French Year of Cultural Tourism, this exhibition retraces the long-standing mutual appreciation of civilizations between the two great nations.
Exhibition time: Until June 30th
Exhibition venue: Hall of Literary Glory（文华殿）, the Palace Museum
Kindly reminder: This exhibition is free of charge with the Palace Museum admission ticket, but an appointment is required. Visitors can purchase tickets and make exhibition appointments through the wechat mini-program "故宫博物院".
Evaluation by the World Heritage Committee:
The Forbidden City has been the center of supreme power in China for over five centuries. With its landscaped gardens and vast architectural complex housing over 9,000 rooms accommodated with furniture and handicrafts, it stands as an invaluable historical testament to Chinese civilization during the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Royal garden—Summer Palace
In 1998, Summer Palace was listed as a UNESCO world heritage site.
Located in the northwest outskirts of Beijing, 15 km from the city, the Summer Palace is originally named "Qingyiyuan" (Gardens of Clear Ripples). It is one of the four most famous gardens in China, originally built during the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty in 1750. It is primarily composed of Kunming Lake (Kunming Hu, a reservoir of the capital during the Yuan Dynasty) and Longevity Hill (Wanshou Shan). The garden boasts over 100 scenic spots and buildings, more than 20 large and small courtyards, over 3,000 ancient buildings, more than 1,600 ancient and famous trees and covers an area of over 70,000 square meters. The whole palace can be roughly divided into three parts: administration, living, and tourism. The structures such as the Pavilion of the Fragrance of Buddha (Foxiang Ge), the Long Corridor (Chang Lang), the Boat for Pure Banquet (Qingyan Fang), the Suzhou Street (Suzhou Jie), the Seventeen-Arch Bridge (Shiqi Kong Qiao), the Garden of Harmonious Interest (Xiequ Yuan), and the Grand Stage (Da Xitai) are all well-known representative buildings.
The Summer Palace embodies the essence of traditional Chinese gardening art, utilizing the surrounding landscape of mountains and rivers. It combines the magnificent and opulent grandeur of imperial gardens with the charm of nature. The artificial landscapes within the park, such as pavilions, corridors, halls, temples, and bridges, harmoniously blend with the natural hills and the vast expanse of the lake, creating a highly aesthetic value and making it a masterpiece of Chinese landscape gardening design.
The garden art of the Summer Palace is ingeniously conceived, occupying a prominent position in the history of garden art both in China and abroad. It is a rare masterpiece of garden art in the world. The Chinese imperial gardens, represented by the Summer Palace, are powerful symbols of Chinese civilization, which is one of the major civilizations in the world.
In this vibrant and wonderful season, come and encounter the most beautiful May in the Summer Palace! The peonies are renowned for their gorgeous colors and diverse varieties, earning them the titles of "Flower Fairy" "Premier of the Flower Realm" and one of the "Top Ten Famous Flowers" as well as "Flower Goddess of May." Located at Longevity Chamber (Yongshou Zhai) and the Hall of Dispelling the Clouds (Paiyun Dian), the peonies bloom with resplendent beauty amidst the ancient architecture, exuding an elegant charm all its own. Sweet iris flowers, another highlight of early summer, signal the approach of warmer weather. With verdant and supple leaves, sweet iris flower boast delicate lilac petals that are both elegant and beautiful, accompanied by a fragrant nectar. Whether growing within the garden or along the waterside, sweet iris flowers thrive, gracefully blooming with small flowers.
Evaluation by the World Heritage Committee:
The Summer Palace in Beijing was originally constructed in 1750 AD. It was severely damaged in the war in 1860 and was reconstructed on the same site in 1886. Its pavilions, corridors, halls, temples, and small bridges, along with other artificial landscapes, are harmoniously and artistically integrated with the natural hills and the vast lake surface, making it a masterpiece in the design of Chinese landscape gardens.
Imperial altar of China—Temple of Heaven
In 1998, the Temple of Heaven was listed as a UNESCO world heritage site.
Constructed in the first half of the 15th century, the Temple of Heaven is the largest existing ancient complex for worship of heaven in the world. It served as the place for emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties to "worship heaven" and "pray for good harvests." Located to the east of Zhengyang Gate, the altar domain is round in the north and square in the south, which implies that "the heaven is round and the earth is square." There are two walls around the altar, dividing the whole altar into two parts: the inner altar and the outer altar. The total area is 273 hectares, and the main buildings are mainly located in the inner altar. The representative structures of the Temple of Heaven include the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the Circular Mound Altar, the Hall of Heavenly Vault, the Altar of Abstinence, the Divine Music Bureau, and the Animal Sacrifice Shed.
The inner altar is divided into the north and south by a wall. In the north is "pray for the good harvest altar", which is used for praying for a good year in spring, and the central building is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. The south is the "Circular Mound Altar", which is dedicated to the worship on the "Winter Solstice", and the central building is a huge circular stone platform called the "Circular Mound." The two altars are connected by a 360-meter-long canal above the ground - Danbi Bridge. They form a 1200-meter-long north-south axis of the Temple of Heaven, with a large area of ancient cypress on both sides.
The Temple of Heaven enjoys a great reputation both at home and abroad for its rigorous architectural layout, unique structures, and magnificent decorations. It is one of the architectural complexes with the highest artistic and ideological values in Chinese history. It serves as a carrier of the ancient Chinese philosophical concept of heaven and earth and embodies the ancient Chinese idea of "harmony between man and nature" and their scientific construction concepts.
In the Spring Festival of 1998, the Chairman of the International Council on Monuments and Sites(ICOMOS), Roland Silva, came to the Temple of Heaven in Beijing for an inspection. He described the Temple of Heaven as "a forgotten diamond on the crown of world heritage." 11 months later, at the plenary session of the World Heritage Protection Committee held in Japan, the Temple of Heaven was unanimously approved and included in the "World Heritage List."
On May 15th, the 43rd Rose Exhibition of Temple of Heaven Park officially started in the over-six-decade-old Rose Garden of the Temple of Heaven Park. Themed "Flowers Bloom in the Ancient Altar, Fragrance Overflows", this year's exhibition covers an area of 20,000 square meters, featuring over 300 varieties of roses totaling more than 10,000 plants. The event will run until May 22nd. This May, come to the Rose Garden of the Temple of Heaven Park and do not miss the grand invitation of flowers in full bloom!
Evaluation by the World Heritage Committee:
Built in the first half of the 15th century AD, the Temple of Heaven is located in the midst of a royal garden, surrounded by ancient pine trees. It is a well-preserved complex of altars and temples, reflecting the relationship between heaven and earth, which occupies a central position in ancient Chinese cosmology, both in its overall layout and in individual buildings. Furthermore, these structures embody the unique role played by emperors and nobles in this relationship.
Imperial Mausoleums - Ming Tombs
In 2000, the Xianling Mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty, the Eastern Royal Tombs and Western Royal Tombs of the Qing Dynasty were listed as UNESCO world heritage sites; in 2003, the Xiaoling Mausoleum of the ming dynasty and Thirteen Ming Tombs were listed as UNESCO world heritage sites. In 2004, the Three Mausoleums of the Shengjing (now in Shenyang, Liaoning)—Fuling, Zhaoling, and Yongling—were accepted on the world cultural heritage list as an extension of the Ming and Qing imperial tombs project.
The Ming Tombs, collectively known as the burial sites of the 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty after the capital was moved to Beijing, are located about 44 kilometers northwest of Beijing in the Changping District, at the southern foot of Tianshou Mountain. Each of the thirteen imperial tombs is constructed in accordance with the mountainous terrain, built on the eastern, western and northern slopes, forming a complete system of grand and majestic tomb architecture with extremely high historical and cultural value. Ming Dynasty geomancers believed that this place was a superior Feng Shui site on excellent "auspicious soil," and thus it was chosen by the Ming-era emperors as the "eternal longevity domain" for the construction of imperial tombs.
The imperial tombs were initially constructed in 1409 and has a history of 300 to 600 years to date. The tomb area covers an area of 40 square kilometers, making it the largest existing imperial tomb complex in China and the world, with the most imperial and empress tombs. From the seventh year of the Yongle era of the Ming Dynasty (1409 AD) when the Changling was built, to the early years of the Shunzhi era of the Qing Dynasty when the Siling was built, over 200 years saw the sequential construction of thirteen imperial tombs, where thirteen emperors, twenty-three empresses, and several dozen concubines were buried.
The Ming Tombs boast a natural environment characterized by encircling green mountains, an open and bright central hall, and meandering waterways. Each tomb is situated with its back to the mountains and facing the water, embraced by protective hills on either side. Compared to tombs built on plains, the natural scenery of the Ming Tombs is more pleasing to eyes, and better showcases the solemnity, grandeur, and majestic presence befitting imperial tombs. The renowned ancient architectural expert Luo Zhewen commented, "The Ming Tombs have an extremely high architectural value. The Nanmu Hall of the Changling is unique in scale nationwide, and the stone carvings are exquisite. Whether viewed from the perspective of architectural form, structure, or artistic expression, the Ming Tombs represent the physical history of Ming Dynasty architecture."
The layout and management of the Ming Tombs, while fulfilling the functions of ritual systems, are closely integrated with natural environmental elements such as mountains and rivers, achieving a very high artistic realm, and have had a profound influence on the establishment of the Eastern Royal Tombs and Western Royal Tombs of the Qing Dynasty.
The Ming Tombs are most renowned for the grand above-ground structures of the Changling and the excavated underground palace of the Dingling. The entire tomb complex originally had enclosing walls, with the main entrance at the southern end, flanked by the towering Mang Mountain and Huyu Mountain on either side, resembling a dragon and a tiger guarding the gate.
Evaluation by the World Heritage Committee:
The Ming and Qing imperial tombs, carefully selected according to the principles of Feng Shui, skillfully placed a large number of buildings underground. They are the products of transformation on nature by human, reflecting traditional architectural and decorative ideas, and elucidating the worldview and concept of power in feudal China that lasted for more than five thousand years.
