Red culture is a glorious trait recognized by members of the Communist Party of China. As a century-old party, it adds a brilliant chapter to the rich tapestry of Beijing's red culture. As a world-renowned ancient capital, Beijing strives to promote its significant red cultural heritage. It is an ideal time for a summer family trip; do not miss out on this Beijing red cultural tourism route!
First Stop: Former Site of the Sino-French University
The Former Site of the Sino-French University consists of a gray, three-story Western-style building, a two-story auditorium, and a set of Chinese-style buildings. The predecessor of the Sino-French University was the French preparatory school established by the Work-Study Society in France, initiated by Cai Yuanpei and others in the early years of the Republic of China. In 1920, it was renamed the Sino-French University's Xi Shan College, originally located at the Bi Yun Temple in the Western Hills. In 1925, the liberal arts department was moved here and renamed the Sino-French University's Fordham College.
"The Sino-French University was one of the early activity sites of the Chinese Communist Party. In 1922, the CPC Xi Shan Branch was established with Xiao Ming as the secretary. In 1923, the CPC Sino-French University Branch was also established with Xiao Ming as the secretary. That same year, Chen Yi enrolled at the Sino-French University and transitioned from a league member to a party member. Between 1924 and 1925, Chen Yi served as the secretary of the Sino-French University Party Branch. In 1984, the Former Site of the Sino-French University was declared a third batch of municipal-level cultural relics protection units in Beijing.
Visiting Information
Address: No. 20A, Donghuangchenggen North Street, Dongcheng District
Opening Hours: 9:00-17:00, with entry allowed until 16:30; closed on Mondays except for national statutory holidays.
Admission: Individual visitors must bring their ID cards for on-site verification before entering the museum. Group visits require a paper visitation letter with an official seal for verification before entering the museum.
Scan the QR code to download the template for the Sino-French University Former Site visitation letter.
Second Stop : Red Building of Peking University
The Red Building of Peking University, with an area of approximately 11,000 square meters, originally served as the headquarters of Peking University, the Faculty of Arts, and the university library. Construction began in 1916 and was completed in 1918. The main body of the building is constructed with red bricks and capped with red tiles, which is why it's named the 'Red Building'.
The Red Building of Peking University is a modern structure imbued with a glorious revolutionary history. It was a pivotal site for the revolutionary activities of notable figures such as Li Dazhao, Chen Duxiu, and Mao Zedong. It was within these walls that the apex of the New Culture Movement was catalyzed, and it significantly contributed to the May Fourth Movement. The building is also the cradle of the early Communist Party organization in Beijing, instrumental in fostering the development of Communist Party organizations across the country. In 1961, the Red Building of Peking University was designated as a national key cultural relics protection unit in the first group.
Visiting Information
Address: No. 29 Wusi Street, Dongcheng District
Opening Hours: 9:00-17:30, with entry allowed until 17:00; closed on Mondays except for public holidays.
Admission Method: Visitors must present their personal identification documents for on-site verification (foreign visitors and visitors from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan regions can use a passport, Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents, or other valid documents), and enter the museum after security check at the South Gate.
Third Stop: Former Site of the New Youth Editorial Office (Former residence of Chen Duxiu)
The Former Site of the New Youth Editorial Office (Former Residence of Chen Duxiu) consists of three rooms facing north and three rooms facing south, as well as a small room opposite the street entrance. In 1917, Chen Duxiu was appointed as the dean of arts at Peking University and rented this residence, where the editorial office of New Youth was relocated from Shanghai. Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhao, Hu Shi, Qian Xuantong, Liu Bannong, Gao Yihan, Shen Yin'mo, and others served as editors of New Youth.
This place was one of the main strongholds of the New Culture Movement and an important venue for the early dissemination of Marxism in China. In February 1920, to evade persecution by the Beiyang warlord government, Chen Duxiu left Beijing for Shanghai, and the editorial office of New Youth was also moved to Shanghai. In 2001, the Former Residence of Chen Duxiu was declared a cultural relics protection unit at the municipal level in the sixth batch by Beijing Municipality.
Visiting Information
Address: No. 20 Jiangan Hutong, Beichizi Street, Dongcheng District
Opening Hours: 9:00-12:00 (entry stops at 11:30), 13:00-17:00 (entry stops at 16:00); closed on Mondays.
Admission Method: Individual visitors must make a reservation on the official website 1-7 days in advance.
Fourth Stop: Lai Jin Yu Xuan at Zhongshan park
Lai Jin Yu Xuan Teahouse, established in 1915, is located on the east side of Zhongshan Park, with a construction area of 549.4 square meters. During the 1920s and 1930s, Lai Jin Yu Xuan was a gathering place for prominent figures in Beijing society. A large number of progressive intellectuals, represented by Li Dazhao, Mao Zedong, and Deng Zhongxia, often met here to participate in activities of the Young China Association and the Literary Research Society, edit publications, discuss and exchange ideas, and disseminate Marxism. This made Lai Jin Yu Xuan one of the important venues for the early revolutionary activities of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing.
Visiting Information
Address: Dongcheng District, east side of Shejitan, Zhongshan Park
Opening Hours: 9:00-19:00
Ticket Price: Regular ticket price is 3 RMB, and the half-price ticket is 1.5 RMB.
Admission Method: Citizens and tourists can purchase park tickets in advance on the "Changyou Park" WeChat public account platform 1-7 days in advance. If the daily visitor volume does not reach the maximum instantaneous capacity, ticket services will be provided on-site.
Fifth Stop: Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square, located in the center of Beijing, is 880 meters long from north to south and 500 meters wide from east to west, with an area of 440,000 square meters, which can accommodate 1 million people for grand gatherings. Inside the square, along the central axis of Beijing, from north to south, stands the national flagpole, the Monument to the People's Heroes, Chairman Mao's Memorial Hall and the Zhengyangmen Citadel.
On October 1, 1949, the founding ceremony of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China, that is, the Founding Ceremony, was held in Tiananmen Square, the People's Republic of China was born! A brand new chapter in the history of China was opened. On the day of the Founding Ceremony, 300,000 people in Beijing gathered in Tiananmen Square. Since then, Tiananmen Square has become an important place for the Party and the State to hold major celebrations, grand rallies and foreign affairs to welcome guests.
Visiting Information
Address: Southwest corner of the intersection of East Chang'an Street and East Side Road of the Square, Dongcheng District
Admission: Individuals and tour groups can make reservations 1-9 days in advance, and tour groups must make reservations at least 12 hours in advance. After successful reservation, tourists are required to enter Tiananmen Square to visit from the regional entrance verification during the reserved time. Since July 5, 2024, the time limit for advance reservation of Tiananmen Square has been adjusted from 9 days to 7 days, and both individuals and tour groups must complete the reservation at least one day in advance.
Warm tips: within 7 days after the end of the visit, you can view and download the souvenir certificate (electronic version) in the reservation record.
Sisth Stop : Chairman Mao Memorial Hall
Chairman Mao Memorial Hall is located in Tiananmen Square, covering an area of 5.72 hectares, with a total construction area of 33,867 square meters, was built in November 1976, and was inaugurated on September 9, 1977 and opened to the public. The Memorial Hall consists of the North Hall, the Memorial Hall and the South Hall. The Hall of Veneration is in the center, where the remains of Comrade Mao Zedong are viewed. Comrade Mao Zedong, dressed in a gray Zhongshan suit and covered with the flag of the Communist Party of China, lies in a crystal coffin. The crystal coffin is surrounded by the black granite base of Taishan, with the party emblem, the national emblem and the military emblem inlaid respectively.
Chairman Mao Memorial Hall is the highest memorial hall of the Party and the State, the memorial hall of the first generation of revolutionary leaders of the Party with Comrade Mao Zedong as the core of the Party's collective, and is the National Patriotism Education Demonstration Base.
Visiting Information
Address: Southwest corner of the intersection of East Chang'an Street and the east side of the square in Dongcheng District
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday 8:00-12:00 (national holidays and relevant anniversaries opening hours to be announced)
Admission: Reservation 1-6 days in advance.
Warm tips: within 7 days after the end of the visit, you can view and download the souvenir certificate (electronic version) in the reservation record.
Seventh Stop : Great Hall of the People
The Great Hall of the People is located on the west side of Tiananmen Square, the building plan is mountain-shaped, with a total floor area of 171,800 square meters, surrounded by 134 corridors and columns, the construction was officially started in October 1958, and was completed in September 1959, which took only more than 10 months. The whole complex is majestic and magnificent.
As the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Great Hall of the People is an important place for the people of the country to discuss matters of state, and for the country to hold state and foreign affairs, and it is the place where the highest organ of state power, the National People's Congress, meets, and it is the office of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. It is the place where the highest organ of state power, the National People's Congress, holds its meetings, and the office of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.
Visiting Information
Address: Xicheng District, West Chang'an Street and the west side of the square
Opening hours: June 1 to October 31, 8:30-15:00, stop checking tickets at 14:30; November 1 to May 31, 9:00-15:00, stop checking tickets at 14:30
Ticket Price: Adult ticket: 30 RMB; Student ticket: 15 RMB; Chinese citizens under 18 years old (not included), 60 years old (included) or above, active and retired military personnel, firefighters and rescue personnel, and people with disabilities are free of charge.
Admission: Reserve tickets 1-3 days in advance.
Eight Stop : The former site of Jungyangmun east station of the Beijing-Fengshan railway
Zhengyangmen East Station of the Beijing-Fengshan Railway was also known as “Beiping Station” and “Beiping East Station”. After the peaceful liberation of Beiping, on August 28, 1949, Soong Ching Ling was invited by Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai to come to Beijing to prepare for the establishment of the country, and she got off the train here to attend the first plenary session of the Political Consultative Conference. After the founding of New China, when Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai returned to Beijing from a visit to the Soviet Union in 1950, they also got off at this station.
Nowadays, the China Railway Museum (Zhengyangmen Pavilion) has been built on the basis of the old site, and the existing fixed exhibition is History of China Railway Development, which mainly shows the development course of China Railway from nothing to something, from weak to strong with pictures and objects.
Visiting Information
Address: No.A2, Qianmen Street, Dongcheng District
Opening hours: 9:00-17:00 (16:30 stop entering the museum), closed on Monday
Admission: Free reservation in advance
