Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
the capitalist road and even casting her infl uence abroad. The two capital cities,
which are the focal point of expression for their respective national cultures and
histories, would be confronted with problems in city planning and design.
For city planning and design, Beijing and Washington share some similarities in
form, but they are fundamentally different. The most prominent feature in common
is the decision at the infant stage of city construction to fi x a central axis line for the
layout of the whole city. Nevertheless, their fundamental difference consists in the
respective themes to be represented owing to the totally different social systems in
the very beginning of their planning.
4.2
The City of Beijing (Peking)
4.2.1
Changes of Beijing's City Sites and Its Present Location
The origin of the primitive settlement of Beijing could be dated back to over
3,000 years ago. It was located at the southwest part of present Beijing city which
had not begun to be built until about 720 years ago (1267 A.D.). The lake district of
the ancient Gaoliang River was chosen to be the center for the design and plan of the
new city, that is, the Dadu City (the Great Capital) of the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368).
The city underwent some reconstruction in the early days of the Ming Dynasty
(1368-1644) and a new name Beijing was given to it. In 1553 A.D., an outer wall was
added in the southern part of Beijing city. Thus, we have an inner city and an outer
city of Beijing, both encircled by city walls. The two combined took the shape of a
Chinese character “
ࠨ
”, occupying an area of 62 m
2
. Hence the surface plan of
Beijing city was fi xed, and it had been preserved as it was until 1949 A.D., when the
New China was born. It is now called the Old City of Beijing.
At the beginning of building old Beijing, the southern half of the lake was
enclosed within the city and was designed as the central part of the royal garden in
the Imperial City. In accordance with the feudal tradition, it was named “Tai Ye
Chi” (the Holy Water Pond). In the early part of the Ming Dynasty a new lake was
dug at the southern tip of the Holy Water Pond. This is the present Nan Hai (the
South Sea). The upper part of the original lake left out of the Imperial City was
called Ji-shui Tan (the Reservoir). It was also in the early years of the Ming Dynasty
that the northern city wall of the capital was moved southward, thus excluding the
northwestern part of Ji-shui Tan from the city. The excluded part was called Tai-
ping Hu (the Peaceful Lake), which was fi lled up during the Cultural Revolution.
And the other part inside the northern wall of the great city but outside of the
Imperial City is the Shicha Hai of today, made up of Qian Hai (the Front Lake), Hou
Hai (the Back Lake) and Xi Hai (the West Lake). The southwestern tip of Qian Hai
had also been fi lled up and reclaimed for building sites recently.
In sum, the original lake district furnished essential geographical conditions for
the establishment of Old City of Beijing. Its original appearance had long been
altered, but it still occupies an important place. There is a plan to connect the six
South and North lakes (that is, Nan Hai, Zhong Hai and Bei Hai in the south and
