Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Gates of the former ancient city wall can still be found around the city and continue to provide
important geographical landmarks.
At this time, King Wu of the Zhou dynasty took it upon himself to dish out parcels of
land to his friends and family. Two of these were in the Beijing area. The first was Ji, a
walled city, which would have been situated in today's southwest area of Guang'anmen,
in Xicheng district. Ji sat just north of Beijing's largest waterway, the Yongding River, and
along an important trading route between the south and north. It also had the advantage of
being close to the ready supply of water that came from Lotus Pond. The pond still exists
today in Lianhuachi Park (Lotus Pond Park), just near Beijing West Railway Station, and
gives a brilliant display of flowers for much of the year.
The other area was the state of Yan, farther south, which depended more on the ebb and
flow of the Liuli River. It's thought that this is one of the major reasons that Yan, as it ex-
panded, moved its capital to Ji. Consequently, Beijing has also been referred to as Yanjing
(
燕京
, Yan Capital), and hence the name of one of the city's most widely consumed beers.
The Zhou dynasty continued to rule in various forms for roughly the next 800 years,
being one of the longest-surviving dynasties of China's history, but in 221 BC it was out-
matched by the mighty Qin empire, which had already expanded from its homeland in the
west and had now conquered all other six states in China. This was the first time all of Ch-
