Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
As a whole, Dongcheng is possibly the most interesting district of Beijing. When historic
sites were being dished out, it gobbled them up greedily, nabbing such places as the Forbid-
den City, Tian'anmen Square, the Lama Temple, and many, many more. For more than 700
years it has been home to emperors and modern-day politicians, so it's continually under
the careful scrutiny. Today, there is a constant energy to both preserve it and modernize it.
From the time of the Yuan dynasty, in 1271, through the Ming dynasty and finally to
the Qing dynasty, Dongcheng was a central part of Beijing life. Over that time, it made up
the northeast quadrant of the city's core, with Chongwen District below it in the southeast,
Xicheng in the northwest, and Xuanwumen in the southwest. In July 2010, Dongcheng ab-
sorbed Chongwen, garnering even more places of interest, including Tiantan Park and the
beautiful Longtan Park. Chongwen, like its western stablemate, Xuanwumen, had histor-
ically been a district for the poor, and in the thriving modern Beijing it was still dragging
behind. Both of these smaller districts merged with their wealthier northern neighbors in a
plan to distribute government funds more equally and so foster their development. For this
reason the various areas of southern Dongcheng rarely come up as suggestions for incom-
ing expats, but should definitely be considered as potential places to live. Rents there are
still comparably lower, and infrastructure and shopping are improving at ballistic rates.
