Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
south. It was only natural that another name change was in order, and Yanjing now became
Dadu (
大都
, Great Capital) in Chinese or Khanbaliq in Turkic. It seemed that this young
khan had a penchant for town planning and began a lot of things that gave modern Beijing
its current orientation. When he arrived in the city, much of it was still in ruin thanks to
Granddad, so he set about making some improvements. He moved the center of the city
northeast, and so established present-day Beijing's vertical axis. The Drum Tower (Gulou)
was built in 1272, marking the city center; he also expanded the size of the city and erec-
ted a wall around it. Much of this was incorporated into the later city walls of the Ming
and Qing dynasties.
Hútòng,
the narrow alleyways that seem to define “authentic Beijing,”
came out of the Yuan period, their crisscross pattern imprinting the city's core. The 12
parallel
hútòng
—Dongsiyitiao (1) to Dongsishi'ertiao (12), including the famous Dongs-
ishitiao (10)—that still score inner Dongcheng district today are some lingering examples.
Likewise, the six “seas” of Beijing, a connected series of lakes, were dominant features of
Kublai Khan's capital. Starting just from Jishuitan (near the northwest corner of Line 2),
Xihai (West Sea), Houhai (Back Sea), and Qianhai (Front Sea) collectively are known as
Shichahai but, more often than not, simply get called Houhai. The string of lakes contin-
ues south with Beihai (North Sea) and Zhongnanhai (Middle and South Sea), which sit just
to the west side of the Forbidden City. Though the lakes came from the Jin dynasty, they
became a key point of commerce during the Yuan dynasty. Xihai was the starting point of
the Grand Canal, a major trade route that joined Beijing to Hangzhou in southern Zheji-
ang province by a 1,776-kilometer-long (1,104-mile-long) series of natural and manmade
waterways. The canal's entry point at Xihai meant that the area became a bustling place
of business. (These days the Grand Canal is functional only between Hangzhou and Jining
in the south of Shandong province.) The whole lake area is still a major hub of activity in
the 21st century, but the form of trade is a little different. Today it's surrounded by cafés,
restaurants, and terrible karaoke bars—perhaps not something Kublai Khan would have en-
visaged for his beautiful lakes.
Dadu's trade-route position as well as its increased water supply meant that the city
quickly prospered and grew in size, population, and status. Despite the strong position that
Kublai Khan established, however, the city was taken almost 100 years later in 1368 by
the northward-bound Ming dynasty. Again, a name change felt needed, and Dadu now be-
came Beiping (
北平
, Northern Peace). At the time, Nanjing in Jiangsu province (just above
Shanghai) was serving as the Ming capital. Not known for being warm and fuzzy, the Ming
set about making some dramatic changes. The first Ming emperor, Hongwu, was decidedly
suspicious of anyone with an education, such as the courtiers, so he led with a strong au-
