Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
HISTORY
Zip through Beijing in a taxi, and you'd be hard-pressed to guess that this relentlessly
forward-marching city has been a centre of power for nearly a thousand years. While
the overwhelming majority of the city you'll see today has shot up since the formation
of the People's Republic in 1949, look behind the right walls and you'll find plenty of
sights dating back to the Qing (1644-1911) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties; during
these times, and going back even further to the Yuan (1271-1368), Beijing functioned,
at almost all points, as capital of China. At times, it was also arguably the centre of the
civilized world - a title that it clearly wants back.
