The Temple of Heaven was made in America (sort of)
Know that iconic main building in the Temple of Heaven? (aka the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests). Well it burned down in 1889 and the Qing government found themselves in a pickle: they couldn’t source the right-sized trees to fashion the enormous columns from. So – according to one story – Qing officials finally looked abroad and imported the timber from Oregon in the USA.
Tiananmen used to have two Mao portraits on it
When Mao’s picture started hanging permanently on the gate at the start of the Cultural Revolution, his portrait was actually displayed on both sides, not just on the south side like today.
798 was the Googleplex of its day
Often dismissed as ‘just an art area’, most overlook the fact that the stunning Bauhaus architecture in 798 has the same protected status as the Forbidden City, with most of it still beautifully intact. What’s more, in its heyday (the early ’60s) this sprawling, East German-designed complex was the ultimate in Communist factories.
State of the art German dentistry available to all; athletics, volleyball and basketball facilities; regular stunt motorbike performances and dozens of lunch options on offer. Timezone 8 Café used to be the factory’s premiere Muslim canteen, for example…
A German designed the Qianmen Gate
Next time you’re sitting in Capital M supping a cocktail and staring out at the majestic Arrow Tower, you can impress your companions with the fact that it was (re)designed by a German architect named Curt Rothkegel in 1914. During the Republican period (post emperor, pre Communists), the new, rather Westernized, Republican government wanted to give the city a facelift and commissioned Rothkegel to spruce it up. You can still see the (very German) balconies and window decorations.
You can’t see the Great Wall from space, but it has another claim to fame
The Great Wall is the only Wonder of the World marked on world maps, because it’s so geographically immense.
More than 10% of the Great Wall isn’t even in China
The majority of the Great Walls lie within modern China’s territory, but approximately 2500km of it lie in neighboring Mongolia, Russia and North Korea. It is literally referred to as the ‘Great Wall Outside China’.
Beijing is great for Muslim food
It all started when Beijing became the capital for the first time under Mongolian Kublai Khan during the Yuan dynasty. Mongolia’s nearby grasslands were perfect for grazing animals that produced traditional Muslim foods such as mutton, lamb and beef. What’s more, traditional Beijing cooking techniques are very similar to those adopted in China’s far west, which borders Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The Summer Palace is home to the ultimate vintage car
The Summer Palace has in its collection a very rare Duryea, one of the world’s earliest (American) motorcars. It was presented to Empress Dowager Cixi but she never once used it. Why not? Because it would have meant the driver having his back to her, which would have contravened court protocol!
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