Beijing Stories

Ancient Times (from Antiquity to A.D. 1840)

China, one of the world's most ancient civilizations, has a recorded history of nearly 4,000 years.

Anthropologists working in Yuanmou, in Yunnan Province, have uncovered the remains of China's earliest discovered hominid, "Yuanmou Man," who lived in this area approximately 1.7 million years ago. "Peking Man," who lived in Zhoukoudian, to the southwest of modern Beijing 400,000 to 500,000 years ago, had the basic characteristics of Homo Sapiens. Peking Man walked upright, made and used simple tools, and knew how to make fire. Man in China passed from primitive society to slave society in the 21st century B.C., with the founding of China's first dynasty, that of the Xia. The subsequent dynasties, the Shang (16th-11th century B.C.) and the Western Zhou (11th century-770 B.C.) saw further development of slave society. This era was followed by the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (770-221 B.C.), marking the transition from the slave society to feudal society.

China was one of the countries where economic activity first developed. As early as 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, people in the Yellow River valley had already started farming and raising livestock. During the Shang Dynasty (more than 3,000 years ago), people learned how to smelt bronze and use iron tools. White pottery and glazed pottery were produced. Silk production was well developed, and the world's first figured inlaid silk weaving technique was being used. During the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 B.C.), steel production technologies appeared. During the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.), Li Bing and his son directed the construction of the Dujiang Dam near present-day Chengdu in Sichuan Province. This brilliant achievement in water conservancy made possible rationalized irrigation supply, flood diversion and sand discharge, and is still playing a tremendous role in this regard even today. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, philosophy and other branches of scholarship were unprecedentedly thriving, with the representatives of various schools vying with each other in writing books to discuss politics and analyze society. Hence the appearance of a situation in which "a hundred schools of thought contended." Famous philosophers in this period included Lao Zi, Confucius, Mo Zi and Sun Zi.

In 221 B.C., Ying Zheng, a man of great talent and bold vision, ended the rivalry among the independent principalities in the Warring States Period and established the first centralized, unified, multi-ethnic state in Chinese history under the Qin Dynasty (221-207 B.C.), and called himself Shi Huang Di (First Emperor), historically known as Qin Shi Huang, or First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty. During his reign, Qin Shi Huang standardized the script, currencies, and weights and measures, established the system of prefectures and counties, and constructed the world-renowned Great Wall  as well as a large palace, mausoleum and temporary regal lodges respectively in Xianyang, Lishan and other places. The structures of these places above the ground have long been destroyed, but the objects underground are still there. The life-size terracotta horses and armored warriors excavated from sites near the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang are known as the  eighth wonder of the world, attracting swarms of Chinese and foreign visitors every day. At the end of the Qin Dynasty, Liu Bang, a peasant leader, overthrew the Qin regime in cooperation with Xiang Yu, an aristocratic general. A few years later, Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu and established the strong Han Dynasty in 206 B.C.

In the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220), agriculture, handicrafts and commerce were well developed. During the reign of Emperor Wudi (Liu Che, r. 140-87 B.C.), the Han regime reached the period of its greatest prosperity: The emperor conquered the Xiongnu nomads, and sent Zhang Qian as envoy to the Western Regions (Central Asia), and in the process pioneered the route known as the "Silk Road" from the Han capital Chang'an (today's Xi'an, Shaanxi Province), through Xinjiang and onward, finally reaching the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Along the Silk Road, beautiful silk products made in China were transported to the West in a steady stream. In 33 B.C., Wang Zhaojun, a palace maiden, was married to Huhanxie, chieftain of the Xiongnu, leaving a moving story about marriage ties between the Han and the Xiongnu. The multi-ethnic country became more consolidated. The Han regime existed for a total of 426 years. It was followed by the Three Kingdoms Period (220-265) of Wei, Shu and Wu.

The most famous statesmen during the Three Kingdoms Period were Cao Cao (155-220), Zhuge Liang (181-234) and Sun Quan (182-252). Cao Cao was the founder of the State of Wei. He collected people of talent from all over the country, stationed troops in border areas to open up wasteland, established military farms, and finally gained control over the Yellow River valley. Zhuge Liang was the prime minister of the State of Shu, and a symbol of wisdom in ancient China. For many centuries, his lofty spirit of "bending himself to the task and exerting himself to the utmost till his dying days" has encouraged the Chinese people. Sun Quan was the founder of the State of Wu. He once allied with Liu Bei (161-223) to defeat Cao Cao at the Red Cliff, and later inflicted a crushing defeat on Liu Bei at Yiling. In addition, Sun Quan appointed officials in charge of agriculture, and had garrison troops or peasants open up wasteland and grow grain, thus promoting land reclamation to the south of the Yangtze River. Stories about them can be found in a novel called Three Kingdoms. (r. 626-649)

The Three Kingdoms Period was followed by the Jin (265-420), the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-589), and the Sui Dynasty (581-618). In 618, Li Yuan founded the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Later, Li Shimin (r. 626-649), son of Li Yuan, ascended the throne as Emperor Taizong, who was one of the greatest emperors in Chinese history. Emperor Taizong adopted a series of policies known as the Zhenguan reign period reforms, which pushed the feudal society to the height of prosperity. Agriculture, handicrafts and commerce flourished; technologies for textile manufacture and dyeing, porcelain production, smelting, metal casting and shipbuilding made great progress. During this time, land and water transportation was also fairly well developed, and economic and cultural relations with Japan, Korea, India, Persia, Arabia and other countries were extensive. After the Tang Dynasty, there came the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907-960). In 960, General Zhao Kuangyin of the Later Zhou Dynasty rose in mutiny, and founded the Song Dynasty (960-1279). In 1206, Genghis Khan unified all the tribes in Mongolia and founded the Mongol Khanate. In 1271, his grandson, Kublai Khan, conquered the Central Plain, founded the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and made Dadu (today's Beijing) the capital. During the Song and Yuan dynasties, handicraft industry and domestic and foreign trade boomed. Many merchants and travelers came from abroad. Marco Polo came from Venice and traveled extensively in China, later describing the country's prosperity in his Travels. The "four great inventions" of the Chinese people in ancient times-paper making, printing, the compass and gunpowder-were further developed in the Song and Yuan dynasties, and introduced to foreign countries during this time, making great contributions to world civilization.

In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang founded the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in Nanjing, and reigned as Emperor Taizu. When his son, and successor, Zhu Di, ascended the throne, he started to build the palace, temples, city walls and moat in Beijing. In 1421, he officially made Beijing his capital. In the Ming Dynasty, remarkable progress was made in agricultural production and handicrafts, and toward the end of the dynasty, the rudiments of capitalism appeared. In addition, there were friendly contacts between China and other countries in Asia and Africa.

In the late Ming Dynasty, the Manchus in northeast China grew in strength. Under the leadership of Nurhachi, the Manchus invaded the Central Plain for three generations in succession, and finally founded the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The two most famous emperors of the Qing Dynasty were Emperor Kangxi (r. 1661-1772) and Emperor Qianlong (r. 1735-1796). The Kangxi and Qianlong reign periods were known as the "times of prosperity." During Qing rule, some novels of high artistic value were created, of which Cao Xueqin's Dream of Red Mansions is the best known. It describes the decline of a prosperous feudal aristocratic family.


Contemporary Period(1949- )

From September 21 to 30, 1949, the First Plenum of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) was held in Beijing, with the participation of various political parties, popular organizations, non-Party democrats and representatives from all walks of life. The CPPCC drew up a Common Program, which served as a provisional constitution. It elected a Central People's Government Council, with Mao Zedong as Chairman, and appointed Zhou Enlai Premier of the Government Administration Council and concurrently Minister of Foreign Affairs. On October 1, 1949, a grand ceremony inaugurating the People's Republic of China was witnessed by 300,000 people in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. On that day, Chairman Mao Zedong solemnly proclaimed the formal establishment of the People's Republic of China.

The early days of New China were a period of economic recovery. While developing production, China gradually  established socialist public ownership of the means of production. From 1953 to 1956, large-scale socialist transformation of the national economy was implemented, the First Five-Year Plan (1953-1957) for the development of the national economy was achieved ahead of schedule, and China established and expanded basic industries necessary for full industrialization, hitherto non-existent domestically, producing airplanes, automobiles, heavy machinery, precision machinery, power-generating equipment, metallurgical and mining equipment, high-grade alloy steels and non-ferrous metals.

The 10 years from 1957 to the beginning of the "cultural revolution" in 1966 was the period in which China started large-scale socialist construction. The nation's total industrial fixed assets quadrupled between 1956 and 1966, and the national income increased by 58 percent in terms of constant prices. The output of essential industrial products increased several-fold, even over tenfold. A group of new and developing industries were founded, and large-scale agricultural capital construction and technological transformation unfolded on a large scale. Both the number of tractors used in agriculture and the volume of chemical fertilizer increased by more than 600 percent. The 12-Year Plan for Scientific and Technological Development (1956-1967) was completed five years ahead of schedule. Outstanding achievements were recorded in many new fields of science and technology.

However, during this dynamic decade, serious mistakes were also made in the Party and government's guidelines, harming the national economy.

The "cultural revolution," which lasted for 10 years from May 1966 to October 1976, was initiated and led by Mao Zedong, the then chairman of the CPC Central Committee. Taking advantage of Mao Zedong's mistakes in his later years, the Lin Biao and Jiang Qing counter-revolutionary cliques, unbeknownst to Mao, engaged in activities that brought great calamity to the country and people, causing the most serious setbacks and most damaging losses to the country since the founding of the People's Republic of China. In spite of the grievous mistakes Mao Zedong made during the "cultural revolution," his lifetime record shows that his contributions to the Chinese revolution far outweighed his errors.

Drawing on the support of the broad masses of the Chinese people, the CPC smashed the Jiang Qing clique in October 1976. A new era of development unfolded in Chinese history. In July 1977, responding to the fervent demands of all the people, the CPC reinstated Deng Xiao-ping in all the Party and government posts he had been dismissed from during the "cultural revolution." The Third Plenary Session of the CPC 11th Central Committee held at the end of 1978 represented a great turning point of profound significance in the history of New China. Since 1979, China has pursued a policy of reform and opening to the outside world, a policy which was initiated by Deng Xiaoping. The errors of the "cultural revolution" and the earlier "Leftist" deviations have been rectified, and the focus has been shifted to modernization. Major efforts have been made to readjust the economic structure, and reform the economic and political systems. China is,  step by step, establishing a road with Chinese characteristics, a road that will lead to socialist modernization. Great changes have come about in China since 1979. The situation in the country is the best ever, and the people are enjoying more material benefits than ever before.

Jiang Zeming, since taking office as the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPC in 1989 , Chairman of the Military Committee of the CPC and the President of the People's Republic of China, is leading the third generation of the leading body to carry out Deng Xiaoping's theory, persist in and continue the policies and principles of reform and opening to the outside world advocated by Deng Xiaoping, making the country stable, economy developed and foreign relations promoted and winning the support from the people.


New Democratic Revolution Period (1919-1949)

Under the influence of the October Revolution in Russia, China's May 4th Movement arose. During this great anti-imperialist, anti-feudal revolutionary movement led by patriotic students, the Chinese proletariat for the first time mounted the political stage. The May 4th Movement marked the change of the old democratic revolution  to the new democratic revolution. It enabled Marxism-Leninism to further spread and link up with the Chinese people's revolutionary practice, and prepared the ideology as well as the cadres necessary for the founding of the Communist Party of China. In 1921, Mao Zedong, Dong Biwu, Chen Tanqiu, He Shuheng, Wang Jinmei, Deng Enming and Li Da, representing the communist groups in different places throughout the nation, held the First National Congress in Shanghai, founding the Communist Party of China (CPC). In 1924, Sun Yat-sen, pioneer of China's democratic revolution and the founder of the Kuomintang (KMT), worked together with the Communist Party of China to organize workers and peasants for the Northern Expedition (historically known as the Great Revolution). After Sun Yat-sen passed away, the right-wing clique of the KMT headed by Chiang Kai-shek staged a counter-revolutionary coup d'etat in 1927, murdering Communists and revolutionary people, and founded the Kuomintang regime in Nanjing. Thus the Great Revolution ended in failure. After that,  the CPC led the Chinese people to wage the 10-year Agrarian Revolution War against the reactionary rule of the Kuomintang, which is also known as the "10-Year Civil War."

In July 1937, Japan launched all-out aggression against China. The Kuomintang armies started a series of battles, which gave relentless blows at the Japanese invaders. In the enemy's rear area, the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, under the leadership of the CPC, fought against most of the Japanese forces, and almost all the puppet armies under extremely difficult conditions, thus playing a decisive role in the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan.

From June 1946, the Kuomintang armies launched an all-round attack on the Liberated Areas led by the CPC, and an unprecedented large-scale civil war started. To thoroughly emancipate the Chinese people, the CPC led the army and  people in the Liberated Areas to start the nationwide War of Liberation.

Through the Liaoxi-Shenyang, Huai-Hai and Beiping-Tianjin campaigns, the CPC overthrew the rule of the Kuomintang and won a great victory in the new democratic revolution in 1949.


Modern Period (1840-1919)

The Opium War of 1840 marked a turning point in Chinese history. From early in the 19th century, Britain started smuggling large quantities of opium into China, causing a great outflow of Chinese silver and grave economic disruption in China. In 1839, the Qing government sent Commissioner Lin Zexu to Guangdong to put into effect the prohibition on opium trafficking. When, in an effort to protect its opium trade, Britain initiated the First Opium War in 1840, the Chinese people rose in armed struggle against the invaders under the leadership of Lin Zexu and other patriotic generals. But the corrupt and incompetent Qing government capitulated to the foreign invaders time and again, and finally signed the Treaty of Nanjing with Britain, a treaty of national betrayal and humiliation. From then on, China was reduced to a semi-colonial and semi-feudal country.

After the Opium War, Britain, the United States, France, Russia and Japan forced the Qing government to sign various unequal treaties, seized "concessions" and divided China into "spheres of influence." To oppose the twin evils of feudal oppression and foreign aggression, the Chinese people waged heroic struggles, with many national heroes coming to the fore. The Revolution of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in 1851, led by Hong Xiuquan, was the largest peasant uprising in modern Chinese history. The Revolution of 1911, a bourgeois-democratic revolution led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen, ended the rule of the Qing Dynasty. The monarchical system that had been in place in China for more than 2,000 years was discarded with the founding of the provisional government of the Republic of China. The Revolution of 1911 is of great significance in modern Chinese history. But the fruits of victory were soon compromised by concessions on the part of the Chinese bourgeoisie, and the country entered a period of domination by the Northern Warlords headed by Yuan Shikai. The people lived in an abyss of misery in this period.

The Huabiao is an ornamental stone column used to decorate important buildings or rublic paces.It can be very large,up to 20 meters in height and a meter or so in diameter.

The origins of the Huabiao are not clear.Some say it developed from the totem poles of ancient tribes. Perhaps it was originally a form of signpost. When Yao and Shun were the country's rulers about 4 ,000 years ago, wooden columns were erected as landmarks to show travelers the way.Yao and Shun also used them to solicit public opinion. People would write their comments and suggestions on the poles by main roads. For the same reason some poles were also placed in the royal court.

A more popular explanation does not credit the Huabiao with such a long history. In the Spring and Autumn Period 2,600 years ago, an instrument called the Biao,meaning poleortablet,was erected to determine direction by its shadow.Designers

used it to ascertain position and direction before constructing guildings. For large-scale construction, which might take many years,the pole was made of stone so that it would last long enough. When the building was completed, the stone pole was included as part of the structure.

With the establishment of the feudal system over 2,000 yeatrs ago,the Huabiao came to represent the power of the emperor.It would be carrved with dragons,a symbol of royalty, and placed in or in front of palaces and temples. Huabiaos were also placed in front of emperorw tombs, in which case they are called Mubiao, or romb columnw.

As the use of these columns changed, so did their appearance.They became nore ornate and gradually devloped into the Huabiao we mostly see today. The typical Huabiao now has a round or octagonal base surrounded by a carved stone wall.

Typically, dragons are carved on the column, while a dignified stone animal sits on its top. Four of the most famous Huabiaos in China are to be found by Tian'anmen or the Gate of Heavenly Peace at the enterance to the Forbidden City in Beijing. They were constructed druing the Qing Dynasty. Each has a stone Hou sitting regally atop the column. Like the dragon,the Hou is also a mythical animal that represents power and good fortrne. The heads of the Hous on the two columns behind the gate are turned inward, looking towards the pa;ace, while those on the columns in front of the gate have their heads turned outward.The positioning of the heads symbolized the hopes of the people. With the animals' heads turning inward, emperors were espected not to wallow in sesual pleasures in the palace, but to leave the palace and get a better understanding of the common people and their needs. Gor this reason, the columns behind the gate are namedWangjunchu, which means EXpecting His

Majesty to go on an inspection

The HOUS looking away from the palace show people's longing for the emperor's return. This reminded rulers not to become infatrated with the beautiful landscapes of their domain but to return in good time to run state affairs. Accordingly, the two Huabiaos in front of the gate are named "Wangjungui",meaning "looking forward to the emperor's return".

The mouse,or rat,is the first in the cycle of 12 animals representing years.

The others are, chronologically, the ox, the tiger, the rabbit, the dragon, the snake, the horse, the goat, the monkey, the rooster, the dog and the pig.

How come animals designate years? Why 12, no more, no less? And why these specific animals?

There are different explanations about their origin. A popular legend says, long long ago, a c ertain god ordered all the animals to pay him a visit on New Year's Day,that is,the first day of the first lunar month. He said he would give the first 12 animals to come the title ¡°King of the Animal World¡± and let each hold the title for one year. The 12 winners happened to be those mentioned above.

Another theory holds that the animals originated from the 28 constellations, or the Lunar Mansions, which are named after animals. Every two or three constella-tions stand for a year,and the most commonly known animal in each group was chosen for that year. Thus we have the 12 animals.

A more convincing theory maintains that using animals to symbolize years began from totems of minority peoples in ancient times. Different tribes had different animals as their totems gradually, these animals were used as a means to remember the years.

Alongside the increasing exchanges between the hinterland and the border regions, the custom of using animals to designate years made its way to the hinterland and was adopted by the Han people, the largest national group in China.

At that time, the Hans were using the 10 Heavenly Stems and the 12 Earthly Branches to designate years. They took one from each series to make a pair for one year and developed a system based on a 60-year cycle Every 60 years it is back to square one and the cycle begins again.

When the method of using animals to represent years was introduced into the hinterland, the ancient Chinese married them to the 12 Earthly Branches, one to each. So 12 animals were used.And animals officially began to be used to designate years during the Later Han of the Five Dynasties Period a little more than 1,000 years ago.

The New Year visit-to-the-god story explains how the unpleasant Mouse managed to become the first of the 12. As the story goes, when the Ox heard of the God's decree, he said to himself:¡°It's a long journey to visit that God.I ain't a fast traveler and I'd better start early.¡± So he set out on the eve of the Lunar New year. The Mouse heard the Ox and jumped onto his back, without being noticed. The Ox, sweating all over,was so glad to be he first to arrive at the God's place. But just as he was about to be the first to arrive at the God's place. But just as he was about to express his New Year greetings to the God, the Mouse jumped down over the Ox's head and became the first to kowtow to the God. So he was appointed the first King of the Animals and consequently,the first of the 12 animals to designate years.

A more authentic explanation says, the Earthly Branches are divided into twocategories: Yin and Yang. Each of them is paired with an animal of the same "gender".The gender of the animal is determined by the number of a specific part of its body. Odd numbers are Yang and even numbers are Yin. The tiger, the dragon, the monkey and the dog, all have five toes on each foot or paw, and the horse has one hoof. So we know they are Yang animals. The cloven-hoofed species such as the ox,the goat and the pig fall into the Yin category because their hoofs are divided into two parts. The rooster is also Yin since it has four toes on each foot. The rabbit has two upper lips and the snake has a two-point forked tongue. So they are Yin, too. The mouse had been a problem. It has four toes on each fore leg and five on each hind leg. It has both Yin and Yang qualities and there seemed to be no pace to put it.

Fortunately, the first of the Earthly Branches,Zican be considered both Yin and Yang.The branches were also used to designate days and hours,and when symbolizing the hours, this branch covers a period from eleven in the evening to one o'clock in the morning. PM is Yin and Am is Yang. So the mouse goes together with this first branch. It is this double-gender feature, a kind of split personality, you might say, that makes the little mouse the leader among his colleagues.

Now you may be wondering why there is no Year of the Cat, especially since cats have been popular as pets for thousands of years in China as well as in many other countries.

Well, in the legend, the Cat failed to be chosen because he was a day late getting to the God's place.The Mouse had played a trick on him. He lied to the Cat, telling him the wrong date for the competition. The cat was not pleased and has hated the Mouse ever since.

The Dragon Boat Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.It is generally believed that the festival originated to celebrate the memory of the ancient patriotic poet Qu Yuan.

Qu Yuan,a native of the State of Chu during the Warring States Period (476 BC-221 BC), repeatedly offered his king proposals aimed at forestalling political corruption. Subsequently, slandered by treacherous court officials, he was sent into exile by the same king he had tried to help.

In 278 BC, the capital of the State of Chu was lost to his enemy the State of Qin and Qu Yuan drowned himself in despair on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Aware of the tragedy, the local people living beside the river went out in the boats to try to find his corpse.

Every year thereafter on this day people continued to row dragon boats on their local rivers in memory of Qu Yuan' life and death, throwing sections of bamboo filled with rice into the river as an offering.

Legend has it that someone once met Qu Yuan's spirit on the bank of the river and was told:"The food you have given me has all been taken away by the dragon. Hereafter,you should wrap the rice in bamboo leaves tied with five-colored thread. These are the two things that the dragon is most afraid of."

Thus people began to make zongzi(glutinous rice wrapped in a pyramid shape using bamboo or reed leaves) in a memory of Qu Yuan. Naturally, zongzi is the traditional food for the Dragon Boat Festival. 

Almost every country uses certain animals to symbolize one thing or another. Americans, for instance, use the eagle to symbolize freedom and strength.In China,several animals have been given symbolic meaning. The mythical dragon was used by emperors to represent  their supreme authouity, the crane  stands for longevity,mandarin ducks for love and loyalty, and the crow for bad luck. What does the lionstand for, though?

In China, the lion is regarded as the king of the forests and of the other animals. It has thus long been used as a symbol of power and grandeur. It is even believed to offer protection from evil spinits. That¡¯s why imposing statues of lions were placed at the gates of imperial palaces, official residences, temples and tombs. In  cense  burners and  imperial  seals were also  often decorated with carved lions.

Indeed,like images of the dragon,carved lions can be seen almost everywhere in China. The most famous carved lions are the pair that guard Tian'anmen, the main entrance of the Forbidden City. Several meters tall, these marble lions have been poised imposingly on the stone plinths for more than 500 years. Visitors to Beijing often like to have their pictures taken with these famous landmarks.

Lions can also been found in Tibet¡¯s Potala Palace,though the Tibetan lions differ somewhat from those in other parts of China.

The biggest lion,however,is an iron one at Cangzhou in Hebei Province. Cast in the 10th century, it stands more than five meters high and weighs 49 tons.

Chinese lions do not just guard gates.Bridges often feature lion sculptures,by the way.The balustrades of the 17-arch bridge at the Summer Palace in Beijing,for instance, are topped with 120 marble lions, no two of them exactly alike.Some are menacing, others seem  to be peering into the lake. Females  have frisky cubs lying  on their backs or peeking out from their embrace.

The bridge most famous for its lions, however,is the Lugou Bridge,southwest of Beijing. Built in the 12th century , this imposing bridge is 266.5 meters long and 7.5 meters wide and stands on 11 arches.  Westerners  call it the Marco Polo Bridge, because the 13th century Italian traveler,Marco Polo,crossed it and wrode a vivid description of it in his Travels. On the top of each balustrade post is atleast one stone lion. Many of the bigger ones have small ones on their backs or under their bellies. The mallest is no bigger than a mouse.They vary in posture: some are squatting, others standing; some lie face downwards, others face up;some glare with round eyes and stick out their tongues,while others weem to laugh with narrow eyes as they gaily romp after each other. How many lions are there altogether? In the past ,the lions were said  to be uncountable, because so many small ones are hidden  beneath the bellies and paws of the  bigger ones and it ones are hidden  beneath the bellies  and paws of the  bigger ones  and it was very easy to overlook a few. But today we know that there are 485 in all.

The styles of the lions changed over time. The  1,400-year-old tombs of the Liang Dynasty outside  Nanjing  are famous for their winged lions. Two lions three meters high strut proudly forward, head high and chest out.

In the Tang Dynasty, which ruled between 618 and 907, seated lions were frequently used They rest  on heavy legs so  solid that they seem rooted to the earth Their style mirrors the strength of the Tang Dynasty itself and they are considered  sculptural masterpieces.

Lions of the Song Dynasty,from the 10th to 13th centuries, had curling manes, More true to life than their predecessors, their features were copied by the stone masons of the Ming Dynasty which followed.

In the Qing Dynasty, stone lions were placed in temples and gardens In this period  Chinese sculpture  was far more lively. Some lions  hold a ball in their forepaws,others roar.Are you frightened?Well,in folk dances,this cruel and powerful beast has been tamed into a playful, even mischievous character. Wearing bells, he runs after a colorful ball, which bounces to the rhythm of the drums. He cavorts about, chases a ball up and down a swaying seesaw, scratches himself, lies down and pants or even drops off for 40 winks of sleep.

The fact so many of Beijing's natural tourist destinations are located in its suburbs has given birth to a new kind of tourist phenomenon folk custom tourist villages. These villages started off providing food and lodging for tourists visiting nearby scenic spots. But visitors soon realized that the experience of staying in these villages was an experience in itself.

Now, visitors get not only the chance to live with local people, but also to taste locally produced food, pick fruit from their orchards, and enjoy traditional dance and singing performances.

If you want the chance to get to know local people, this is it. Below, we list 10 of the most scenic villages in Beijing.

Gaobeidian Village

This village in Chaoyang District is 8 kilometers from the city center, on the eastern extension of Chang'an Avenue. The village provides a destination for tours, sightseeing, food, lodging, shopping, as well as performance and entertainment.

At 2.7 square kilometers from the city center, this village is one of the easiest to get to, and it has a history of more than 1,000 years. Five of the village's highlights are the Beijing-Tianjin ancient dock, traditional Chinese furniture street, Chinese folk cultural garden, international folk custom reception area, and an opera theater.

The dock was built in 1291, a place where officials and cargo would dock after arriving from South China via the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. The furniture street is 1,500 meters long, with 300 shops selling Ming and Qing dynasty-style furniture, as well as genuine antiques, jade, and carvings. The cultural garden has a display of the works of national-level handicraft masters, as well as nearly 100 shops selling ancient style furniture, antiques, calligraphy, paintings and jade.

The international folk custom reception area is open to tourists who want to live at villagers' homes and experience the life of ordinary Chinese villagers. The Yunhecun opera theater can accommodate 300 people and stages regular shows including classic dance, operas, kungfu and acrobat performances.

How to get there: Take Bus 928, 742, 728, 363, 725, 312 to Gaobeidian station, or city metro Batong line to Gaobeidian station.

Tel: 010-8575-5556

Chuandixia Village

This village in Mentougou Village is known for its well preserved 689 Ming and Qing dynasty-style houses owned by 76 families. These houses are built on the side of a hill, surrounded by mountains and forests. Steep stairs and lanes paved with rocks are simple and unadorned. The village was rated as a village of great tourist value and has been placed under national level cultural relics protection. It is a great place to take photos. Almost every family at the village now receives tourists.

The village is also near spots like Shuanglong Gorge, with its rivers and falls, the Pearl Lake and the Longmenjian grand canyon.

How to get there: Take Bus 929 from Pingguoyuan subway station to Chuandixia village. Or drive down Fushilu Road until Mentougou Shuangyu Traffic Isle, then take 109 National Road to Cuandixia.

Tel: 010-6981-9333

Jiangjunguan Village

Located just to the north of the beautiful Jinhaihu Lake, this village in Pinggu District is named after the "general's barrier", the only part of the Great Wall built with rocks in Beijing. It is the eastern furthest part of the Great Wall in Beijing, built 600 years ago during the Ming Dynasty. As well as the part of the Great Wall, there is a former ancient village, a gold mine, mountains, gorges, a river and a lake. Cherry picking is available from May to July.

How to get there: Take Bus 918 at the Dongzhimen bus stop to arrive at the terminal in Pinggu, then change to bus No 9.

Chadao Village

This village at Badaling Township, Yanqing County, 1.5 kilometers from Badaling Great Wall, is the former site of a Ming Dynasty military camp 450 years ago. The ancient city has a great number of Ming and Qing dynasty cultural relics, and is under Beijing city-level cultural protection. The central street is built from granite slate, and the town's god temple, Temple of Guan Yu, ancient post house and courtyard houses are currently being renovated. The village turns a beautiful shade of red in the autumn when the leaves change.

How to get there: Take Bus 919 at Deshengmen to arrive at Badaling.

Tel: 010-6912-1460


Che'erying Village

This village in Haidian District is at the southern part of Fenghuangling (Phoenix Mountain Range), within the western hills of Beijing. As well as the mountains, there is a stone Buddha which dates back to the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Cave of Lu Zu, Temple of Guan Yu and a diamond stone pagoda. There are plenty of local foods to try, including red trout, corn cake with vegetable stuffing, and free range duck and chicken. The local fruit orchard produces peaches, cherries, apricots, grapes, apples, Chinese dates and chestnuts. Apricot flowers are about to bloom, and the area is home to hundreds of thousands of apricot trees.

How to get there: Take Bus 346 from the Summer Palace and get off at the west of Niegezhuang, Fenghuangling. Or take the train from Xizhimen or Beijing Railway Station and get off at Fenghuangling. Or drive on Badaling Expressway and off at Bei'anhe exit, turn left at Xinzhuangqiao, head west on Beiqing Lu, pass Niegezhuang Village and go north.

Tel: 010-6240-5084

Mayufang Village

This village at Changling Township, Changping District, is located 4 kilometers northwest of the Ming Tombs, and close to the Duijiuyu natural beauty spot to the west. It is encircled by mountains and the air is fresh. There will be plenty of wild flowers in the spring as well as some fantastic mountain views. There are fishing ponds, bonfire parties, fruit picking, and village foods.

How to get there: Take Bus 345 at Deshengmen, get off at Changping Nandajie, change to bus No 5 to get to Mayufang Village. Or drive on Jingchang Expressway to get out at exit 13C (13C), and go further north for another 30 minutes.

Tel: 010-8972-1728

Shifosi Village

This village in Yanqing County is located at the southeast corner of Badaling Township, close to Badaling Expressway's exit to the water pass of Badaling Great Wall. There is an architect's corridor, Chinese railway technician Zhan Tianyou's tomb, and more than 10 famous scenic spots.

How to get there: Take Bus 919 at Deshengmen to reach the Yingchengzi exit of the Badaling Expressway, turn right and go for 500 meters.

Tel: 010-8118-1475

Xishuiyu Village

Located at the northwest of Jiuduhe Township of Huairou District, this village is close to Huanghuacheng Great Wall. There is Haominghu Lake, mountains, and a part of the Great Wall that is underwater, as well as a big orchard of ancient chestnut trees planted during the Ming Dynasty.

How to get there: Take Bus 916 at Dongzhimen, get off at Huairou International Convention Center, change to minibus to get to Xishuiyu.

Tel: 010-6165-1277

Hexi Village

This village is located at Gubeikou Township, Miyun County. The Panlongshan part of the Great Wall is known to be well preserved. Another part of Great Wall inside the village is the oldest part of the Wall from the Northern Qi Dynasty.

How to get there: Take Jingcheng Expressway 101 national road (101) untill Gubeikou Township Feishui exit, head west, reach the crossroads, then turn south.

Tel: 010-8105-1291

Qingshiling Village

The village at Liulimiao Township, Huairou District is located at the foot of Yunmeng Mountain of the Yanshan Mountain Range.

With a river passing it and mountains encircling it, the village has large patches of crops and river banks of sand. Wild flowers bloom. The closest natural scenery is the Longtanjian natural scenic area. Here, visitors can fish, ride horses, drift on the river and pick fruit.

How to get there: Take Bus 916 at Dongzhimen to get to Huairou bus station, change to minibus to get to Liulimiao Township, change bus to arrive at the village. Or drive from Dongzhimen via Jingshun Lu and go on to 111 national road (111).

Tel: 010-6161-8483

Everyone loves novelty, and Beijing has plenty of hidden leisure spots offering interesting new day trips in the city surrounds. Here are three of the best.

*Village View Resort, Huairou: European villas for Chinese, Chinese courtyards for foreigners.

Situated beside a lake with a football pitch sized lawn, Village View Resort combines Chinese farmhouse dishes with authentic German cuisine and Chinese courtyards with European villas. It attracts metropolitan Chinese fond of European style and foreigners fascinated by Chinese courtyards.

Standard rooms are RMB 650 per night, European villas with five rooms and two living areas (lake view included) are RMB 8,800 and Chinese courtyards are RMB 4,000 to RMB 6,000.

Tips:
1. Breakfast seedcakes are delicious and so popular you may find yourself elbowing others aside to get the last one.
2. The hotel bathrooms are rather small and not well equipped.
3. Footballs are available for rent.
4. Bank cards are accepted.

How to get there:

Take Jingshunlu and head north. Continue past Kuliushu roundabout. Take a left turn when you reach Kaifang roundabout. Continue and take a right turn at the T-intersection. Go straight at Fule roundabout, then turn left at Yanqi roundabout. Continue following the mountain path. Village View Resort is a five-minute drive away.

* Painters' Village, Erdaoguan, Huairou: a unique cozy house

Despite its name, Painters' Village has just one painter in residence and one house consisting of three tile rooms. But it's located at the entrance of the real village which is also called Painters' Village.

Hidden between mountains and rivers, Painters' Village is not well known, and has managed to preserve its original rustic flavor. Rooms are decorated like a countryside bar with unpainted tables and woodcarvings. Bricks, tiles, tree stumps, and wooden furniture are scattered around the courtyard where pets chase each other. The owner is an impressionist style painter and his pictures - mainly of the Great Wall, cover one side of the main room's walls.

Bathrooms have cartoons of Pan Jinlian (a famous historical Chinese coquette) and Xi Menqing (a famous historical Chinese playboy) on the doors instead of the usual signs for men and women.

Tips:
1. There are six guest rooms. The three large rooms are RMB 120 per night (some are big enough to sleep ten people). Small rooms are RMB 50 per night. Couples' rooms are also available at different prices.
2. If you want to eat sturgeon, walk along the river from the courtyard to Tianyuan Yugang.
3. Guests can also climb mountains nearby and the Great Wall.

How to get there:
Get onto Jingmilu Street at Sanyuanqiao. Head towards Huairou roundabout and go on to Miaozhen. Then, head towards Huanghuacheng to reach Huanghuacheng Reservoir. The Painter's Village is not far from there.

* Woniushan (Crouched Cow Mountain) Huailai County, Hebei Province

If you're tired of the concrete jungle, and need some fresh air, take a trip to Woniushan and learn to sail. June and July have the best wind conditions for beginners. Sailing isn't hard to learn and most people need only 10 minutes or half an hour to grasp the basics.

You can also watch films being shot at the nearby Bayi Film Studio, with replica sets of buildings from pre-1949 China.

Tips:
1. Sailboat lessons: RMB 100 per hour.
2. Don't miss the delicious farmhouse dishes especially river shrimp and fish, herbs, buckwheat and vintage Great Wall red wine.
3. Lodgings range from standard rooms to villas, priced between RMB 200 and RMB 800. They are reasonably well equipped with average cleanliness. In winter, the rooms may be a little cold at night.
4. Activities: yacht racing competition; free fishing if you have your own gear; barbequing, camping, bonfire parties and horse riding.
5. Specialties: fruit vinegar, red wine and buckwheat noodles.

How to get there:
Take Badaling Highway and change to 110 National Highway at Yanqing Exit. Here you have two options:
Option 1: The shortest route. Go straight along 110 National Way for 35km, until you arrive at Woniushan. But 110 National Highway is often jammed with large coal trucks in the morning.
Option 2: Roundabout. At Yanqing Exit off the Badaling Highway, head towards Zhangjiakou and get on the Jingzhang Highway. Exit at Shacheng Exit. Then go through Huailai County and turn east to get on 110 National Highway. Head towards Beijing. Follow the road signs to reach Woniushan. This route takes around 2 hours.

Warning for drivers: Take sufficient water and food for the trip and avoid taking the winding mountain path at night.

Prior to my departure earlier this year for what was supposed to be a mere four months in China, my friends questioned whether I'd be homesick, whether I'd have culture shock, and whether I'd be kissing the ground when I returned home in May.

Thing is, I never went home in May. After a month studying Chinese at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) in Haidian District, I decided four months just wasn't enough, and re-applied for the fall semester. In between, I'm working full-time for Chinadaily.com.cn and living in an apartment that my boss helped me find, in the northern reaches of Chaoyang District.

And, five months into my China experience, I'm happy to report that there's nowhere else I'd rather be.

That's because the last few months have been some of the best I've ever had - I've had a stronger dose of independence and adventure since I got here than I'd experienced yet in the States, and I love it.

When you move to a place without speaking a single word of the language, every day and every little routine aspect of your life becomes an adventure, as you try to grope your way blindly through the various situations that would be rote in the States.

Riding the bus somewhere? All well and good, provided I can figure out which bus I need to be on. Recently, a co-worker's husband kindly pointed out the bus I needed to get over to BFSU from my apartment. He got the bus number right, but unfortunately guided me in the wrong direction. I ended up somewhere past the Fifth Ring Road, on a dirt road in the middle of an orchard, near the bus depot when we reached the end of the line. I probably should have realized earlier that I needed to get off and go the opposite direction, but it was an adventure, and I saw a new part of the city that otherwise I'd have missed. Then there's the constant adventure of trying to feed myself. Back near BFSU, there's a cornucopia of small, cheap restaurants and street food vendors catering to hungry and hard up for cash students. In my new neighborhood, no such luck. My room-mate and I spent two solid days unsuccessfully combing the neighborhood for a new eatery to call "The Food Spot."

"The Food Spot" is basically a restaurant that college-age guys go to pretty much everyday for a quick, cheap and filling meal. It's usually a mom-and-pop operation, the wait staff know what you're going to order every time, and you get to fill your stomach without emptying your wallet.

I lost 10 pounds before my room-mate finally found "The Spot" last week, at an outdoor food court in front of a supermarket just a minute's walk from our apartment. For just a few kuai, we can get all of our favorites: fried noodles, fried rice, and jiaozi (dumplings).

A lot of Westerners get their rear-ends kicked by China; they can't handle the linguistic and cultural barriers, the pollution, the spitting, the apparent inability of Chinese people to ever line up for anything, and the sometimes less-than-efficient manner in which tasks are handled. I figure if I wanted to avoid those sorts of hassles, then I could have stayed in America, and what fun would that have been?

If we're in an asylum, and many of my fellow ex-pats think we are, then I've taken a "can't beat'em, might as well join 'em," approach, and joined the inmates, turning weaknesses into strengths.

The language barrier? It actually provides a nice layer of insulation from the swarming crowds of the city; being the dumb foreigner actually helps get a lot of things done with minimum hassle.

The spitting thing? Hey, if the Chinese think Americans don't know how to hock a loogie, they'll think again when I let one fly on the sidewalk. If they can do it, I can do it.

Lining up, or rather not lining up, is my favorite part. Why? Because I'm bigger than 99 percent of the Chinese people I've ever seen! Who's going to get in my way if I want to be the first onto the bus? Me or The guy who's 5 feet tall and weighs 100 pounds? For the first week or so, I was always getting shoved aside by tiny old ladies, but I finally learned that you have to be aggressive, and now I will not hesitate to drop the hammer if someone cuts in front of me.

And that's the key to a great China experience: don't fight the insanity, but rather, revel in it. What a great country.

Matt Doran is a polisher for Chinadaily.com.cn.

Driving through the redeveloped Qianmen area, it's easy to be overwhelmed by the wide sweeping roads, perfectly smooth and lined by shiny, boxy buildings. These brand new structures have yet to find occupants, and their emptiness looms over the remaining clumps of decrepit hutongs.

Jin Yang Restaurant seems out of place against this backdrop of Simcity China. Visitors are first greeted by the elegant wisteria outside a surprisingly well- kept Qing dynasty courtyard. These are the famous vines that literary giant Lao She waxed poetic about in his composition on the myriad offerings at this restaurant - he liked the vines, the noodles, and the excellent bears'paws. The first Shanxi restaurant to open up in Beijing after the revolution, Jin Yang established itself in 1959 in the former residence of Ji Xiaolan, a notable scholar of the Qing dynasty. Today, the bears' paws are no longer offered, but the noodles are still very impressive.

Before it became fashionable to eat noodles in lofts, many people came here to find out what all the fuss over Shanxi noodles was about. Jin Yang does a mean flickering fish noodle and cat's ears noodle. Despite their cute names, some serious labor goes into making these artful dishes. The dough for the cat's ears noodles is first cut into pea-sized bits, then some nimble-fingered noodle master pinches them into shape with his chopsticks, one-by-one.

You can also try guoyourou, tender morsels of pork stir-fried in plenty of oil and flavored with the famous Shanxi vinegar that has a history of 3,000 years. You'll need to shake off your anxieties about oily foods and just dig in. Each piece of meat is coated in oil and black vinegar, the tartness of which refreshes your tastebuds and keeps your appetite going.

However, the real find here is the restaurant's signature duck dish. They used to serve a Shanxi-style baked duck, but this was not very popular. The restaurant needed to figure out how to make their duck stand out from the popular Beijing-style roast duck. Eventually they came up with a deep-fried duck, which became an instant hit. It seems the capital's appetite for fowl is infinitely expandable.

Clearly this is the dish everyone comes for, as not one table has failed to order it. The waiter came round with our non-descript, evenly browned duck, and proceeded to cut it up. As soon as his knife broke open the brittle skin, white curls of steam escaped and the rich fragrance of duck meat leaped out at us.

Eaten just like its Beijing-style cousin - accompanied by spring onions, sweet bean sauce, and rolled in a flour wrap - this is clearly the leaner and meaner relation. First steamed under high pressure, much of the duck's fat actually melts away, such that, even after deep-frying, the resulting meat is tender and fatless, encased in potato-chip-crisp skin.

The clean, comfortable restaurant is packed with old-timers and their families. Several generations sit at a table together, busily rolling their fried duck in flour wraps and slurping up the knife-cut noodles. The cityscape may be changing, but the capital's people and their passion for good eating fortunately endures. Zoe Li

Jin Yang Restaurant
Address:241 Zhushikou Xidajie, Xuanwu District
Tel: 010-6303 1669

Recommended dishes:
Jinpai xiangsuya gold-medal duck (RMB 90 per duck)
Jinyang guoyourou vinegar stir-fried pork (RMB 22)
Qiaomian maoerduo cat's ear noodles (RMB 18)
Rousi boyu flickering fish noodles (RMB 14)
Daoxiaomian knife-shaved noodles (RMB 1)
Xiaodunrou cubed fatty pork (RMB 13)

Walking into Beijing's famous discount shopping bazaar, Silk Street, the eye is immediately overwhelmed with possibilities.

Designer names and colorful fabrics catch your eye as tourists and Beijing residents alike weave in and out among the maze of aisles and pass chatty shopkeepers in search of one thing: the best bargain.

Silk Street, which is located in the city's Chaoyang District averages crowds of 20,000 patrons on weekdays and up to 50,000 on the weekend. It can be an intimidating environment for those new to bargaining.

But tucked among the center's more than 1,700 vendors and seven floors of goods, savvy shoppers can find the best deals if they're willing to be patient, persistent and, most importantly, be a hard bargainer.

One woman called Sheila is a native of Calgary, Canada. She visits Silk Street several times a year. She said the most important thing to keep in mind while seeking a bargain is to have fun.

"I think everyone here has a good sense of humor," she said as her shopping partner joked with a shopkeeper about a jacket he had just bought.

Whether you're a veteran bargainer or just starting out, here are a few tips that can help you get the best deal.

Keep your eye on the prize. One of the first things that will surprise foreign shoppers is the persistence of Chinese shopkeepers. While milling about you'll be peppered with comments such as, "I give you a good price" and "Come and take a look." Some shopkeepers will even grab your arm and try to stop you. But don't waste your time. There's too much to see and do, so keep plowing through the aisles until you come across something you really want.

Take your time. Once you've found an item you like, don't look too eager. Examine the product for any possible scratches or any problems with the stitching on the fabric. Don't just assume the quality is good. This also shows the shopkeeper that you won't be a pushover. Shop staff will start the negotiations with an exorbitant price. Then you can counter back with a figure that is lower than you think you can get, and try to stay as close to that price for as long as possible.

Speak Chinese. Most shopkeepers know some basic English, but it's always nice to bargain in their native tongue. No one expects you to become a native Chinese speaker out of the blue, but here are a few simple phrases that could make your life easier.
Tai gui le (Tai gway luh) - Too expensive.
Bu yao (boo yow) - Don't want.
Zui hou (zway ho) - Last. Use this to signal this is your final offer for the item.

Walk away. If you've reached an impasse during your bargaining and it doesn't look like either of you will budge, just walk away. Tell the shopkeeper sorry and then walk down the aisle. More often than not they will come after you or call you back to the stall with a cheaper price. Be reluctant about coming back, and make sure to negotiate for a price on your terms. If the shopkeeper is a little annoyed at you when you make your transaction, you've probably gotten a good deal.

Relax. This last piece of advice might seem self evident, but remember to have fun. Bargaining takes practice, so don't stress out if you don't get the price you want the first time around. The more you bargain, the better you'll get.