Located on the northern end of the Second Ring Road, Deshengmen Watchtower still stands intact some 600 years since its last reconstruction. Today, this historical landmark serves as a popular tourist attraction and houses a coin exhibition within its walls.

While they were each constructed and finalized during the time of the Ming Dynasty, the nine gates of Beijing would live through many eras, and today some of them remain popular sites in China’s capital. All of the gates were constructed in a similar manner but they all served different purposes. Deshengmen was no exception, in that it was made up of a gatehouse, an archery tower, and a barbican, and was used mainly for the transportation of military equipment and personnel. Today only the barbican and archery tower survive, both of which have enjoyed enduring popularity thanks to their history and the ancient coin exhibition.

Desheng in Chinese is a term used to describe “victory over,” which fits in perfectly with the gate’s historical status. During both the Ming and Qing Dynasties, troops returning home from wars which they had won would enter inner Beijing through Deshengmen, symbolizing their triumph.

Today, Deshengmen serves as both an enthralling landmark due to its unique structure, and as an important symbol of Chinese history. Visiting it is a great way to experience a different kind of architecture and learn a little bit about this city’s rich history in the process.

Keep Reading: Visit These Nine Ancient Beijing Gates

Images: Uni You

When I think of the Summer Palace, I always picture palatial royal gardens, magnificent palaces, and watching the sunset at the Seventeen-Arch Bridge (十七孔桥 shí qī kǒng qiáo). But an online search taught me that the Summer Palace had suffered the same fate as Yuan Ming Yuan (圆明园 yuán míng yuán)- it has been burned down by the British and French armies, then by the eight-power Allied forces (八路军 bā lù jūn), and again by the Nationalists.

Origins and Fu Lu Shou

It had been built for Empress CiXi in her twilight years as an “old people’s house,” as she promised Emperor GuangXu he could be in charge of the government and that she would no longer interfere. Given this genesis, it’s not difficult to see that the symbolism of “Fu Lu Shou” (fortune, prosperity, and longevity) crops up everywhere in the design: The palace is full of pine trees, a symbol of authority and long life; there’s a big stone called 寿星石 shòu xīng shí because it has the vague shape of the god of longevity; behind the throne at the RenShou Palace (仁寿殿 rén shòu diàn) is a mirror-screen that’s full of the character 寿 shòu. And allegedly, an aerial view reveals that the Summer Palace looks like a giant longevity-peach (寿桃 shòu táo), another symbol of long-life.In ancient China, dragons represented males and patriarchy whereas phoenixes represented females and matriarchy. An interesting fact is that since Empress CiXi wanted to demonstrate her power and control, she deliberately switched the position of the dragon and phoenix statues at the palace so that the phoenix sits at the center and the dragon by its side.

Peking Opera

A US painter named Katherine Cole once came to the Summer Palace to paint a portrait of Empress CiXi, staying at the residence for a month which was an unprecedented honour. Cole wrote in her diary about how prosperous and luxurious it was that the rich were being carried in 轿子 jiào zi from one place to another within the Summer Palace. The Empress also invited her to watch Peking Opera at DeHe Garden. At that time, they already had the advanced technology to hoist actors up into the air to perform. And Empress CiXi’s passion for Peking Opera largely spurred its popularity across the country.

The Long Corridor

The Summer Palace is also famous for The Long Corridor, one of the longest in all the Chinese royal gardens. The corridor plays an important role in connecting the whole scenic area. The distance of each pavilion in the corridor is 300 steps, which is believed to be an ideal walking distance for people. I went to the Summer Palace on a Saturday afternoon and tried it myself, I used 203 steps. There are around 14,000 beautiful paintings at the sides of the corridor known as Su-style painting (苏式彩画 sū shì cǎi huà), which includes Chinese idioms, landscapes, and images from classical Chinese literature.

QingYanfang

What I find most attractive amongst all the unique architecture is a giant wooden boat called QingYanfang, built in 1755. Emperor Qianlong had it constructed because it reminded him of the famous Qing Dynasty quote, “水能载舟，亦能覆舟 (shuǐ néng zǎi zhōu ， yì néng fù zhōu) water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it.” This reminds descendants that the Qing Dynasty is as solid as a rock and can’t be overthrown. However, another interpretation I found is that Qianlong built this as a reminder to stay loyal to his people and not be corrupt since the citizens are the “water” that could determine his fate as ruler.

Suzhou Street

Suzhou street (苏州街 sū zhōu jiē) was built because Emperor Qianlong fancied the busy streets of Suzhou, thus they copied them into the Summer Palace. Whenever the emperor was there, his eunuchs and servants would pretend to be buyers and sellers as if Qianlong was at Suzhou. There are also other beautiful spots in the Summer Palace that have a rich history behind them.

Since it’s summertime, I strongly recommend you pay a visit to the Summer Palace!

KEEP READING: The Old Summer Palace Scavenger Hunt!

Images: Rachel Bu

As we prepare for leaving China next summer, my family and I have been trying to tick off the remaining sights that we want to see before we go. It was in that spirit that we headed off for a couple of days in Nanjing, and we were pleasantly surprised. The city which was China’s capital in the early years of the Ming Dynasty and under the Nationalist government before the Japanese invasion has much of its historic city wall still standing, and its tree-lined streets are lined with many attractive older buildings.

However despite its long history, Nanjing is perhaps most famous – or rather notorious – for a horrific period during the invasion, known as the Nanjing Massacre. I’ve written before about our decision not to take our children to the Killing Fields Museum when we visited Cambodia, but on this occasion we took the view that paying our respects at the Memorial Hall was essential.

The Hall stands just outside exit 2 of Yunjinlu station on line 2 of Nanjing’s metro system. Entrance is free, but you’ll need to go through a stringent security check. It’s a large, open area dotted with statues and memorials, with the main exhibition underground. As you head downwards you pass rows of books, like a library: these contain the names of all the known victims of the massacre.

Rows of books contain the names of victims of the Nanjing massacre

The Japanese army marched into Nanjing, then the capital of China, in December 1937. A planned retreat by the Nationalist army fell apart in the chaos, so most of the Chinese soldiers went into hiding in the city. The Japanese began searching house to house for them. They were not careful in distinguishing soldiers from civilians, and were not taking prisoners – anyone they suspected was simply marched to the river and shot, or beheaded. Over the next six weeks, the relentless bloodshed seems to have induced a sort of collective insanity in the Japanese occupiers. All military discipline, and any pretense at a rationale for their behavior, collapsed, and they embarked on a frenzy of murder, looting, arson, and abuse.

Exhibits recreate the bombed and burning city

It’s a distressing story, and my younger child had to go outside before we had finished looking around the hall. Parents should also be aware that the systematic sexual abuse of Chinese women and girls was one of the more horrifying aspects of an incident once known in the West as “the Rape of Nanking”, and the exhibition does not gloss over this. However it’s important that such atrocities are remembered. As with the Holocaust, the extent of the Massacre, and even whether it took place at all, has been questioned by Japanese nationalists, despite the plethora of detailed eyewitness accounts, not only from the victims, but from foreign Nanjing residents who reported on and tried to prevent the brutality at the time, and even from the Japanese soldiers themselves. The Memorial Hall not only commemorates the victims but also attests to what took place.

It’s done with dignity and restraint, avoiding flag-waving and demonization of the Japanese. Particularly moving is the room dedicated to pictures of the survivors. Those still alive when the Hall was opened were photographed for the occasion, with the lights behind their pictures being turned off when they pass away. Already half the photographs have gone dark. Those with more sensitive children will want to be aware that the Hall was built on the site of one of the larger mass graves, and many of the skeletons still lie where they were found.

The hall includes mass graves which have been excavated to reveal human remains

We left the exhibition quiet and thoughtful, and it’s certainly not for younger children. However it does older children no harm to understand the terrible things that human beings are capable of when they are persuaded to consider others less than human, and helps them to appreciate the time of peace and plenty in which (for the most part) we live. In my next post I’ll show the other side of Nanjing, with a visit to the tranquillity of Purple Mountain.

Photos: Kevin Dooley via Wikimedia Commons, Andrew Killeen, Ken Marshall via Wikimedia Commons

Since its discovery in 1974, the Terracotta Army has become almost as emblematic of China as the Great Wall, or the Forbidden City. But it’s a long way to Xi’an, and the excavation (though stunning) is crowded and difficult to reach. So a chance to see treasures from the tomb in air-conditioned comfort here in Beijing is not to be missed.

A kneeling terracotta archer is one of the stars of the exhibition

Everlasting Like the Heavens is an exhibition at Tsinghua University Art Museum which brings to the capital extraordinary finds from Shaanxi Province. Under different names, Xi’an was capital of the Qin, Sui, and Tang dynasties, so the region is rich in cultural heritage. The famous clay army was buried with the first Emperor to unite China, Qinshihuang. As well as one of the Terracotta Warriors, a kneeling archer, the exhibtion features bronze dragons, paintings of horses, and beautiful pottery figures of the plump women beloved of the Tang era.

Tang dynasty pottery figures

In fact, the Warrior is not the greatest treasure on display. The “He Zun” is a bronze vessel dating to the Western Zhou dynasty. making it around three thousand years old. As well as its artistic merit, the characters carved on it include 中國 (Zhōngguó, “Middle Kingdom”), making it the oldest artifact inscribed with the modern name for China. It was dug up by a farming family in 1963, who used it for food storage, and later sold it to a waste center for RMB 30. Fortunately, one of the workers at the center recognized the vessel’s value, and contacted the local museum. It is now on a list of 64 items of such historical and cultural importance that they are never permitted to leave Chinese soil.

The He Zun bronze features the oldest inscription using the term “Zhongguo”, Middle Kingdom

The exhibition runs until December 17, and should not be missed by anybody interested in Chinese culture.

Everlasting Like the Heavens, till Dec 17

All ages. RMB 60, age 3-6 RMB 30, under 3 years old free. 9am-5pm, no entry after 4.30pm. Tsinghua University Art Museum, NO. 1, Tsinghua University Campus, Haidian District. (6278 1012) www.artmuseum.tsinghua.edu.cn. 海淀区清华园1号清华大学校内邮.

Photos: www.chinadaily.com.cn, www.artmuseum.tsinghua.edu.cn, 幽灵巴尼 via Wikimedia Commons

The rivalry between Beijing and Shanghai runs pretty deep; it’s like Tom and Jerry, Ali vs. Frazier, Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh. Beijing is the political and cultural capital of China, while Shanghai leads on finance and fashion. Beijing has smog, Shanghai is smug. And so on.

There’s no doubt which side we here at beijingkids fall on – the clue is in the name. However to live in China and not experience one of its great cities would be taking civic loyalty a step too far. So Andrew Killeen and his family set off for the town once known as “Little Suzhou,” to see what it has to offer.

Our previous visits to the Shanghai Science Museum and History Museum had delivered mixed results. However China’s second city still had an ace up its sleeve. Its Propaganda Museum was one of the most fascinating exhibitions I’ve seen, not just in China but anywhere in the world.

The Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Center, to give it its proper name, is a private collection hidden away in the basement of a residential compound, and is not easy to find. If you’re traveling by subway, the nearest station is Changshulu. Take exit 8 and head north, but don’t go all the way to Huashanlu, which will take you round a lengthy detour; instead turn left down Changlelu, and the entrance to the compound will be straight ahead of you at the junction with Huashanlu (look for the number 868 on the gate).

Once you’ve tracked it down though, a unique collection awaits you. Under Deng Xiaoping’s reforms the propaganda posters of the past were banned and mostly destroyed, so surviving examples are rare. However they take you on a unique journey through the 20^th century history of China. Beginning with anti-Japanese posters from the war, you pass by the Korean war, the Great Leap Forward, the Vietnam war, the US civil rights movement, the Cultural Revolution (with its “big character” posters”), and the post-Mao struggle for supremacy.

As with many Chinese museums, there’s a charming haphazardness about the exhibits. As well as the propaganda art, there’s memorabilia, and a selection of “Shanghai Ladies”, pretty, chocolate-boxy posters used in advertising. Most are quite demure, but one or two were clearly pushing the limits of what the censor would allow. There are also some startling examples of Modernist paintings, which show that the energy and creativity of the art scene in China in the 30s were as strong as anywhere in Europe or the US. Many of the artists involved went on to work on propaganda posters.

Not all the posters are as well presented as one might hope, being displayed behind dirty sheets of plastic. And one can only hope that this irreplaceable collection is protected by adequate fire safety provisions.

As a family-friendly attraction, it’s perhaps best suited to older children: my history-mad 11 year old was engrossed, but my 8 year old sat on a bench impatiently waiting for us to finish. He had to wait well over an hour, as the exhibition is deceptively large. I would advise too bringing some money for the gift shop. I’m not generally a purchaser of souvenirs, but you’re likely to want to buy some of the reproductions or even original posters on sale. Whatever you do though, if you visit Shanghai, you should not miss this unique exploration of China’s art and history.

Photos: Andrew Killeen

As the national holiday draws to a close, many parents will hope that their kids emerge having learned something about the event that it commemorates – the birth of modern China. But why shouldn’t an interest in history carry through to the other 51 weeks of the year?

Kids love stories and the tales found in the past can be as, if not more, engaging than those found on the fiction shelves. Here is my list of some of the best history books for children, some of which fascinated me so much as a child that I ended up taking a degree in the subject a decade after reading them.

Horrible Histories
Terry Deary’s Horrible Histories series has captured children’s imaginations for over 20 years with its combination of illustrations, fun facts and jokes covering some of the past’s most gruesome periods. His tongue-in-cheek approach will entertain and teach in equal measure, covering over 100 subjects from the Rotten Romans to the Vile Victorians. The genre-defining books have spawned a number of spin-offs, most notably the animated and live-action television series.

Suitable for ages 6+

Chinese Cinderella: The Secret Story of an Unwanted Daughter
If National Day sparked your child’s interest in modern Chinese history then Adeline Yen Mah’s story of growing up here in the 1940s may be a good next step. Struggling with the the indifference of her father and stepmother, she describes her struggle to find a place amongst her siblings. This account, along with the fictional sequel Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society, provide insights into life during this period, as well as looking the pressures of growing up in a wealthy Chinese family.

Suitable for ages 10+

A Little History of the World
It is no mean feat to chart the exhaustive history of human development, from cavemen to the twentieth century, in a way that is accessible to children. But that is exactly what German art historian Ernst Gombrich manages in A Little History of the World, a book often enjoyed as much by parents as their kids. At over 300 pages, the book provides rich rewards to the patient reader.

Suitable for ages 10+

Tony Robinson’s Weird World of Wonders
Tony Robinson may be better known as the dim-witted manservant, Baldrick, in the British comedy Blackadder, but he has since forged a successful career as a writer and pop-historian. His well-received Weird World of Wonders series continues in a similar vein as Horrible Histories, with the stories of the Ancient Greeks, Egyptian and others told through cartoons, quizzes and genuinely entertaining historical narratives. Well-written and informative.

Suitable for ages 7+

The Diary of a Young Girl
Known to many as The Diary of Anne Frank, there is perhaps no child’s account of history more powerful than that of the young Jewish girl in hiding from Nazi persecutors. Written in the form of a series of letters to imaginary friends, Anne uses her diary to reflect on her feelings of loneliness, the development of the Second World War and her tumultuous relationships with the adults in the hidden annex where she remains for over two years. Both a coming-of-age tale and a harrowing personal account of the twentieth century’s defining conflict.

Suitable for ages 11+. Versions with sexual content removed are also available.

All of these titles are available to buy at Taobao.

Images courtesy of Scholastic, Delacorte Press, Yale University Press, Pan Macmillan, Penguin and Wikimedia Commons