Posts Tagged ‘ming dynasty’
Ming Dynasty City Wall Relics Park
In 1419, during the early Ming Dynasty, Emperor Yongle ordered the construction of an inner city wall to protect the imperial city of Beijing, including the Forbidden City. Originally spanning 40 kilometers in length, much of the old city wall has been destroyed over the years to make room for subways, highways and new buildings. Fortunately, parts of the old city wall remain, and beginning on November 25, 2001, the Chinese government began removing all of the shanty houses and other residences and buildings that were built up using the city wall as part of their structures, which may have actually saved this long section of the wall by hiding it in a maze of hutongs (alleyways) for many years. In 2002, the Beijing Ming Dynasty City Wall Relics Park officially opened, displaying the remaining parts of the ancient city wall in a pleasant park that runs in a straight line along the approximately 1.5 kilometer section of the wall that still remains. A reliable Beijing tour company can take you there, with this park making a fascinating compare/contrast site when combined with a Great Wall tour of the ancient Ming Dynasty Wall near Beijing in the same day. It is also very easy to access the park via the Chongwen subway station on the 2nd (loop) line of the Beijing Subway system.
flowers and partial reconstruction add to the ambiance
Parts of the city wall in the park have been reconstructed from the original bricks of the wall that had been “borrowed” by some of the residence owners when they built their own houses along the wall. The grounds of the park have been beautifully landscaped with trees and flowers, making the park especially nice in the spring, summer and fall.
section of old railroad tracks uncovered