3．燦若星辰多古跡

3．燦若星辰多古跡

北京具有悠久的歷史文化，豐富的人文景觀，大量的歷史古跡，來到北京，就像來到了一個中國歷史文化的大博物館，需要你用足夠的時間去領(lǐng)略它的魅力。

故宮　故宮以前稱為紫禁城，是明清兩代皇宮，也是中國現(xiàn)存的最大最完整的古建筑群。太和殿、中和殿、保和殿是古代皇帝處理政事的場所，乾清宮、交泰殿、坤寧宮是皇帝的生活區(qū)。所有的宮殿建筑都是木制結(jié)構(gòu)、黃琉璃瓦頂、青白石底座，并飾以金碧輝煌的彩畫。此外，皇家祭祀用的壇廟也很有特色，如太廟、社稷壇等。1988年，這組輝煌的建筑已經(jīng)被聯(lián)合國教科文組織列為“世界文化遺產(chǎn)”名錄。

長城　長城是中華民族的象征，全長6000多千米，是世界上最偉大的建筑之一。八達(dá)嶺長城是明長城中保存最好的一段，海拔1000多米，地勢險峻，依山而建，是中國古代建筑工程的杰出代表。

頤和園　頤和園是中國現(xiàn)存規(guī)模最大、保存最完整的皇家園林，位于北京西北郊。占地面積達(dá)293公頃，主要由宮廷區(qū)、萬壽山和昆明湖三個景區(qū)組成。園中的建筑布局巧妙，從萬壽山的山頂向下，由佛香閣、德輝殿、排云殿、排云門、云輝玉宇坊，構(gòu)成了一條中軸線。山下是一條長700多米的長廊，長廊面對著碧波蕩漾的昆明湖。

頤和園中以仁壽殿為中心的行政區(qū)，是清朝慈禧太后和光緒皇帝坐朝聽政和會見外賓的地方。仁壽殿后樂壽堂、玉瀾堂和宜蕓館三座大型四合院分別為慈禧、光緒和后妃們居住的地方。

潭柘寺　潭柘寺位于北京市門頭溝區(qū)潭柘山，是北京現(xiàn)存最早的佛寺。潭柘寺始建于晉代。寺前的上下塔院里有金、元、明、清各代塔群數(shù)十座，是歷代有名的方丈及禪師的墓地，元世祖忽必烈的女兒妙嚴(yán)大師的墓塔也在這里。三圣殿東側(cè)有一株名叫帝王樹的銀杏樹，高30多米，樹干粗達(dá)六七米，相傳種植于遼代，已經(jīng)有近千年的歷史了。另外，殿西側(cè)還有一棵樹枝干叢生，傳說每出生一個帝王，這棵樹就增生出一株枝干，所以就叫作配王樹。寺內(nèi)現(xiàn)存建筑多為明、清時期所建。殿堂依山勢而建，形成階梯狀，層層升高，錯落有序。

在宗教建筑風(fēng)格各異的北京，除了建筑最早的潭柘寺，還有作為歷代北方佛教圣地的云山寺，遼代建筑的天寧寺，具有異域風(fēng)格的真覺寺等。

另外，清代的王府邸、明十三陵，以及為數(shù)眾多的名人故居都是重溫歷史的好地方。

胡同作為北京特有的古老城市小巷，最早形成于元朝，至今已有幾百年的歷史了。多達(dá)上千條的胡同分布在紫禁城的周圍，排列有序，秩序井然。當(dāng)時北京的普通老百姓就居住在這些縱橫交錯的胡同中，也形成了北京特有的市井文化。

北京人居住的四合院就分布在胡同中，四合院是一種由東西南北四座房屋，以四四方方對稱形式圍在一起的封閉式建筑。普通百姓的四合院建造比較簡單，以木制結(jié)構(gòu)為主，但布局卻十分嚴(yán)謹(jǐn)，四合院內(nèi)的房間都按照輩分進(jìn)行排列。

在北京傳統(tǒng)的名吃中，除北京烤鴨，還有眾多的特色食品，例如酸梅湯、炸醬面和柿子。酸梅湯最早是為皇帝制作的解暑的飲料，后來傳到民間，深受百姓的喜愛。炸醬面是用半肥瘦豬肉丁加蔥、姜、蒜等在油鍋炸炒，加黃稀醬制作而成，味道鮮美，油而不膩。每到10月就是柿子收獲的季節(jié)，北京的柿子味道香甜，口味純正，而且有多種吃法，可以曬制柿餅、熬粥等。

3. Historical Relics

Beijing, a land with time-honored history and culture, a land decorated by numerous man-made landscapes and historical relics, is a grand and glamorous museum of Chinese history and culture.

Imperial Palace

The Imperial Palace, also known as the Forbidden City was where the emperors of Ming and Qing dynasties worked and lived. It is the biggest and most complete one among all the ancient building complexes preserved until now in China. The Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony and the Hall of Preserving Harmony were where the emperor handled state affairs while The Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Hall of Union and the Palace of Earthly Tranquility were the residences of the emperor. Built with wood, rested on the white marble stone, roofed with golden glazed tiles and decorated with glittering paintings, all the palaces reveal stateliness of the emperor and the nobility of the royal family. Shrines such as Tai Miao (the Imperial Shrine of Family) and Sheji Tan (the Imperial Shrine of State) to the south of the Forbidden City are also of unique features. In 1988, the Imperial Palace was listed as "the World Cultural Heritage" by UNESCO.

Great Wall

Winding along more than six thousand kilometers, the Great Wall is a symbol of the Chinese nation and one of the man-made wonders in the world. Badaling Great Wall is the best preserved section of the Great Wall of the Ming dynasty. Built in conformity of the landform of the mountain which is more than 1,000 meters above the sea level, Badaling Great Wall is a proof to the architectural excellence of the ancient China.

Summer Palace

Situated northeast of Beijing, Summer Palace is the biggest and best preserved imperial garden. Covering an area of 293 hectares, the palace has three major scenic areas: the adminstrative area, the Longevity Hill and the Kunming Lake. The construction of the buildings were so designed that one may visit the Tower of the Buddhist Incense, the Hall of Moral Brilliance, the Hall of Dispelling Clouds, the Gate of Dispelling Clouds as well as the Archway of Bright Cloud and Jade House one by one downward the Longevity Hill until he reaches the 700-meter Long Corridor to have a perfect view of the rippling water of the Kunming Lake.

The administrative area with the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity at the centre is where Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu held court and received foreign guests. Lying behind the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity are three large siheyuans (Siheyuan is a traditional residential compound in north China with rooms on four sides of a courtyard.): Hall of Joyful Longevity, Hall of Jade Billow and Yinyun Hall. They were the residences for Empress Dowager Cixi, Emperor Guangxu and his concubines respectively.

Tanzhe Temple

Located on the Tanzhe Hill in the Mentougou district, Tanzhe Temple (also known as Pool and Oak Temple) is the most ancient Buddhist temple in Beijing. First built in the Jin dynasty (265-420), now the temple is home to dozens of towers built in Jin (1115-1234), Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties as well as the tombs of abbots and Buddhist monks of noble character and high prestige including Emperor Kublai Khan's daughter Master Miaoyan. On the east side of the Hall of the Three Saints there grows a maidenhair tree thirty meters high and six or seven meters wide at the diameter of its main trunk. The tree is named as Emperor Tree and is said to be planted in the Liao dynasty. On the west side of the hall, there grows another tree. Legend has it that every time an emperor was born a branch would grow. Thus, people named it Emperor-accompanying Tree. Most of the buildings in the temple were first built in the Ming dynasty or the Qing.

Tanzhe Temple, together with Yunshan Temple, Tian'ning Temple, the exotic Zhenjue Temple and many others makes Beijing a city of religious diversity, while princes' mansions, the Ming Tombs and numerous old residences of celebrities make the city a land of historical legends.

Hutongs, a unique vista in today's Beijing, first appeared in the Yuan dynasty. Back in those days, Beijing local residents lived among the hutongs orderly built around the Forbidden City, forming a unique civilian culture.

Along hutongs are lined with siheyuans. They are square residential compounds with houses built on four sides of a courtyard. The ordinary people's dwellings were mainly built with wood and in a simple yet strict layout. Which room a family member should live in was decided by his position on the family tree.

In addition to Beijing roast duck, sweet-sour plum juice, Beijing noodles served with sauce and persimmon are also among the delicious traditional local food. Sweet-sour plum juice was first made as a summer drink for the emperor and has become the ordinary people's favorite since it went out of the imperial city. Beijing noodles wouldn't be so appetizing without the delicious yet not greasy sauce which is made by frying the bean source in a mixture of fried diced pork meat, shallot, ginger, and garlic. Autumn is the harvest time for persimmon which tastes sweet and can be eaten in several different ways. For instance, persimmon could be dried or put into porridge.