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The story of Beijing dates back long before the
recorded history. The fragments of the bones of
"Peking Man", dated to a period about
300,000 - 500,000 years ago, were discovered in a
village to the southwest of the present-day city.
In the same area, the fossils of the "Upper
Cave Man"dating back 18,000 years were also
found. In the last 1,000 years, it has been
China's political and cultural center. Beijing was
established as the secondary capital of the Liao
Kingdom (916-1125) in 938. In the Jin Kingdom
(1115-1234) in 1151, Beijing began to serve as the
central capital.
After the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) was founded,
Beijing was made by Kublai Khan in 1263 the winter
capital and a grand metropolitan city which became
the center of international cultural exchanges in
the Orient. The foundation of the layout of
present Beijing was laid in 1404, when the Ming
Dynasty (1368-1644) decided to move the capital
from Nanjing to Beijing and started a large-scale
construction. Many of the ancient palace
buildings, temple structures and gardens that are
still visible today can be traced back to this
period or later.
Weak Ming rulers and corrupt bureaucrats
finally doomed the Ming Dynasty. The last Ming
emperor hanged himself behind the Imperial Palace
and the Qing succeeded the Ming and ruled China in
Beijing from 1644 to 1910.
Following the 1911 revolution that overthrew
the Qing Dynasty, Beijing became the arena of
important political events, such as the May Fourth
Movement. On October 1, 1949, Beijing became the
capital of the New China. Today's Beijing is
mingled with tradition and modernity. While
seeking for industrialization, the Government is
also carrying out a conservation program to
protect the traditional houses in the downtown
area to partly maintain Beijing's original
outlook.
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