After spending two weeks unpacking and sorting the apartment we decided to take a break and get to know our new neighbourhood, Dongcheng, Beijing (Map).
Dongcheng 东城区, literally translates to East City (Dong = East and Cheng = City) and is the district located just East of the Old City, the geographical centre of Beijing.
Dongcheng, Beijing
This area is considered the cultural, political and commercial centre of Beijing. We live two blocks from The Great Hall of the People (essentially China's parliament house), Tian'anmen (The Gate of Heavenly Peace), the Forbidden City and the National Museum of China.
For obvious reasons the district of Dongcheng, Beijing is heavily guarded with army and police on every corner. To enter the Tian'anmen area everyone has to present ID (either Chinese National ID or Passport for overseas visitors) and pass through a metal detector and bag check.
Rather than go into The Forbidden City (it's best to set aside a few hours to tour inside The Forbidden City) we decided to walk along the moat surrounding The Forbidden City. Following the moat meant we were just outside the walls of the old city and we marveled at how high the walls are.
It was still really cold when we set out from home so we wore our big jackets. Once the sun came out the temperature warmed up to 10 degrees and we were surprisingly hot!
I love this photo of us wearing t-shirts in front of the ice-covered moat!
The blue skies and sunshine had lots of people out exercising and enjoying the weather. As we continued around the moat, we discovered the area is a popular spot for wedding photography. We saw at least five couples having their wedding photos taken with the moat and Forbidden City as backdrop.
One of my favourite photos on this day, is a bride in her beautiful red dress who turned and smiled just as I took the shot.
We loved wandering through the streets of the Old Town around the Forbidden City.
Unfortunately, a lot of the businesses were closed on Beichang St and Beichizi Ave the day we were there. We will definitely make time to go back and visit some of the cafes we passed.
We discovered this enormous gateway, known as a Paifang, at the North gate of the Forbidden City. The ornate detail and colours against the blue sky are beautiful.
The colour and patterns painted on this Paifang are a common site throughout the city. The colours signify the elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth and the complex patterns relate to astrology and metaphysics.
I'm fairly certain the words painted on the gate translate to 'Born with virtue', but please let me know in the comments if I've messed up this translation.
On our way home, we walked along Dongjiaomin Alley. Here we saw a lot of historical buildings and the former embassies of Japan, Spain, Belgium and France. These embassies have since moved to the Chaoyang area.
We also passed the China Court Museum and St Michael's catholic church with neogothic style steeples and tall pointed arch windows.
Further along Dongjiaomen Alley we passed the former site of the French Postal Bureau (next to the old French Embassy) which appeared to be another popular spot to pose for photos.
We were almost home when we passed these beautiful brightly coloured shopfronts with the traditional wood paneling painted with the red, blue and yellow.
That's weird!
A walk through the city wouldn't feel complete without stumbling upon a store of unexpected items. Only moments from where we live is this sculpture and statue shop. Liv was too scared to go in because it 'looks creepy', and I don't blame her. I was waiting for that suit of armour to come to life and turn it's head - Scooby Doo style!
Stay tuned for more updates coming soon....
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