The Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Drum and Bell Towers - all of these architectural wonders stand on a line that runs like a spine through the centre of Beijing. It is known as the Beijing Central Axis, a World Heritage site containing a spectacular array of ancient buildings that together tell the story of Beijing, from its Yuan dynasty foundations through the spectacular building projects of the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Dan Snow cycles through Beijing, pedalling along the length of the Central Axis, exploring these great sites, travelling in the footsteps of the emperors and workers who created this great city - a city whose modern shape still reflects its original centuries-old plan. As he rides, Dan discovers clues about Beijing’s past, from the detailed decoration of the Forbidden City to a man-made mountain and the courtyards of the humble hutongs, where the people who serviced the empire lived. Join us on a fascinating journey into China’s past with special access to some of Beijing’s finest locations.
Up Next in Top Documentaries
-
Auschwitz: The Evolution of Terror
Join Holocaust expert and historian Dr James Bulgin as he is given unprecedented access to Auschwitz-Birkenau to uncover how this site was transformed, step by step, decision by decision, from a concentration camp for political prisoners into the epicentre of one of the worst crimes in human hist...
-
The Copper Scroll: Dead Sea Scrolls M...
The Dead Sea Scrolls regularly rank amongst the most significant archaeological discoveries of recent decades. Over 900 papyrus documents, discovered in caves near the site of Qumran, that date to the century before Jesus and include the oldest surviving manuscripts from the Hebrew Bible.
But am...
-
Death in the Parsonage: The Brontës
The Brontë family created some of the world's most passionate and enduring novels, yet their lives were shadowed by tragedy.
Dr Maddy Pelling and Dr Anthony Delaney challenge the romantic myths surrounding the family, tracing the harsh reality of their lives in 19th-century Haworth—a crowded Yor...
2 Comments