Discover the Magic of Beijing: Exploring China’s Capital on a Private Tour

Welcome to Beijing, the heart and soul of China! As the capital city, Beijing is a treasure trove of history, culture, and modernity. From ancient wonders like the Great Wall and the Forbidden City to the vibrant street life of the hutongs, Beijing offers a diverse range of experiences for every traveler. And the best way to explore this bustling metropolis? A private tour tailored just for you.
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Autumn in Beijing: A Feast for the Senses

Fall is an incredible time to visit Beijing. The city’s parks and historic sites are adorned with the warm hues of autumn leaves, creating a picturesque backdrop for your adventures. As you walk through the imperial gardens of the Summer Palace or explore the grounds of the Temple of Heaven, the cool, crisp air will invigorate your senses. It’s a season of reflection and renewal, making it the perfect time to delve into Beijing’s rich history.

The Forbidden City: A Glimpse into Imperial China

A private tour allows you to dive deep into Beijing’s historical treasures. Start with the Forbidden City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that once served as the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Here, you’ll wander through vast courtyards, marvel at intricate architecture, and learn about the lives of emperors and empresses. With a knowledgeable guide by your side, you’ll uncover the hidden stories and secrets of this iconic landmark.

The Great Wall: An Iconic Adventure

Of course, no visit to Beijing would be complete without a trip to the Great Wall of China. During autumn, the cooler weather makes hiking along the Wall’s rugged terrain a more comfortable and scenic experience. As you stand atop ancient watchtowers and gaze out over the rolling hills, you’ll be struck by the awe-inspiring grandeur of this man-made wonder.

Hutongs and Local Life: A Taste of Beijing’s Authentic Culture

Beyond the grand palaces and monuments, Beijing’s hutongs offer a glimpse into traditional Chinese life. These narrow alleyways wind through the city, lined with courtyard homes and hidden gems of local culture. Your private tour can take you deep into these charming neighborhoods, where you can sip tea with a local family, learn about traditional crafts, and savor authentic Beijing cuisine.

Plan Your Beijing Adventure Today

If you’re seeking an extraordinary journey through history, culture, and natural beauty, Beijing is the place to be. A private tour of this captivating city will provide you with an intimate and personalized experience. As the autumn leaves fall and winter approaches, now is the perfect time to plan your Beijing adventure.

Join us on an unforgettable journey to discover the magic of Beijing. Contact us today to start planning your private tour, and get ready to explore the wonders of this incredible city at your own pace.

Stay tuned for more exciting travel insights and inspirations in our series of blog posts throughout November and December, highlighting China’s diverse and captivating destinations. Happy travels!

Beijing Opera, Jinghuang, Daxi, Pingju, Jingxi

Beijing Opera is extolled as ‘Oriental Opera’. Having a history of 160 years, it has created many ‘firsts’ in Chinese dramas: the abundance of repertoires, the number of artists, opera troupes and spectators.

Beijing Opera is developed from absorbing many other dramatic forms, mostly from the local drama ‘Huiban’ which was popular in South China during the 18th century. It is a scenic art integrating music, performance, literature, aria, and face-painting. Certain rules are set up and regulations are standardized during many artists’ long practice on stage. Different from regional plays, it is stricter on the variety of the workmanship. The combination of virtual and reality – a special technique of expression, keeps it largely free from the restriction of time and space on stage performance. Beijing Opera has had many interesting names since it came into being, such as Jinghuang, Daxi, Pingju, Jingxi.

History

Its main melodies originated from Xipi and Erhuang in Anhui and Hubei respectively, It is believed that Beijing Opera gradually came into being after 1790 when the famous four Anhui opera troupes came to Beijing. Beijing Opera underwent fast development during the reign of Emperor Qianlong and the notorious Empress Dowager Cixi under the imperial patron, eventually becoming more accessible to the common people.

It has a history of more than 200 years. It is a form of traditional Chinese theater which combines music and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty. The art form is also enjoyed in Taiwan, where it is known as Guoju. It has also spread to other countries such as the Unite States and Japan.

Four Roles

There are four roles in Beijing Opera – Sheng(a male role, usually a leading one), Dan(female roles), Jing(painted-face roles) and Chou(Clown role). These roles have the natural features of age and sex, as well as social status, and are artificially exaggerated by makeup, costume and gestures. All but the second portray a male or masculine character. Until recently, even that of the female or feminine character was played by a male actor.

Sheng

It’s a common name of male characters and composed of Lao Sheng and Xiao Sheng. Lao Sheng refers to the middle-aged man with a beard who acts as the decency figure; for example, Zhugeliang in ‘Empty City Scheme’. Xiao Sheng means young man without a beard. Zhangsheng in ‘The Story of the West Room’ is a representative of Xiao Sheng.

Dan

The general name for female characters can be divided into Zhengdan, Huadan, Laodan, Wudan. Zhengdan is also called ‘Qingyi’, who mainly plays the part of the strong-minded middle-aged woman who behaves elegantly. Huadan refers to little girls who often live in the bottom of society. Laodan refers to the senior woman and Wudan indicates the female who is good at fighting.

Jing

Painted face often refers to male characters with unique appearance or personality, such as Baozheng and Caocao. Besides, Chou is a comic role or villainous character or righteous person. The actor’s nose is painted by a piece of white powder, making him or her easily recognizable.

Facial Painting

Facial painting in Beijing OperaLianpu is formed through dramatic artists’ long-term practice and their understanding and judgment of the roles in plays. It is the colorful dressing on actors’ faces. By using transformative and exaggerated figures, professional spectators would easily tell the characteristic of a role. In this way, it is called ‘the picture of hearts’. There are certain formats of the facial painting in the aspect of color, type and shape. Usually, eyes, foreheads and cheeks are painted like wings of butterflies, swallows and bats.

Colors of Lianpu are varied with each representing a characteristic. For example, red symbolizes loyalty, such as Guanyu, a great general during Three Kingdoms Period (220-280). Black signifies honesty and frankness, such as Lord Bao, a righteous official during Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), or abruptness and impertinence, such as Likui, an important figure in the famous Chinese ancient novel ‘All Men Are Brothers’. White stands for cattiness and cunning, with Caocao as its representative, a famous politician in the late Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220).

Costumes

Costumes are an integral part of the Beijing Opera performance. That are called Xingtou or Xifu in Chinese. In the early days, opera costumes were mainly made of wool or coarse cloth; later, satin, crepe and silk were used, decorated with various meticulously embroidered patterns. The making of opera costumes is a special and unique stagecraft. The costume box first appeared in the Ming Dynasty, and was greatly improved in the Qing Dynasty.

How to Decorate Your House for Chinese New Year

To celebrate the Chinese New Year, Chinese people always decorate the week before the New Year. These include traditional decorations such as spring couplets and fu calligraphy paintings, which will be completed on New Year’s eve. As time goes on, more and more modern decorations appear in people’s houses. However, red is still the dominant color for the New Year. Here are 10 of the most common Chinese New Year decorations, 5 old and 5 modern. How much do you know about it?

Spring Festival couplets, also known as door couplets, are used to stick on both sides of doors to express good wishes for the New Year. They were always written in black ink on red paper, bright and elegant. Couplets should be symmetrical and neat. As for the content, most people choose to express good luck and good wishes for the coming year. So it’s interesting to observe some families’ spring couplets, which sometimes reflect their views on happiness. This tradition originated in the song dynasty (960-1279), but was popularized in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).

Fu characters and New Year pictures are also indispensable Chinese New Year decorations. “Fu” means “blessing” and “good luck” in Chinese, so it often appears in the New Year. Interestingly, people always choose to stick it upside down on their doors or Windows, because the Chinese word for “da” is pronounced the same as the Chinese word for “lai”. An inverted word for “fu” means good luck. The images of the New Year paintings are colorful, including auspicious legends and some mythological gods. The god of door and the god of wealth are the most popular paintings because Chinese people believe that the god of door can protect houses and the god of wealth can help make money.

As a traditional folk handicraft, Chinese red lanterns have now become one of the symbols of Chinese culture and a necessary decoration for various festivals, especially during the Chinese New Year, Lantern Festival and Mid-Autumn festival. Red lanterns will be hung on streets, shops, parks and private homes across the country as the New Year approaches. In Chinese eyes, red lanterns symbolize family reunion, prosperity, happiness and vitality. On New Year’s eve, a big red lantern is hung in front of the door. It not only lights up the night, but also lights up the hope of the coming year.

Chinese knot is a handicraft with a long history. In ancient times, knots were simply records that later evolved into ornaments and ornaments. So far, they have mostly been used for interior decoration and as gifts for friends or relatives. It is also one of the most popular Chinese New Year decorations. A Chinese knot is usually made by tying a knot with a piece of string. Knots of various shapes have different meanings, and their names are always associated with “safety” and “auspiciousness”. So people like to decorate rooms with it during Chinese New Year because of its good meaning and beautiful design.

Another traditional Chinese New Year decoration is paper-cutting, which is a folk art, using scissors or cutting knives to cut paper. Paper-cuts are usually pasted on Windows, doors or walls. They represent people’s good wishes for the future life. Most of the paper-cut designs are based on the Chinese zodiac for the New Year and some lucky characters such as “fu”, “lu”, “shou” and “xi”, which represent luck, wealth, longevity and happiness. In addition, some auspicious plants and interesting legends can also be part of the New Year paper-cut theme.

Chinese Lanterns, to Celebrate Their Peaceful Life

Paper lanterns originated in the eastern han dynasty (25-220) and were mainly used as lamps in ancient China. They use a variety of materials, such as bamboo, wood, wheat straw and metal. Paper and silk are the main materials.

Originally, monks used lanterns to worship Buddha on the 12th day of the first lunar month. During the eastern han dynasty, emperor liu zhuang was a buddhist and ordered the residents and citizens of his palace to light lanterns and worship Buddha like monks. Later, this custom gradually became a grand festival for the common people. In the tang dynasty (618-907), people made lanterns to celebrate their peaceful life, while bright colorful lanterns symbolised and celebrated the prosperity, strength and strength of the country. Since then, lighting has become popular in this country.

Before the use of gas and electricity, lanterns were once used for lighting, but now they are merely decorative or, more importantly, used during the Lantern Festival each year.

It was mainly used in palaces in ancient times. It is famous for its exquisite craftsmanship, elegant and dignified pictures and court features. When making palace lanterns, window frames are made of fine wood and covered with silk or glass. Various patterns are painted on the cover. These dragon and phoenix lanterns were not only used as lamps, but also as decorations for the palace. They come in many shapes, such as octagon, hexagon, and even diameter.

The lamp shade was covered with gauze. Bamboo used to be the frame, but now it’s made of wire, and candles are made of light bulbs. Of these lanterns, the red ones are believed to be the most in the world. It was made with red gauze. In Chinese culture, red lanterns are a symbol of booming life and prosperous career, so they are always hung on important festivals such as Lantern Festival, Chinese New Year and National Day in parks or main streets. In some famous chinatowns abroad, you can see red lanterns all year round. They have become the symbol of Chinese culture all over the world.

Chinese Lacquer Ware, an Exquisite Chinese Craft

Lacquer ware is a kind of exquisite Chinese handicraft, it sends out a kind of peaceful burnish. As the earliest users, the Chinese began to appreciate its beauty from the neolithic age. In the past few hundred years, it has played an important role in the development of Chinese arts and crafts and has had a great influence on world art. Between 6,000 and 7,000 years ago, a wooden red bowl unveiled the history of lacquerware technology.

Ancient Chinese lacquer ware was made of natural lacquer from sumac. Sumac should be 10 years old. Liquid paint should be condensation in humid conditions, and then hardened, heat, acid, alkali resistance. In general, the manufacturing process is very complicated.

In 1978, a red lacquered wooden bowl and a red lacquered vase were unearthed at the hemudu cultural site in yuzhao, zhejiang province, evidence that the Chinese began making lacquerware during the neolithic period. The porcelain turned out to be made of natural lacquer. Early works were simple red and black. During the xia dynasty (21-17 BC) and the warring states period (476-221 BC), the variety increased greatly and industry continued for about five centuries. At the time, it was used for furniture, such as containers, Musical Instruments and funeral utensils.

During the han dynasty (206bc-220bc), the main lacquerware was also red and black. However, it is more widely used in plates, coffins, earrings, crates, board games and other necessities of life or decorative accessories. In addition, the manufacturing process has become more sophisticated, such as the use of color paint, needle engraving, inlay process, gold ring decoration. During the warring states period (475-221bc), this kind of pottery was popular for its exquisite craftsmanship and vivid pictures of animals and clouds. The lacquerware relics unearthed at mawangdui’s han tomb are more than 2, 000 years old. The yuan, Ming and qing dynasties were also prosperous periods, with more than 400 varieties used as common tools and decorations.

Nowadays, Chinese lacquerware has become more refined and spread in Beijing, yangzhou, Shanghai, fujian and other places. All kinds of lacquerware reflect distinctive characteristics: Beijing made lacquerware style luxury; Fujian is light, high temperature, corrosion resistance and waterproof; Sichuan is famous for its fine carving patterns. In addition, yangzhou artifacts are known for their elegant, delicate and unique creation techniques: shells are used as materials, processed into wafer-thin pieces, and then carefully attached to lacquerware. In the process, people will even inlay treasures such as crystals, jade, pearls and coral on lacquer furniture, tea sets and brush pens. Lacquerware made in the ancient city of pingyao, shanxi, shows luster after being polished by the hands of craftsmen. This is considered the most exquisite because of its simplicity, but radiating artwork.

Chinese Cloisonne, a Unique Art Form in China

Cloisonne is a unique art form that originated in Beijing during the yuan dynasty (1271-1368). During the “jingtai” period of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), the emperor was very interested in bronze casting technology and improved the color processing to create a bright blue color with an Oriental aesthetic. After making a breakthrough in technology, his daily necessities were mostly cloisonne. Later, it became popular among the general public; Their favorite is cloisonne.

During the reign of emperor kangqian of the qing dynasty (1644-1911), cloisonne craftsmanship was improved and reached its artistic peak. The colors were more subtle, the threads more flexible and fluid, and the scope expanded beyond sacrificial objects into snuff bottles, screens, censers, tables, chairs, chopsticks, and bowls.

Cloisonne is made in a comprehensive and delicate way, combining the techniques of bronze and porcelain with the techniques of traditional painting and sculpture:

Model hammer: hammer the copper pieces into various shapes according to the design and connect them at high temperature.

Tinsel welding: in tinsel welding, the artist bends the copper wire into a delicate flower pattern and sticks it to the copper mold. Heating to 900 degrees Celsius is probably the most challenging step in the whole process. It solidifies the metal.

Enamel filling: through this interesting process, cloisonne wears a coat of color. The craftsman filled the glaze into a grid of filaments. One filling is not enough – filaments are squeezed and the surface is dull. They must melt the powder glaze in a melting furnace at 800 degrees Celsius, then remove the object and repeat the process three or four times until the surface becomes smooth.

Chinese Music, Traditional Musical Instruments

Ancient Chinese have left a wealth of music instruments and classic tunes. Erhu, Guzheng, Guqin, Xun, Pipa, and other traditional Chinese music instruments may alter your acquired definition of “music”. The great works that have been playing for hundreds or thousands of years may also echo in you.

Melody and tone quality are prominent expressive features of Chinese music, and great emphasis is given to the proper articulation and inflection of each musical tone. Most is based on the five-tone, or pentatonic, scale, but the seven-tone, or heptatonic scale, is also used, often as an expansion of a basically pentatonic core. The pentatonic scale was much used in older music. The heptatonic scale is often encountered in northern folk music.

The variations of rhythm, beat, tone quality, and embellishments in traditional Chinese music are highly distinctive and unlike their Western counterparts. In traditional orchestras, the combination of all the different instruments served to create a harmonious and beautiful auditory atmosphere. Unbelievingly beautiful music was made and is still made. Many instruments can produce purely unique and amazing sounds.

Feature of Chinese Traditional Music

Chinese music was often addressed as “Virtue Music”, “Elegant Music” and “Etiquette Music” in ancient times. In ancient Chinese society, music was not regarded as a way of entertainment, but as a practice to refine one’s virtue. Playing Guqin (Ancient Stringed Musical Instrument) was regarded as one of the primary skills that a scholar had to learn. Chinese traditional culture intensively emphasizes that a musical instrument player pay attention to one’s heart state and virtue, and that one cannot play musical instrument casually.

Traditional Musical Instruments

Pipa

Pipa has four-stringed lute with 30 frets and pear-shaped body. The musician holds the instrument upright and play with five small plectrums attached to each finger of the right hand. The history of Pipa dates back at least 2,000 years. This instrument has extremely wide dynamic range and is remarkably rich and expressive.The Pipa tunes have very diverse styles, and are traditionally classified as either Wen Qu (civil and mild tone) or Wu Qu (martial and fierce tone).

Xun

Xun is a kind of wind instrument. It’s one of the oldest musical instruments found so far in China with a history of more than 7,000 years, and play a important role in world music circle. The instrument has been found along the Yangtze River and the Yellow River as Neolithic relics, and is believed very popular in ancient China. The ancestors used a kind of oval stone with naturally formed holes on it to hunt the preys. When thrown it at the animals, the stone produced a whistling sound as the air flowed through the holes, which could have provided inspiration for early wind instruments.

Horse-Headed Fiddle

The Horse-headed fiddle is a bowed stringed-instrument with a scroll carved like a horse’s head. It is popular in Mongolian music. With a history of over 1,300 years, it even influenced European string music when Marco Polo brought one back from his travels through Asia. Its wide tonal range and deep, hazy tone color express the joy or pathos of a melody to its fullest.

Erhu

The Erhu, also called ‘Huqin’, was introduced from the western region during the Tang Dynasty. During the Song Dynasty (960 – 1279), it was refined and improved and new variations appeared. It was also an important instrument for playing the melody of Beijing Opera. Its music is usually very expressive and touching, especially when you feel down and blue.

When playing, the player usually stands the Erhu on his lap, and moves the bow across the vertical strings. The well-known music ‘Two Springs Reflect the Moon’ was created by the blind folk artist Liu Yanjun, also named A Bing by the people. Though he could not see anything of the world, he played his Erhu using his heart and imagination. This melody conjures up a poetic night scene under the moonlight and expresses the composer’s desolation and hope.

Suona

 

Suona, a very expressive reed instrument with a conical metal bell, is very popular in China’s vast countryside in funeral, wedding, and other celebrative occasions. The Suona has a distinctively loud sound and is used in many Chinese traditional music bands. Meanwhile, it is also an indispensable part of a number of local operas in Hebei, Shandong, Liaoning, Shandong, Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Guangdong provinces.

Modern Chinese Music

Today’s music in China is quite similar to that of modern Western’s. Just like young Westerners, now young people in China attend the concerts of famous pop stars. Modern orchestras play both adapted versions of traditional pieces and classical and modern symphonic compositions.

In modern music, many traditional facets still remain. Many traditional instruments are used in conjunction with popular instruments of Western cultures. The mixing of traditional instruments with western instruments creates a wide variety of euphonious sounds and rhythms, and the mixing with western styles of singing creates unique sounds. Many modern artists also incorporate traditional melodies into their songs, so even music using only popular Western instruments sounds different. The mixing of Western and oriental styles with traditional instruments and other instruments allows for the creation of an endless scope of expression with modern music.

Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, A Global Arts Center in Beijing

The ullens center for contemporary art (UCCA) aims to become a global arts center in Beijing. It is a non-profit entity that offers exhibitions and other programs designed to help visitors learn about Chinese art and culture. The centre is also actively involved in promoting the growth and development of Chinese art to revive public interest in all things cultural.

UCCA was founded by baron and baroness guy and Miriam ullen DE schutten. They are considered one of the world’s greatest patrons of the arts and formidable collectors of art. The baron retired in 2000 and now devotes himself to charities including the ullens centre.

UCCA is based on three factories, reflecting some of the influence of Bauhaus architecture. They were recently refurbished and offer less than 10,000 square metres of international exhibition space. It is one of the best preserved exhibition Spaces in the country.

The ullens exhibition is not permanent. They are designed to make it easier for people to have access to a particular style of art, or to a particular artist. Visitors should familiarize themselves with the current exhibition program before visiting UCCA.

In writing about UCCA, xu zhen (a manufacturing company) from Shanghai and his sensible critique of consumerism. The exhibition includes performance art, installation, video, painting, etc.

Past exhibitions include; Tyronn Simon, wang keping, tianuo sejal, wang xingwei, tepe kanoki, xie tannin, duchamp, and the conceptual and practical achievements of young Chinese artists.

Future exhibitions planned include art-post Internet, Lee Mingwei, Pawel Althamer and Broached retreat.

UCCA is heavily involved in public education of the arts. The centre offers more than 500 cultural programmes a year. There are regular art lectures, film screenings, performances, festivals and workshops that visitors can attend (although Numbers may be limited, depending on popular demand for any program).

There is a store on the UCCA grounds. It offers the largest limited edition collection of contemporary art in China. The collection typically includes more than 40 artists, many of whom were custom-made for the store. You can also find plenty of designs from many of China’s leading designers.

There’s also an art book store where you can store a lot of art materials. It is worth noting that the vast majority of teaching texts are only in Chinese, with very few English works to choose from.

Chinese Paper Umbrellas, Beautiful and Elegant

In addition to the most basic function of sunshade, the traditional paper umbrella has many other USES, which are deeply rooted in Chinese traditional culture. The Chinese paper umbrella originated in China and has been developed and popularized in several Asian countries over the years, but the Chinese paper umbrella is colorful, almost like gauze, and still has typical Chinese characteristics like chopsticks.

Although the foldable Chinese paper umbrella is thought to have existed at the beginning of the Christian era, the first historical reference to the Chinese paper umbrella comes from 21 AD, referring to a four-wheeled “chariot” of paper umbrellas by emperor wang mang (royal officials of the han dynasty usurped the throne in a short period — often referred to as the wang mang transitional period — creating the short-lived xin dynasty.

Although it only consists of five parts, the production of Chinese paper umbrella involves 80 working processes to complete the finished product. In this sense, the craft of Chinese paper umbrella can be compared with Japanese lacquer art.

A typical Chinese umbrella is made of two materials: silk or paper. Silk umbrellas are the most expensive and considered to be the most delicate, but also the most difficult to fashion and maintain. Paper umbrellas are easier to make, can be treated with oil to make them impermeable, or waterproof, and they are perfect for art deco. Most paper umbrellas produced today are made from sticky tung oil (also known as Chinese wood oil, derived from the euphorbiaceae tung tree found throughout central Asia). The main producing areas of China’s impermeable paper umbrellas are fujian and hunan.

The decorations range from solid colors to flower-and-bird paintings, flower-and-bird paintings, landscapes, and calligraphy. As one of the highlights of Chinese paper umbrella, a lot of work has been devoted to the art decoration of paper umbrella. In addition to waterproof, paper curtain still needs to withstand the destruction of wind and rain, like its decoration can resist the fading over time.