The greatest achievement of Míng dynasty architecture
Part of A Better Guide to Beijing’s coverage of South of Qián Mén

Of all Peking’s enchanting sights, the beauty of the Altar of Heaven is the hardest to describe. Its sublime…

Part of A Better Guide to Beijing

Until 2008 it was possible, not far southeast of Qián Mén at Xī Dǎmóchǎng Jiē 62, to descend, through its last public entrance, into a dark and musty labyrinth of tunnels spreading out beneath Běijīng.

Part of A Better Guide to Beijing

The Mongol Yuán dynasty built Běijīng largely according to the layout prescribed in the 2nd century BCE classic Rites of Zhōu, and while the Míng slightly altered the shape and later added the southern Outer City, it followed the…