Titled “Forging Ahead in the New Era”, the exhibition covered an area of over 30,000 square meters.

Among the highlights are the achievements made in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

South China’s Hainan Province took up the largest exhibition area, showcasing the development of the Hainan Free Trade Port and the ecological protection achievements in the region.

Visitors can also see the positive changes that China has witnessed in various areas, including culture, the environment and poverty alleviation.

General secretary of the CPC Central Committee and president of the People’s Republic of China and chairman of the Central Military Commission – Xi Jinping had also visited the exhibition.

The 20th National Congress of the CPC is to commence on Oct. 16 in Beijing.

(Pics & report – Kelum Shivantha reporting from Beijing)

This palace is also known as the ‘Palace Museum’.

However, this place, which is now known as the Palace Museum, was referred to as the ‘Forbidden City’ in the past.

The Forbidden City’s history dates back to more than 600 years.

The palace was built between the period of the Ming Dynasty which was in power from 1368 to 1644 BC and the Qing Dynasty which was in power from 1644 to 1911.

The Forbidden City was the home to 24 emperors of China.

The construction of the palace began by the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Yongle, in 1406 and was completed in 1420.

Fourteen emperors of the Ming Dynasty ruled the empire from the palace until it was taken over by the Manchus in 1644.

Chinese history says the Manchus moved the capital to Shenyang for a few months after they conquered the palace.

The Forbidden City later fell to the hands of the Qing Dynasty and has been home to 10 emperors of the Qing Dynasty ever since.

The city was the seat of the Qing dynasty until the last emperor abdicated in 1912 following the establishment of the People’s Republic of China.

Considered to be the world’s largest imperial palace, it is said to be three times larger than the Louvre Palace in France.

The Forbidden City which is 7,750,000 square feet in size has been completed with the contribution of a million laborers.

It consists of more than 90 palace quarters and courtyards, 980 buildings and over 8,728 rooms.

The architects have designed it in a way that birds are unable to roost on the roofs of the Forbidden City.

The spaces between the tiles on the high roofs have been widened in order to retain the cleanliness and splendor of the city.

It is said that the colors of the Forbidden City are based on Feng Shui, and therefore, yellow and red colors can be seen often.

Buildings of European and Arabian architecture are also located within the premises. 

It was said that part of the old collection at the museum is still in Taiwan as a result of removing some national treasures from the Forbidden City during the Japanese invasion in 1933.

Following the end of World War II, part of the collection was returned from Taiwan, but some of the artefacts are kept in the National Palace Museum in Taipei.

Many people here believe that a visit to the Forbidden City is incomplete without a visit to Jingshan Park.

If you wish to see just how enormous and majestic the Forbidden City is, you must visit the nearby Jingshan Park where you can enjoy a panoramic view of the entire complex from top of a hill.

(Kelum Shivantha reporting from Beijing, China)

With a history that goes as far as the Ming dynasty’s Yongle era, the Liangma river today has been transformed to an international style waterfront and is dubbed as the ‘Seine of Beijing’ by Chinese media.

The river passes through the embassy zone, Jiuxianqiao Bridge and Chaoyang Park, before joining the Bahe river.

The construction of the Liangma River International Waterfront commenced in April 2019 before opening to the public in 2020 August.

The Waterfront starts from the Xiangheyuan Road in the west, runs through Sanlitun, Zuojiazhuang, Maizidian sub-districts and Chaoyang Park, and ends at the East Fourth Ring North Road. Spanning 5.58km, the Waterfront boasts a construction area of 80.76 hectares, including a water area of 16.67 hectares and a green area of 64.09 hectares.

In 2022, the extended construction of the Liangma River tourism project was started in Chaoyang District, covering “one river, two lakes, 24 bridges and 18 scenic spots”, including such main attractions as Dragon in the Water, National Beauty, Heavenly Fragrance and Qingyi Small Scene. After the project is completed, Chaoyang Park and Honglingjin Park will be integrated to form a 6km cruise route from the 3rd Ring Road to Honglingjin Lake.

(Script ‍| Video ‍| Pics – Kelum Shivantha reporting from Beijing)