Old Beijing, the world's largest city before the modern era
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It was a divided city - to the south lay the teeming Chinatown-in-China, the Chinese City, where the subjugated masses of Han Chinese (120 ethnicities today grouped as
one) lived. To the north the much larger Tartar City, where the Manchurians ruled, accompanied by Tibetan, Mongol and Xinjianger gentry, and in later years, numbers of the
Han elite. A prime meridian line ran through it, marking the major royal and religious sites (and is still being added to - the Olympic complex was built on it).
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Manchurian gentry
Manchu royalty- under new laws the women held the power, and the Emperor became a ceremonial position. Three women successively ruled the empire.
Tibetan upper class
Mongol upper classes
The Chinese City was very densely populated, but also teeming with life - markets, theatres, shopping, sex and entertainment districts drew the Tatars across the divide by
the thousands, at first in disguise, later openly.
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The Chinese were forced to shave their heads in the Manchu style, and grow a long plait as a sign of subjugation - entire cities were initially laid to the sword after conquest
for refusing. Later the plait, or queue became the most treasured possession for a man, and became an ultimate punishment to cut it off
working class Han. Note, the working class girls still had their feet bound - once the preserve of the upper classes to proclaim women didn't work, relied on men and servants
and swayed their hips suggestively, had spread even to the working classes.
middle class Han
upper class Han
The Winter Palace lay at the centre (aka the Forbidden City, made up of 980 buildings - the world's largest palace).
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Right next to it was a second, separate Forbidden City surrounding a huge lake (which is currently the semi-secret HQ of the Communist Party today), itself surrounded by
the Imperial City, made up of 3000 minor palaces, temples, mosques and shrines (and 28 large temple complexes) for the multinational elite - note the much lower density
around the lakes due to palatial gardens. As mentioned before though, the populace tired of this life, and often preferred the teeming streets of the Chinese City, so much
that in later years the authorities finally allowed theatre districts to form within the massive compound.
Bright yellow roofs, an otherwise forbidden colour, marked out royal residences - the minor palaces of the princes.
The Summer Palace, even larger at 820 acres (600 football fields), lay to the north in the world's largest gardens and over 1,000 buildings, but was sacked in 1860 by
Western troops. It was so large it took three days for two armies to loot and burn.
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The New Summer Palace at a new site, was also heavily damaged by Western troops again in 1900 (the money originally slated for a state of the art navy, was spent by the
Empress on the palace, including a jewel laced marble boat, as the middle finger to the army chiefs. This came to haunt her in the Opium Wars). Over 160 buildings remain.
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The city was bounded by the world's largest ever city walls, 50-60ft tall, and 66ft thick, once considered the 8th wonder of the world, with its castle sized gates and
watchtowers. The outer walls alone (there were concentric rings inside between the Tatar, Chinese, Imperial and Forbidden Cities) measured over 60km.
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Only a few gates and corner watchtowers survive, the rest being bulldozed in the 1950s to make way for a ringroad and subway.
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