A Day In Beijing with Chen

"Peking" isn't a Western mispronunciation. It's actually closer to how people used to say 北京 four hundred years ago. The sound changed. The spelling didn't. The New York Times didn't switch to "Beijing" until 1986. And Peking duck, Peking University, Pekingese; the old name is still everywhere. This episode starts with a name, goes back 3,000 years, and ends with the 2,000-year-old rulebook that told every Chinese dynasty exactly how to build a capital city. A Day In Beijing is an English-language Beijing podcast inspired by the history, innovations, and people of Beijing, created and hosted by a born-and-raised Beijinger. We exist not only as your virtual travel guide, your dictionary to China, but also to challenge and break the colonial narratives that have been shaping Beijing and China. 🌏 Planning a trip to Beijing? I run small, responsible cultural experiences that support independent businesses and local communities. DM me on Instagram.📪 Next Wednesday — Part 2: the gates. Beijing had more then 10 of them. Each one had a different job. Hit Follow so you don't miss it.🎧 Search "A Day In Beijing", it's also available on: Spotify / Apple Podcasts / YouTube Music / Goodpods / 小宇宙 / Substack🌐 adayinbeijing.carrd.co📸 Instagram: @a_day_in_beijing / @chen_backinbeijing✉️ ⁠[email protected]⁠ What this episode covers:🔹 Why "Peking"? 京 used to be pronounced closer to /kiŋ/ — a sound that shifted over centuries to the modern /tɕiŋ/. The spelling stuck in European maps and postal systems.🔹 Seven names, seven lives. 燕 Yān (~7th century BC) — a border state on the military frontier. The beer brand 燕京啤酒 still carries this name. 🔹 南京 Nánjīng (938 AD, Liao Dynasty) — "Southern Capital," one of five Liao capitals, with the supreme capital 上京 in Inner Mongolia. 🔹 中都 Zhōngdū (1153, Jin Dynasty) — "Central Capital." 1215: Genghis Khan burned it to the ground. 大都 Dàdū / Khanbaliq (1267, Yuan) — Kublai Khan's new capital. 🔹 北平 Běipíng (1368, Ming) — "Northern Peace," deliberately demoted when the capital moved to Nanjing. 🔹 北京 Běijīng (1403) — renamed by the Yongle Emperor, the usurper who seized the throne from his own nephew. 🔹 北京 Běijīng (1949) — restored by a vote. Every name was political. 🔹 Beijing as military frontier. For most of Chinese history, this wasn't a capital. It was a border town; a strategic point between the central plains and the northern steppe. The names tell the story: each one reflects who controlled it, what they wanted it to be, and how much power they had. The shift from frontier garrison to imperial capital is the story of China itself. 🔹 The blueprint — 考工记, Kǎogōng Jì. The Book of Diverse Crafts. Over 2,000 years old. One of the oldest urban planning manuals in human history. It prescribed exactly how a capital must be built: 9 li on each side (~4.5 km). Palace at the centre, facing south. 🔹 Ancestral temple on the left — 左祖. Altar of earth and grain on the right — 右社. Court in front — 前朝. Market behind — 后市. Central axis running north to south. 🙏 I'm no historian — I research every episode the best I can. If anything sounds off, let me know. I'm always learning and this podcast gets better with your help.

A 1,000-year-old mosque that looks like a Chinese temple but faces Mecca. A 1,400-year-old Buddhist temple built as a war memorial for soldiers killed in the battles. Two blocks apart in the same Beijing neighbourhood. Both survived the Second World War and the Cultural Revolution. This is the story of religion and ethnicity in Beijing, told through two buildings that have been neighbours for over a millennium. A Day In Beijing is an English-language Beijing podcast inspired by the history, innovations, and people of Beijing; created and hosted by a born-and-raised Beijinger. It exists not only as your virtual travel guide, your dictionary to China, but also to challenge and break the colonial narratives that have been shaping Beijing and China. This is Part 2 of the Niujie series. Last episode covered who the Hui Muslims are, what China's 56 ethnic groups mean, and why I'm telling this story. Who is this podcast for?🌍 Anyone curious about religion in China, religious diversity in Beijing, or ethnic minorities in China.🇨🇳 Anyone who is planning a trip to Beijing📚 History lovers — the Silk Road, the Cultural Revolution, Islam in China and Buddhism.🎙️ Anyone who wants to hear about China from someone who actually lives there.What this episode covers:🔹 Religion in Beijing — what it actually looks like on the ground. Not a policy debate. Two buildings, two blocks apart, both still functioning. A mosque and a Buddhist temple, neighbours for over 1,000 years.🔹 The Niujie Mosque — 牛街礼拜寺. Beijing's oldest and largest mosque. Built 996 AD by an Arab scholar who travelled the Silk Road to China. Curved Chinese rooflines, red doors, courtyard layout — but green glazed tiles (the colour of Islam) and the whole building faces west, toward Mecca. Chinese architecture on the outside, Islamic function on the inside.🔹 The Moon-Watching Tower — 望月楼. Every Ramadan, the imam climbs this hexagonal pavilion to spot the new crescent moon. It looks like a Chinese pagoda. It works like an Islamic observatory.🔹 The Cultural Revolution and religion in China. 220 mosques were destroyed across the country during the Cultural Revolution (文化大革命). The Niujie Mosque survived because Zhou Enlai personally intervened to protect it.🔹 Fayuan Temple — 法源寺. Beijing's oldest Buddhist temple, founded 645 AD by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. Empress Wu Zetian named it. Emperor Qianlong wrote the plaque. Today it houses the China Buddhist Academy — a four-year degree programme where Buddhist monks are ordained.🔹 The lilacs of Fayuan Temple. Famous in spring — the poet Xu Zhimo brought Rabindranath Tagore to see them. But this building was also a war memorial, a prison for captured Song Dynasty emperors, and the setting for Li Ao's Nobel-nominated novel. The flowers are the least interesting thing about it.🔹 Ethnicity and religion in China — why they're separate. The Hui are an ethnic group, not a religious group. Islam is a religion practised across multiple Chinese ethnic groups. This distinction shapes everything about how China classifies, governs, and understands its minority communities.🔹 What religious coexistence looks like in Beijing. Not a political argument. Not a government talking point. Two buildings. Two faiths. 1,000+ years. Two blocks. Still open. Visit and see for yourself.🙏 I'm no historian — I research every episode the best I can. If anything sounds off, let me know. I'm always learning and this podcast gets better with your help.🌏 Planning a trip to Beijing? I run small, responsible cultural experiences — including a Muslim Street Food Walking Tour through this exact neighbourhood. DM me on Instagram.🎧 Search "A Day In Beijing", it's also available on: Spotify / Apple Podcasts / YouTube Music / Goodpods / 小宇宙 / Substack 🌐 adayinbeijing.carrd.co📸 Instagram: @a_day_in_beijing / @chen_backinbeijing✉️ [email protected]

A Day In Beijing is an English-language Beijing podcast inspired by the history, innovations, and people of Beijing, created and hosted by a born-and-raised Beijinger. It exists not only as your virtual travel guide, your dictionary to China, but also to challenge and break the colonial narratives that have been shaping Beijing and China. Twelve episodes of imperial Beijing. And now let's pivot. This one's personal. China has 56 officially recognised ethnic groups. Ten of them are Muslim. And I'm one of them, I'm half Hui — the second-largest Muslim group in China, about 11 million people. This episode is about Niujie, Beijing's oldest Muslim neighbourhood. Who is this podcast for?🌍 Anyone curious about China beyond the headlines: ethnic diversity, religious identity, communities that guidebooks rarely mention🇨🇳 Planning a trip to Beijing: Niujie is one of the most rewarding and hidden neighbourhoods in the city, and international tourists struggle to discover it📚 History lovers: the Silk Road, Tang, Yuan, Ming, Qing Dynasty, and how Islam arrived in China🕌 Anyone who assumed China was ethnically and religiously homogeneous: this episode will change that🎙️ Anyone who wants to hear about China from someone who actually lives there, and in this case, is part of the storyWhat this episode covers:🔹 China's 56 ethnic groups. Every Chinese citizen has their ethnicity printed on their national ID card; this episode explains the system, where it came from, and why it matters.🔹 Who are the Hui? About 11 million people. Descended from Central Asian and Persian Muslim traders who came via the Silk Road during the Tang Dynasty🔹 How Islam reached China through trade. Arab and Persian merchants were active in Chinese ports centuries before the Mongol invasion. 🔹 Niujie — 牛街, Ox Street. Beijing's oldest Muslim neighbourhood. 54% Hui residents in the core area. 🔹 The 220 mosques were destroyed across China during the Japanese occupation and how the Cultural Revolution shut the Niujie mosque down, when Zhou Enlai personally intervened to save it.New here?Listen to the trailer (3 minutes) and the pilot episode (15 minutes) for the full story of who I am, why I'm doing this, and what this podcast is about.EP1-3: The Forbidden CityEP4-5: The Great Wall of ChinaEP6-7: The Summer PalaceEP8-9: The Temple of HeavenEP10: Can't Get Forbidden City Tickets? Go Here InsteadEP11: Jingshan ParkEP12: Beihai Park🙏 I'm no historian I research every episode the best I can. If anything sounds off, let me know. I'm always learning, and this podcast gets better with your help.🌏 Planning a trip to Beijing? I run small, responsible cultural experiences — including a Muslim Street Food Walking Tour through Niujie. DM me on Instagram.🎧 Search "A Day In Beijing", it's also available on: Spotify / Apple Podcasts / YouTube Music / Goodpods / 小宇宙 / Substack🌐 adayinbeijing.carrd.co📸 Instagram: @a_day_in_beijing / @chen_backinbeijing✉️ [email protected]

Ask a Beijinger what comes after the Forbidden City; most of us will probably say Beihai. This park is over 1,000 years old; five dynasties built it, one on top of the other. Kublai Khan lived here. Marco Polo wrote about it. And today, it's where grandmas go to dance at 7 AM. This week, let's take a wander around Beihai Park, a place where you breathe, decompress and travel back in time. A Day In Beijing is an English-language Beijing podcast inspired by the history, innovations, and people of Beijing — created and hosted by a born-and-raised Beijinger. We exist not only as your virtual travel guide, your dictionary to China, but also to challenge and break the colonial narratives that have been shaping Beijing and China. 🌍 World travellers who want more than a guidebook: cultural travel, responsible tourism, local perspectives📚 History lovers: five Chinese dynasties in one park, from the Liao Dynasty (938 AD) to the Qing🎙️ Anyone who wants to hear about China from someone who actually lives there What this episode covers:🔹 Why Beihai Park is older than the Forbidden City. The Liao Dynasty established it in 938 AD. Five dynasties — Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming, Qing — each built on top of the last. The park you walk through today is a thousand years of accumulated ambition.🔹 Kublai Khan lived here. Before the Forbidden City existed, this was the centre of imperial power. Marco Polo wrote about it. The Yuan Dynasty capital was built around this lake.🔹 静心斋, Jìngxīn Zhāi — the Studio of Quiet Heart. A Jiangnan-style garden hidden inside a northern imperial park. Suzhou transplanted to Beijing. Most visitors never find it.🔹 西天梵境, Xītiān Fànjìng — a Buddhist temple with a nanmu wood hall, one of the best-preserved wooden temple halls in Beijing.🔹 九龙壁, Jiǔlóng Bì — the Nine Dragon Wall. Everyone knows the one in the Forbidden City. This one is older, larger, and you can actually get close to it.🔹 快雪堂, Kuàixuě Táng — named after Wang Xizhi's calligraphy. Later became Liang Qichao's library. Where the five elements meet stone inscriptions.🔹 白塔 — the White Pagoda and the Temple of Eternal Peace. Built for the Fifth Dalai Lama's visit to Beijing. The pagoda is the silhouette you recognise from every photo of Beihai.🔹 What locals actually do. Paddle boats in summer. Ice skating in winter. Tai chi at dawn. Dancing by the lake at 7 AM. This isn't a museum — it's where Beijingers actually spend their weekends.📍 Quick reference:Tickets: 10 RMB (park) / 20 RMB combo with attractions Location: northwest of the Forbidden CityMetro: Beihai North Station, Line 6New here?Listen to the trailer (3 minutes) and the pilot episode (15 minutes) for the full story of who I am, why I'm doing this, and what this podcast is about.EP1-3: The Forbidden CityEP4-5: The Great Wall of ChinaEP6-7: The Summer PalaceEP8-9: The Temple of HeavenEP10: Can't Get Forbidden City Tickets? Go Here InsteadEP11: Jingshan Park | The Unsung Hill Behind the Forbidden CityEP12: Beihai Park | Older Than the Forbidden City (you are here)🙏 I'm no historian I research every episode the best I can. If anything sounds off, let me know. I'm always learning and this podcast gets better with your help.🌏 Planning a trip to Beijing? I run small, responsible cultural experiences that support independent businesses and local communities. DM me!👉 Know someone planning a trip to Beijing? The Forbidden City gets all the attention — send them this episode and change their itinerary.🎧 Search "A Day In Beijing", it's also available on: Spotify / Apple Podcasts / YouTube Music / Goodpods / 小宇宙 / Substack🌐 adayinbeijing.carrd.co📸 Instagram: @a_day_in_beijing / @chen_backinbeijing✉️ [email protected]

A Day In Beijing is an English-language Beijing podcast inspired by the history, innovations, and people and everything beyond Beijing. It's created and hosted by a born-and-raised Beijinger. We exist not only as your virtual travel guide, your dictionary to China, but also to challenge and break the colonial narratives that have been shaping Beijing and China. There's a hill directly behind the Forbidden City. Man-made, built from the earth they dug out of the palace moat 600 years ago. Most people climb it for the famous view. This episode is about everything else — the feng shui reason this hill exists and the imperial hall on the north side that only opened to the public a few years ago. 📪 Next Wednesday — 北海公园, Běihǎi Gōngyuán. Over 1,000 years old. Older than the Forbidden City by centuries. That white pagoda on the island — you've seen it in photos, but you don't know the story. Hit Follow so you don't miss it. Who is this podcast for?🌍 World travellers who want more than a guidebook — cultural travel, responsible tourism, real local perspectives🇨🇳 Planning a trip to China or Beijing — the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, and the places guidebooks miss🥾 Anyone planning to visit Jingshan Park — this episode tells you what every other guide leaves out📚 History lovers — feng shui, the fall of the Ming Dynasty, the Chongzhen Emperor, Beijing's Central Axis🎙️ Anyone who wants to hear about China from someone who actually lives there What this episode covers:🔹 Why the hill is man-made. The Yongle Emperor built it in the early 1400s from earth dug out of the Forbidden City moat. Carried up by hand, layer by layer. In feng shui, a palace needs a mountain to its north — a guardian behind it, facing south. This is that mountain.🔹 The view from 万春亭, Wànchūn Tíng — the Pavilion of Everlasting Spring. Every golden rooftop. The Central Axis — Beijing's invisible north-south line — stretching from Tiananmen Gate to the horizon in both directions. No photo does it justice.🔹 The last Ming emperor. In 1644, a rebel army entered Beijing. The Chongzhen Emperor, 崇祯, was 33 years old. He climbed this hill and hanged himself from a tree. The tree is still marked. 罪槐, Zuì Huái — the guilty locust tree.🔹 寿皇殿, Shòuhuáng Diàn — the Hall of Imperial Longevity. On the north side of the hill. Only opened to the public in the last few years. Over 21,000 square metres. Where the portraits of every emperor were kept — and where French troops took jade seals in 1900.🔹 What locals actually do. This is a park, not a museum. 二胡 players on the path. Tai chi at dawn. The café on the back hill. Peonies in spring — 500 varieties. Ginkgo trees turning gold in autumn. This is where Beijingers go on a weekday afternoon to breathe. New here?Listen to the trailer (3 minutes) and the pilot episode (15 minutes) for the full story of who I am, why I'm doing this, and what this podcast is about.EP1-3: The Forbidden CityEP4-5: The Great Wall of ChinaEP6-7: The Summer PalaceEP8-9: The Temple of HeavenEP10: Can't Get Forbidden City Tickets? Go Here InsteadEP11: Jingshan Park (you are here)EP12: Beihai Park (coming next Wednesday 🙏 I'm no historian — I research every episode the best I can. If anything sounds off, let me know. I'm always learning and this podcast gets better with your help. 🌏 Planning a trip to Beijing? We run small, responsible cultural experiences that support independent businesses and local communities. DM me! 🎧 Search "A Day In Beijing", it's also available on: Spotify / Apple Podcasts / YouTube Music / Goodpods / 小宇宙 / Substack📸 Instagram: @a_day_in_beijing / @chen_backinbeijing✉️ [email protected] 🌐 adayinbeijing.carrd.co