Inside The Forbidden City: Historian Explores Ancient Beijing

Dan Snow explores the historic, 600-year-old Central Axis of Beijing in China to tour the temples and explore the historic origins of the remnants of the ancient Mongol capital Dadu, the 2,000-year-old Han Chinese blueprint used by the Ming dynasty, and the engineering marvels of the Forbidden City. 0:00 Introduction 0:37 The origins of Beijing's central axis 2:33 Exploring the ancient walls of Dadu 4:49 Marco Polo's impressions of the grid city 6:18 The Ming dynasty and the ancient Han blueprint 11:50 Timekeeping at the drum and bell towers 15:28 Feng shui principles at Jingshan Park 18:37 Architecture and engineering of the Forbidden City 24:17 Inside the private life of the emperor 27:52 Preserving community life in the hutongs 30:35 Sacred rituals at the Temple of Heaven 34:38 The modern extension of the historic axis #ChineseHistory #Beijing #History You can now become a History Hit member right here on YouTube! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more. Get an exclusive release every week by signing up here:    / @historyhit