Beijing: The Complete History of the City

Beijing is a city where the past meets you at every step. It’s impossible to imagine it without temples and palaces, just as it’s impossible to imagine it without glass high-rises. The Chinese capital is woven from opposites: here ceremonial grandeur shares space with everyday chaos, like Yin and Yang—side by side, inseparable, always together.

Ancient emperors hiding in the cool shade of palace arcades, and communists loudly addressing crowds from podiums and balconies—one layer of history overlays another, mysteries multiply, secrets intertwine… So what, then, is the real Beijing?

Open the book from the series “History of a City in Your Hands” and immerse yourself in the rhythm of the metropolitan megalopolis, walk through the narrow lanes of the old quarters and along the broad avenues. With every page, you’ll feel history come alive.