Beijing china Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Beijing china - Essay Example These signs of Beijing being the cradle of civilization made many travelers to visit the city, considered the capital of the East’s civilization. This speech intends to give you overview information on Beijing, so that you may appreciate not only the role of the city in ancient civilization but also its central role in shaping the economy, politics, culture and social spheres of modern civilization. In this speech, Beijing’s history, location, population, administration, economic development, education, health, culture religion language hotels, climate, travel tips, transportation shopping and nightlife are explored. This information is not only important for visitors to the city such as international students but also to local students interested in the rich history and economic development of the city. Fact about Beijing In Chinese, Beijing means the city to the north. As mentioned earlier, Beijing’s history can be traced to more than eight centuries ago, durin g the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234). Built as Beijing by the Jin Dynasty, the city would later be named Zhongdu, after being seized by Mongol armies in 1215 (Li et al., 2007). The city was later renamed the Great Capital (Dadu) by the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) later renamed it Beiping, the Northern Peace on August 2, 1368 (Tourbeijing.com, 2012). From this brief history of the city, it is clear that despite Beijing being started by the Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368), it was actually immensely reconstructed during the reign of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1644-1911). After these two dynasties, the city was transformed into an architectural masterpiece and emerged as the undisputed capital of the Chinese empire. Beijing’s location is the other aspect of the city worth knowing. Generally, Beijing covers approximately16, 800 square kilometers with 38% of it being flat land and 62% mountains. It is located 40 degrees north latitude and 116 degrees of longitudes (Tourbeijing.com, 2012). It is to the northern parts of China and borders Hebei Province to the north, west, south, and to a small extent, the east. It borders Tianjin Municipality to the southeast. As of 2009, Beijing’s population was 20 million people with about 5 million living within the city center and the rest on the peripheries. For administrative purposes, the city is divided into two counties and fourteen districts with Fengtai, Dongcheng, Chaoyang, Haidian, Xicheng and Shijingshan being closer to the city while Tongzhou, Pinggu, Mentougou, Shunyi, Changping, Daxing, Huairou and Fangshan are on the outskirts. Economic Development, Health and Education A speech on Beijing would not be complete without mentioning the city’s economic development since its emergence. Of particular importance is the economic development of the city since the mid-20th century. In this period, Beijing transformed from a consumer city to a major industrial and global city. Currently, it does not only rank among the centers of power in China; Beijing is among the top Chinese investment hubs. In fact, with the current reforms in China, Beijing has managed to open up to improved urban construction. This development record saw the city host the Olympics Games in 2008 during which Beijing

The cemetery of new century Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The cemetery of new century - Research Paper Example The places where these deceased are permanently homed and commemorated are therefore a kind of fusion between life and the afterlife. It is a place where the living can incorporate the sense of the dead into their lives, and the same for the inverse. Yet we find that cemeteries and crematoriums and other burial areas all have a sombre tone about them and a sort of morbidity. Even though we aim to incorporate them into our lives, we find that they are often in isolated locations, away from the hustle of life, and if they are in a centralized location, life tends to move away from it instead, driven by the grim aura surrounding it. But as time is progressing, perhaps so should this inconsistency. There is no reason why cemeteries should be away from modern life and society, and why they should be an area of grimness. Cemeteries can maintain their solitude and sanctity but in a way where they are integrated with our current lives and living areas, and that, in my view, is what the cemet ery of the new century. But first, it is important to recognize why there needs to be a shift in the ideology behind a cemetery in a first place. The most basic and traditional type of cemetery is what is commonly known as a monumental cemetery. This is perhaps the most popular sort of burial ground in the west (Curl, 1980). In a monumental cemetery, graves are covered either by concrete, marble or granite, and distinctly marked by a headstone or monument. Individual graves can be surrounded by a boundary wall or a fence, as can be grouped graves belonging to family members. Because monumental ceremonies host graves from a variety of families and people, there generally isn't a common caretaker to personally care for individual graves. Cemetery authorities are responsible for the maintenance of the general graveyard, and may therefore trim or mow the grass between graves, or perform maintenance work the common boundary of the cemetery, there operations are often labor-intensive and without a personal caretaker, may cause the cemetery to go into slight decline. Monumental cemetery caretakers often face criticism over this as it is these reasons which give monumental cemeteries a traditionally sombre look. Furthermore, as the caretakers are not responsible for the maintenance of the headstones found on each grave, they too may become damaged over the years, and without maintenance may lead to the sombre and grim look of the cemetery. Lawn cemeteries are similar to monumental cemeteries but the difference being that instead of headstones, commemorative plates or plaques set in grass are used to denote individual graves. Graves too are on ground level and simply covered in grass. Most graves are therefore not customized and tend to follow the standard pattern set by each cemetery. Lawn cemeteries seemed easier to maintain, and generally are so too, but families placing flowers and other objects on graves tend to clutter the cemeteries. Another problem with lawn ce meteries is that over time grass may grow over the plaques covering the graves. Memorial parks are similar to lawn cemeteries except that the plaques on the grave are generally completely uniform and often the graves all have a certain common form of death, such as all being casualties of a war perhaps. Natural