Beijing: Special Troops Training Base of Emperor Qianlong

Maybe you have been to the famous Imperial Palace or the beautiful Summer Palace, but have you heard about the special troops training base of Emperor Qianlong? Today I will introduce to you a military base of Qing Dynasty in my Beijing Xian tour — Tuancheng Martial-Art Training Hall.

Situated 4 miles away from the southeast foot of the Xiangshan Park in Beijing, Tuancheng Martial-Art Training Hall is originally built in the 14th year(1749) of Qianling Reign in Qing Dynasty. And it is the only one town-style building complex in Beijing which combines city wall and moat, temple, pavilion, watchtower and training field together. Tuancheng Martial-Art Training Hall is not only a place for Emperor Qian Long to review the Baqi military (this is a superior military comprised of the soldiers from Manchu. They used to be the central or the main power of the army of the Qing Dynasty) parade, but also a place for martial art training during Qianlong reign. The main architectures are Tuancheng, Martial-Art Training Hall, Training and Contesting Field, Stele Pavilion of Shisheng Temple and Pine-Tree Hall.

Currently it was the popular place of the Wushu or Martial art lovers, annually the large-scale Wushu competition movement is held here. In 1970s, Tuancheng Martial-Art Training Hall was listed as Beijing Municipal Cultural Relics Preservation Unit. And on April 28, 2004, it was open to the public officially and in 2006, it was upgraded to state-level cultural relics preservation unit. After the traveling in Beijing, I flied to Xian for another amazing journey — the Terra-Cotta Warriors tour.