中国城市文化（二）北京篇
As the largest and best-preserved ancient royal building complex in the world, the Palace Museumis a reflection of the highest architecture level in ancient China. Forbidden City, located in the center of Beijing, is the largest, best-preserved palace in the world. The Forbidden City used to be the imperial palace of Ming Dynasty which began to be built in 1406 AD and completed in 1420 AD with toilsome work of tens of thousands of laborers. There is a moat with the length of 52 meters around the palace. In this way, the palace becomes a strong and impregnable castle.
故宫是世界上规模最大、保存最完整的古代皇家建筑群，反映了中国古代最高的建筑水平。紫禁城位于北京市中心，是世界上最大、保存最完好的宫殿。紫禁城从前是明朝的皇宫，始建于公元1406年，到公元1420年才建成，耗费了数万名工人的辛勤劳动。宫殿周围有一条52米长的护城河。这样，宫殿就成了坚不可摧的城堡。
The Chinese Great Wall is the great construction in the history of human civilization. It was praised as the Eighth Wonder of the World many years ago. After unification of China by Qinshihuang (the first emperor in China), Qinshihuang ordered his people to build a new wall on the base of the original one in large scale. Subsequent dynasties continued to strengthen and extend the wall. The Great Wall is the symbol of the Chinese civilization. It is the fruit of the Chinese nation‘s wisdom.Now, the Great Wall is the famous scenic spot attracting tens of thousands of tourists. There is a well-known Chinese saying on the wall, "He who has never been to the Great Wall is not a true man".The Great Wall was selected on the list of the World Heritage in 1987.
中国长城是人类文明史上伟大的建筑。许多年前，它被誉为世界第八大奇迹。秦始皇统一中国后，下令人民在原来的基础上大规模修建新的城墙。后来的朝代继续加强和扩展长城。长城是中华文明的象征。它是中华民族智慧的结晶。现在，长城是著名的景点，吸引着成千上万的游客。有一个著名的中国谚语在长城上：“不到长城非好汉”。长城于1987年入选世界遗产名录。
Temple of Heavenis located in the southeast of Beijing and existed for more than 500 years. Temple of Heaven was built for emperors of Ming and Qing dynasties to worship the heaven. 天坛位于北京东南部，已有500多年的历史。天坛是明清两代皇帝祭天的地方。
The whole construction of the Temple of Heaven is made by wood so it is the architectural masterpiece of wood construction in China. Another marvelous and magnificent spot of the temple is Echo Wall. When standing in the center of the Circular Mound Altar, you can hear the bright sound which seems to come from the earth‘s core and sometimes from the sky.天坛的整个建筑都是用木材建造的，是中国木结构建筑的杰作。寺庙的另一个壮观的地方是回音墙。当你站在圆丘坛的中央，你可以听到明亮的声音，似乎来自地心，有时来自天空。
The design ideology of the Temple of Heaven manifests broad and vast sky. As for the aspect of distribution of building, the inner enclosure is situated on the east of north-south axis of outer enclosure; the Circular Mound Altar and Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is located on the east of the axis of the inner enclosure. This layout makes the west part of the Temple wider.天坛的设计思想体现了广阔无垠的天空。在建筑布局方面，内围位于外围南北轴线的东侧; 圆丘坛和祈年殿位于内部围场中轴线的东部，这种布局使寺庙的西部更宽。
Yuanmingyuan Park, situated in the northwest of Beijing, is the most magnificent royal garden of Qing Dynasty in the Chinese history. Yuanmingyuan Park was named by Emperor Kangxi. "Yuanming" means round and brightness. The implication of "Yuan" is moderate and the "Ming" means that the brightness can cover the whole nation. Yuanmingyuan drew on the characteristics of Suzhou gardens and inherited the cream of Chinese ancient gardening. Yuanmingyuan was also like an art museum which collected numerous curios and art works. Yuanmingyuan Park was the home of various sorts of exotic flowers and unusual trees. No wonder that Yuanmingyuan Park was reputed "the most beautiful garden in the world".
圆明园位于北京西北部，是中国历史上最宏伟的清代皇家园林。圆明园是由康熙皇帝命名的。“圆明”的意思是圆和亮。“元”的含义是温和的，“明”的意思是光明可以覆盖整个国家。圆明园汲取了苏州园林的特色，继承了中国古代造园的精华。圆明园也像一个艺术博物馆，收集了许多古玩和艺术作品。圆明园是各种奇花异草和奇特树木的家园。难怪圆明园被誉为“世界上最美丽的花园”。
Unfortunately, this grand royal garden fell into ruins during the Second Opium War.British and French troops ruthlessly invaded Beijing in 1860. On October 6, the Yuanmingyuan was seized by British and French army. On the following day, the invaders began their crazy robbery and destruction. After robbing of everything in the park, Earl of Elgin ordered to set fire to the Yuanmingyan Park for covering up their guilt. After three days burning, the park was turned from a beauty into a deserted place. The restoration of the park had been gradually carried out after 1979. Now, Yuanmingyuan has been developed into memorial park.不幸的是，这座宏伟的皇家花园在第二次鸦片战争中变成了废墟。1860年，英法联军无情地入侵北京。10月6日，圆明园被英法联军占领。第二天，侵略者开始了疯狂的抢劫和破坏。圆明园公园被埃尔金伯爵洗劫一空后，为了掩盖罪行，下令放火烧了公园。经过三天的燃烧，公园从一个美丽的地方变成了一个荒地。1979年以后，公园逐步恢复。现在，圆明园已经发展成为纪念公园。
Hutongs, a type of narrow alleys or street, is very typical and unique in Beijing. With the history of 700 years, Hutongs in Beijing display the aspect of Chinese cultural history. At first glance, Hutongs is seemed to have the similar appearances with grey walls and grey tiled buildings. However, if you are patient to talk with the dwellers in Hutongs, you will find that every Hutong has its own anecdote and allusion.Hutong was not only the backbone of transportation in the ancient Beijing but also the place where common people lived. Hutongs represent the vicissitude of society and are rich in cultural atmosphere, which makes Hutongs like a folk museum.
胡同，一种狭窄的小巷或街道，在北京是非常典型和独特的。北京的胡同有着700年的历史，是中国文化史的缩影。乍一看，胡同似乎与灰色的墙壁和灰色的砖瓦建筑有着相似的外观。然而，如果你耐心地和胡同里的居民交谈，你会发现每条胡同都有它自己的奇闻轶事和典故。胡同不仅是古代北京的交通干线，也是老百姓居住的地方。胡同代表着社会的变迁，具有浓郁的文化气息，这使胡同成为一个民俗博物馆。
1. Forbidden City 紫禁城
2. best-preserved 保存最好的
3. the palace museum 故宫博物院
4. ancient 古代的
5. castle 城堡
6. the Chinese Great Wall 万里长城
7. construction 建筑
8. civilization 文明
9. praise 赞扬
10. wonder 奇迹
11. dynasty 朝代
12. symbol 象征
13. wisdom 智慧
14. scenic spot 景点
15. heritage 遗产
16. masterpiece 杰作
17. marvelous 了不起的
18. magnificent 壮丽的
19. manifest 显示
20. invade 侵略
21. rob of 抢劫
22. restoration 恢复
23. backbone 支柱
24. vicissitude of society 社会变迁
25. folk museum 民俗博物馆