Beijing last century in color

One of the greatest cities in the world was imprinted on the color film American photographer Dmitri Kessel in 1947. For a city with a thousand-year history, it was a brief moment between the past and the future - 2 years as the Japanese occupation ended and only two 2 years left before the capture of the northern capital of the Red Army of Mao. All the four years between the Japanese and the Maoists Beijing officially called "Beiping" ("Northern composure"), as the official capital at that time was in Nanjing. When Mao in October 1949 proclaimed the People's Republic with its capital in Beijing, the city returned to the name "Peiching" ("Northern Capital"), applies to 1929 and during the Japanese occupation (1937-1945.).

The pictures we see in fact, more feudal imperial Beijing era of the signs of which began in 1911 Westernization - only tram lines, telephone poles, and a few buildings of the European species.
18 photos via visualhistory





2. The central streets are deserted, almost no cars and even bicycles - a rarity



3. Where else can you see on a color film this way to get around the city?



4. The EU hardly remember what it's called - the palanquin



5. On the "Gate of Heavenly Peace", which is now a permanent resident in perpetuity portrait of Mao in 1947, still wearing the face of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek



6. And it was not the only portrait



7. Beijing air. The core of the urban composition is the Forbidden City, a huge complex of imperial palace, it is essentially an analogue of the Moscow Kremlin in the past



8. A Beijing in 1947 as well as 1977, is at 99% one-storey town consisting of kvartalov- "Hooton»



9. Who is more "Hooton" saved in the center of the city as the historical monuments of urban planning culture. There are no streets, but only a maze of narrow passages between the houses, pigs backyards, all the belongings in the yard. It is an unusual world. One of the central shopping streets



10. Fortunately, the ancient gateway to the city center have survived



11. Against this background, building the railway European-style train station I did not get enough attention from others. Hug me and sundry. radio tower look has suddenly



12. Some procession on city street



13. Shop at the pagoda verschine on one of the hills in the city



14. Urban catering. In general, this and now in China can be seen all the time, and in London today, such characters are to Camden market.



15. Chinese clothing market forever



16. The Beijing winter came



17. pedicabs update path



18. A lights-the - art nouveau!



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