Phoenix Palace Hotel Beijing offers you a rare opportunity to sightsee old Beijing and learn its rich culture.

About half a mile south of our hotel, there is Beijing’s famous Houhai Lake, ‘Lake in the Back’.

Many view the place as a hip bar area. Yet few are familiar with its glorious past.

The Rear Lake got its name because it is all located right at the back of the nearby Forbidden City.

Dug out in Yuan dynasty in the 14^th century, the Rear Lake used to be lined to the Grand Canal. The canal allows boats to bring goods from all over China to Beijing, the capital city.

Today, the place has become a retreat for painters and poets, and a favorite of the masses.

Phoenix Palace Hotel Beijing is only a few blocks from one old Beijing’s most iconic landmarks – the Drum and Bell towers.

The twin towers used to tell time to the public, and played so big a role in people’s everyday life.

Bells and drums were originally musical instruments in ancient China. But as their sound could travel far, the Chinese invented a genius way to use them to announce different hours in a day.

Both towers measures 50 meters in height. And it is said that the sound can travel as far as 20 kilometers.

Today, drum performance is played regularly on the drum tower during the day. And visitors rarely failed to visit the bell said to be the largest of its kind in all China.

Phoenix Palace Hotel Beijing is located in an area that had played such a big role in Beijing’s history.

A few hundred meters west of our hotel, there stands the De Sheng Gate. The towering gate used to part of Beijing’s fortification system finished over 500 years ago.

De Sheng means ‘Triumph’ in Chinese. And triumph the Chinese empire did need.

History accounts tell that the imperial army set out from this gate for war. The emperor would also come to throw a farewell party for his generals.

When there was no war, the gate functioned as a time-telling tower. Cannon would be fired at right noon. Thus everyone living in the city knew it was mid-day.

Today, the tower-style gate is open to the public. And there you can see a huge stone tablet engraved with a poem written by Emperor Qianlong.