Marco Polo Bridge
Beijing
Beijing is today the capital of the People’s Republic of China but it once fell into the hands of the Mongols after Genghis Khan led an invasion in 1215. Known back then as Zhongdu, it was razed to the ground within two years only for Kublai Khan to begin rebuilding the city in 1267 once he had ascended to power.
When Marco Polo arrived eight years later, he fell in love with the results and you can too. “The streets are so straight and wide that you can see right along them from end to end and from one gate to the other,” he wrote. “And up and down the city there are beautiful palaces, and many great and fine inns and fine houses.”
Polo remained in China for 17 years, working for the Khan, from where he also travelled across Asia. If you want somewhere to visit, however, you could do worse than trek to the multi-arched stone bridge over the Yongding River 15 kilometres south of Beijing. It is called the Marco Polo Bridge since the traveller lavished great praise on the original, saying it had “very few equals in the world”.
The bridge – which was reconstructed in 1698 following damage from flooding – is also well known for being the location where Japan launched a full-scale invasion of China in 1937. Today, it is protected from traffic thanks to the construction of a highway next to it in 1985.
Given the Marco Polo Bridge stretches across the river in the great outdoors. There is no charge to visit but the best time to travel to Beijing tends to be May, June, September and October for less extreme weather.