The first Sino-German connections in Beijing stretch back to the late Ming (1368-1644) period. Permanent reminders start in the early Qing (1644-1911) and run to the end of the dynasty. Like all long term relationships, there have been ups and downs between these two great peoples.

There are several fragments of the German past in Beijing: Some serve different purposes than originally designed; others exist only as forgotten place names. Tracking down sites of anything ancient that manages to survive in this fast changing city is a form of modern urban archaeology.

Although these places aren't likely to change much, as always, I suggest you go now.

Tomb of John Adam Schall

Amazingly, there is a missionary cemetery inside the central courtyard of a government compound belonging to the Beijing Municipal Communist Party School and Beijing Administrative Institute. Even more surprising, foreign and local visitors are almost always allowed in to see it.

The tomb of John Adam Schall von Bell (b. Cologne 1592- d. Beijing 1666), the first German to come to the Chinese capital, is one of the many hidden little spots which help make this a fascinating city.

Schall, who came to Beijing in January 1623, is one of the three giants in the Society of Jesus with a place of honour set apart from the other missionaries (including those of the Dominican and Franciscan Catholic orders) laid to rest here.

His 43 years in China spanned the final two decades of the Ming and the first two of the Qing dynasties. Schall made significant inroads for his faith, reaching the highest levels of China's government by exploiting his expertise in mathematics and astronomy.

The German Jesuit's accurate predictions of eclipses won him important positions over Chinese and Muslim competitors in the Ming's Board of Rites and Directorship of the Institute of Astronomy during the Qing. Schall worked on improving the imperial calendar for both dynasties because control over time was a key tenet legitimizing rule in ancient imperial China.

Schall was very close to the young Qing Emperor Shunzhi (r. 1644-61) who called him "grandpa" in Manchu. His rivals in science conspired to have him eliminated during the xenophobic regency for boy Emperor Kangxi (r.1661-1722). It took a comet, earthquake and extensive fire in the Forbidden City in 1665 to prevent Schall and his team from grisly execution by being slowly cut to pieces. Ill and worn out from his travails, Schall died peacefully in August 1666 shortly after all criminal charges were dropped.

The Jesuit cemetery is a brisk ten- minute walk west from the western Second Ring Road on the south side of today's Chegongzhuang Dajie(³µ¹«×¯´ó½Ö). You're at the right place when you're at the pedestrian signal crossing linking both sides of the street.

If the guard stops you, bring ID and say you want to see Limadou mu (tomb of the more famous Matteo Ricci). The three stone markers within the gated area belong to Schall, Ricci then and Ferdinand Verbiest.

Archway of Punishment Turned to Peace

Inside the south gate of Zhongshan Gongyuan (Sun Yat-sen Park ÖÐɽ¹«Ô°) is a stone memorial pailou (archway ÅÆÂ¥) with a German connection. The park is located to the west (left) of Mao's portrait at Tiananmen.

This pailou originally stood on Dongdan Beidajie above Chang'an Boulevard at the entrance to Zongbu Hutong, near where the Qing Dynasty's yamen (the office or residence of an official in the Chinese Empire) for Foreign Affairs stood. In addition to sending a member of the imperial family to apologize to Kaiser Wilhelm in Berlin, the first article of the Peking Protocol of 1901 required putting up an expiatory monument at the site where the German Minister to China, Baron Klemens von Ketteler, was killed at the start of the Boxer Uprising in June 1900.

In 1899-1900 the Qing empire was beset by domestic unrest and threats from foreign powers that bode ill for the country. An already tense situation was exacerbated by von Ketteler's bullying of Chinese and his violent temper. In the week before he was shot by a Manchu soldier named En Hai, Ketteler severely beat one Boxer discovered in the Legation Quarter then led a detachment of German guards on to the city wall where they shot and killed seven Boxers and left 105 wounded.

On streets lined with spiked-helmet wearing German troops, the monument was inaugurated on January 18, 1903.

The archway stood at this location until dismantled in 1917 after China entered on the Allied side during World War One. At the end of the conflict in late 1918, the Chinese Government removed the original inscription and changed the arch's name to the Triumph of Truth, rebuilding it as a war memorial in the park in 1919.

Since a 1953 peace conference held in Beijing, it has been known as the Baowei Heping Pailou (The Defend Peace Archway ±£ÎÀºÍƽÅÆÂ¥). The calligraphy bearing this inscription was done by Guo Moruo, who had served as Chairman of the Chinese Committee for World Peace.

Zhongshan Park is open 6 am-9 pm daily. Admittance is 5 yuan (US$ 0.60). If you understand Chinese, call 6605-4594 for information.

Site of the German Cemetery

There is another site in Beijing related to the aftermath of the Boxer Uprising associated with Germans. Aside from maps and accounts about old Beijing, there is no trace of the cemetery for foreign troops and civilians who died during the struggle. It now lies underneath the train tracks just east of Beijing Railway Station.

Sources from the period indicate the grave site was originally called the Geguo Yingdi (Multinational Cemetery) used by the eight-power allied forces to bury their fallen from their 1900 suppression over the anti-imperialist Boxer Movement. However it became known as the German cemetery over the next half century because of the preponderance of that nationality.

The Qing Dynasty had (for reasons of hygiene and superstition) ordinances forbidding the internment of any corpses within the walls of the city. This cemetery was one of the ways in which the Germans exacted their revenge for the loss of their Minister to China.

Many of the dead foreigners were reburied in national plots scattered throughout the city outside of its walls. Prior to 1949 Americans, Russians, Japanese, French and the British all had resting places for their dead beyond the confines of Beijing. This spot became known as the Deguo Fendi (German Cemetery µÂ¹ú·ØµØ) as those interred there were never moved.

The site is located between the western end of the city wall at Dongbianmen(¶«±ãÃÅ) and the eastern most part of the city wall ruins that is currently being turned into what promises to be a beautiful new