Beijing

Beijing is the capital of the People's Republic of China, the lion's political, scientific, cultural and foreign exchange center one of the six ancient cities of China, as well as a worldrenowned historical, cultural and educational city.
It has not only countless ancient palaces, imperial gardens, altars, temples, tombs and other historical and cultural sites, but also many picturesque natural scenic spots. Beijing has been well known in the world for its numerous historical sites, elegant gardens and beautiful landscape.
In the past 20 years, Beijing has developed rapidly in an all-round way. Now Beijing is a modern metropolis with charm of an ancient city in the East. Under the blue sky and white clouds, red walls, glazed tiles and skyscrapers add radiance and beauty each other.Major Sights

Tiananmen Square

Tiananmen Square is the largest square in the world, where the five-star m. flag is raised ., dawn, an,. lowered at sunset everyday. Standing at the Tiananmen Gatetower, you will have a nice view of the splendid and magnificent square.

The square is flanked by the Museum of Chinese History and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution onthe east, the Great Hall of the People on the west, Zhenyangmen and the Arrow Tower on the south, the Monument to the People's Heroes at the center, and the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall at the southern end. Tiananmen Square attracts numerous Chinese and foreign tourists everyday.

Imperial Palace

The Imperial Palace is the largest and best-preserved palace in the world. Twenty-four emperors of the Ming (1368-2644) and Qing (1644-191 I) dynasties resided and handled state affairs here. It was forbidden to laboring people in the past, hence the name the Forbidden City.
Construction of the palace began in the fourth year of the Yongle reign period of the Ming Dynasty (1406), and was completed 14 years later in 1420. It covers an area of 720,000 square meters, and the floorage comes to about 150,000 square meters. The Imperial Palace is composed of the outer and inner palaces. The outer palace consists of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony and the Hall of Preseving Harmony, where policial activities were held. The Hall of Supreme Harmony was the most important building , where grand ceremonies were held, such as the accession of a new emperor to the throne, the adoption of a new title of a reign, going on an expedition, the emperor's birthday and wedding, and the celebration of the Spring Festival.
The area where the Hall of Heavenly Purity, the Hall of Union and the Hall of Earthly Tranquility are located is the inner palace, where the emperor and his empress resided and handled daily affairs. The other six palaces in the east and west and the Imperial Garden were lived by imperial consorts.
In 1925 the Forbidden City was open to the public and was renamed as the Palace Museum. Now the Palace Museum houses more than one million cultural relics, most of which are rare treasures, ranking first of all the museums in the world. In 1987 it was named as the World Cultural Heritage.

Temple of Heaven

As the largest of the all existing temples in China, the Temple of Heaven was the place where the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties worshiped heaven and prayed for good harvests. The construction of the Temple of Heaven was completed in the 18th year of the Yongle reign period of the Ming Dynasty (1420).
Its main structures include the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the Imperial Vault of Heaven and the Circular Mound Altar. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is a lofty, round structure supported by 28 wooden pillars, with a coneshaped deep blue-tile roof crowned with a gilded knob. The Imperial Vault of Heaven is surrounded by a circular wall, known as Echo Wall. If a person whispers close to the wall at any point, the voice can be heard distinctly at any other point along the wall.

Yonghe Lamasery

The Yonghe Lamasery was built in the 33rd year of the Kangxi reign period of the Qing Dynasty (1694) to serve as a residence for Prince Yinzhen In the third year of the Yongzheng reign period (1725), it was renamed as the Yonghe Palace; and in the ninth year of the Qianlong reign period (1744), it was rebuilt into a lamasery.
The Yonghe Lamasery contains five main halls along a north-south axis and three memorial archways. In the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happinesses rises the statue of Maitreya, 18 metres above ground and eight metres below ground. The statue, carved from a single trunk of white sandalwood, is the largest wooden statue of Buddha in China. In 1993, it was included in the Guinness Book of Records

The Summer Palace

As the largest and best preserved of imperial gardens in China, and one of the most famous classical gardens in the world, the Summer Palace is located in Haidian District, about 15 kilometers from the city proper.
During the Liao (907-1125) and Kin (1115-1234) dynasties, this scenic spot attracted pleasureseeking feudal rulers. In the Ming and Qomg dynasties, it became an imperial garden. In 1888, it was rebuilt by the Empress Dowager Ci Xi who spent an enormous amount of money on it from funds appropriated for building a Chinese navy. Ci Xi named it the Park of Nurtured Harmony, but it is generally known to foreigners as the Summer Palace.
It consists of Longevity Hall and Kunming Lake. All architectures is well arranged at the foot of the hill and by the lake, adding radiance and beauty to the park. Its main scenic spots include the Tower of Buddhist Incense, Long Corridor, Hall of Benevolence and Longevity, 17-Arch Bridge, Garden of Harmonious Interests, Suzhou Street and Marble Boat, etc.

Beijing Hutong

Hutong is an ancient city alley peculiar to Beijing. Beijing has more than 4,550 Hutong. Those surrounding the Forbidden City and taking Prince Gong's Residence as the center are the best-preserved.
The buildings in Beijing hutong are mainly compounds with houses around a courtyard, also known as quadrangles. Narrow passages between these quadrangles linked one with the other are hutong. The hutong in Beijing was mainly formed in the Yuan (1279-1368), Ming and Qing dynasties. Tourists may have a tour of the 700-yearold hutong in Beijing by tricycle.

The Ming Tombs

Located at the foot of the picturesque Tianshou Hills in Changping County, Beijing, the Ming Tombs are 44 kilometers from the city proper. Altogether 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty were buried here. Of them, Changling Mausoleum is well known for its grand architecture and Dingling Mausoleum for its excavated underground palace. Everyday special tourist buses go from Qianmen, Chongwenmen. Dongdaqiao and Zhanlanlu directly to the Ming Tombs.

The Great Wall at Badaling

Lying to the north of Juyong Pass, the Great Wall at Badaling is about 60 kilometers from the city proper of Beijing. The Gate-tower of the Juyong Pass was firstly constructed in the 18th year of the Hongzhi reign period of the Ming Dynasty (1505), with two gates, one in the cast and the other in the west. Over the eastern gate is a horizontal tablet, inscribed with the characters meaning "Outer Juyong Town," and the horizontal tablet over the western gate also has four characters, meaning "A Strategic Pass in the North."
The Great Wall at Badaling is 7.8 meters high on average. Five horses or ten people can walk along it abreast. There are ramparts, embrasures, peep-holes and apertures for archers on the top. The watch-towers are built in at 500-meter intervals for accommodation, storing military equipment and observing enemy movements. Badaling also has the Great Wall Museum, and the Circular Screen Cinema.

The Beihai Park

Located in the center of Beijing, the Beihai Park is well known for its Jade Islet, Beihai Lake and White Dagoba. The 35.9-meter-high White Dagoba, which was firstly built in 165 L, sits on a Sumeru base built with bricks and stones. Many halls and pavilions stand among green pines and cypresses, in addition to a long corridor by the lake. The Beihai Park is an ideal place for going boating in summer and skating in winter. Immediately outside the southern gate is the Circular City, known as a small city in the city proper of Beijing. The Hall of Receiving Light is in the center of the Circular City, where visitors can see the 800-year-old pine tree planted in the Kin Dynasty (1115-1234).

The Beijing Zoo

The Beijing Zoo, the largest zoo in China, has the most valuable animals in the world, such as giant pandas and golden monkeys. It has more than 3,000 animals from all over the world, which fall into over 500 species, such as rhinoceroses, chimpanzees, gibbons, elephants, lions, polar bears, penguins, etc.

Big Bell Temple

It is situated on the north side of the northern section of the Third Ring Road. The giant bell in the temple ws cast in the Yongle reign period of the Ming Dynasty, with a history of more than 500 years. It is 6.94 meters high, and weighs 46.5 tibs.
The inner and outer sides of the bell are inscribed with the Buddhist sutras, containing more than 227,000 characters. It is known as the "King of the Bells in china." As the temple houses nearly 100 bells in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, it is named as the Ancient Bells Museum of China.

Fragrant Hills Park

Lying at the foot of the Western Hills, the Fragrant Hills Park is 28 kilometers away from the city proper. A rock at the top of the hills looks like an incense burner. In autumn when the hills are aflame with red leaves, people would love to go to the Fragrant Hills Park to appreciate red leaves.