The Palace Museum
The Palace Museum also known as the Forbidden City, it is the largest and best-preserved clusters of ancient wooden buildings in the world. It was the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties. The basic layout was originally built in 1406(the fourth year of Ming Emperor Yongle’s reign). Covering an area of 72 hectares, it has 8,704 halls and rooms. The Palace Museum is divided into two parts: Outer Court and Inner Court. Main buildings of the Outer Court are the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Hall of Complete Harmony, and Hall of Preserving Harmony. The Hall of Supreme Harmony, used for great ceremonial occasions, is the most splendid one, symbolizing the supreme authority of the feudal emperors. The Inner Court was where the emperor managed state affairs, and also the place the empress and imperial concubines lived, main constructions including the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Hall of Union, Palace of Earthly Tranquility, as well as Six East Palaces and Six West Palaces. The state of art design and grand pattern has made it a rarity of exquisite eastern architecture. In 1987, it was inscribed on the World Heritage List by the UNESCO.
Tian'an men Square
Tiananmen Square is the world's largest city square, encompassing 44 hectares (108.7acres). It is 880 metres from north to south and 500 metres from east to west, big enough to hold half a million people! The square has borne witness to a great deal of modern history, from the demonstrations by students of the May 4th Movement against foreign powers in 1919 to the recent parades in 2009 marking the 60th anniversary of The People's Republic of China. The square is flanked to the west by the Great Hall of the People, seat of the National People's Congress and other arms of the Chinese government, and to the east by the China National Museum, with Tiananmen Gate and the Forbidden City to the north. Sights on the square itself include the Monument to the People's Heroes and Chairman Mao's Mausoleum.
The Great Wall at Mutianyu
Mutianyu Great Wall is located in northeastern Beijing in Huai Rou Country. This section of the wall about 100km away from the center of Beijing. It is one of the best preserved parts of the Great Wall. There are 22 watch towers in the 2250-meter-long, Mutianyu Great Wall with the highest point being 540 meters above sea level. First being built during the period of the Southern Qi (479-502) in Northern and Southern dynasties, this section of the wall was once repaired in the late Tang Dynasty and again renovated and expanded in the Ming Dynasty. Restored to its original shape from December 1983 to August 1984 the Mutianyu Section of the Great Wall was opened to the public in April 1986. The Chinese saying “A Man is not considered brave until he has climbed the Great Wall” and after you visit to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall you will be certain that is true.
Temple of Heaven
Temple of Heaven originally built in 1420(the 18th year of Ming Emperor Yongle’s reign), the Temple of Heaven is located in south Beijing covering an area of 273 hectares. It functioned as a vast stage for solemn rites performed by emperors of Ming and Qing dynasties to sacrifice to the Heaven, and is the largest existing architectural complex used for worshipping the Heaven in the world. It was inscribed on World Heritage List in 1998 by the UNESCO. The compound is divided into the inner altar and outer altar. The main worshipping buildings are located inside the inner altar: the Circular Mound Altar and Imperial Vault of Heaven in south of the inner alter, while the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and Hall of Imperial Zenith in the north. A 360-meter-long Red Stairway Bridge links the two groups of architectures. Unique design and symbolic layout of the Temple of Heaven have embodied ancient Chinese thought of “complete harmony of man and nature”. Not only is the Temple of Heaven a scarce masterwork in the history of Chinese architecture, but also precious heritage of world existing ancient architecture.
Summer Palace
Summer Palace situated in western outskirts of Beijing. The Summer Palace is the typical classical garden in China, and one of the most famous gardens in the world. It consists of the Longevity Hill and the Kunming Lake with a total area of 290 hectares, among which three-fourths is covered by the lake. The whole garden is functionally divided into three sections, namely court reception area, residence area and sightseeing area. Combining the delicacy of private gardens in south China and the elegancy of imperial gardens, the Summer Palace has a significant place in the history of landscape gardening. The Summer Palace was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1998 by the UNESCO.
Ming Tombs
Ming Tombs sitting on the south slopes of Jundu Mountain in Changping District, Beijing, the Ming Tombs (also called Shisanling, literally, thirteen Tombs) are mausoleums of thirteen emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). One of the largest and having most emperors’ and empresses’ mausoleums cluster of imperial cemeteries in China; the Ming Tombs are located in a 40-square-kilometer-nearly basin, screened by mountains on three sides. Scattered in and around and basin, each tomb is against a hill. The whole tomb area shows a harmonious unity but distinguished by different characteristics. The UNESCO added the Ming Tombs on the List of World Heritage in 2003.
Lama Temple
Located in the northeastern part of the old city of Beijing, the Lama Temple was a palatial residence constructed in 1694 by Qing Emperor Kangxi (1662-1722) for his fourth son, Prince Yongzheng who later succeeded to the throne. The magnificent temple consists of five main buildings lying on the north-south axis, with annex halls standing on both sides. The temple is listed by the Chinese Government as one of the important historical monuments under special preservation. After the death of his father, Emperor Yongzheng (1723-1735) moved to the Forbidden City. This compound was closed to ordinary people and was renamed Yonghegong (the Palace of Harmony). Yellow roof tiles replaced green ones to suit a monarch’s home. In 1744 his successor Emperor Qianlong (1736-1795) converted the palace into a temple. Several renovations have been carried out since 1949. The temple has taken on a completely new look and has been reopened to the public since 1981. it is now not only a functional lama temple, but also a tourist attraction.
Beihai Park
This is one of the oldest parks in Beijing. The lake and artificial hills were first built in 1179 and additions were made during the successive dynasties. The White Pagoda atop the hill was built in 1651. The Halls, pavilions and other buildings are linked together by winding galleries, tunnels, stairways, and footpaths. Among the famous spots in the park are the Nine-Dragon Screen and the Five-Dragon Pavilions. Kublai Khan used to live here.
Coal Hill Park
Coal was once heaped around the foot of the hill, it is therefore know as the Coal Hill. The five pavilions on the ridges were built in 1750. Chongzhen (1628-1644), the last Ming Emperor, hanged himself on one of the locust trees when the peasant rebels broke into Beijing in 1644. on top of the hill, you can get a bird’s eye view of the Forbidden City and the city of Beijing.
Hutong tour
"Hutong" is a kind of ancient city alley or lane typical in Beijing, where the number of hutongs may run into several thousand. They are around the Forbidden City, many of which where built during the three dynasties of Yuan, Ming, and Qing. There have been two kinds of hutong. One kind, usually referred to as the regular hutong, was centered closely to the east and west of the palace. Another kind, the simple and crude hutong, was mostly far located to the north and south of the palace. The main buildings in the hutong were almost all “quadrangles”-a kind of enclosure of buildings complex formed by four houses standing on the four sides. The quadrangles varied in size and design with the social status of the residents. The big quadrangles of the high-ranking officials and wealthy merchants were specially built with a front yard and a back yard. However, the ordinary people’s quadrangles were simply built with low houses. Hutong, in fact, are passageways formed by many closely arranged quadrangles. The specially built quadrangles all face to the south for better lighting, as a result, a lot of hutongs run from east to west. Therefore, the city of Beijing is like a magnified quadrangle, symmetrically arranged and surrounded rectangularly by high walls. This lends magnificence to the city.
