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Beijing China
ATTRACTION
AND SIGHT-SEEING
Great
Wall of China
This has to be top of the hit list for first time visitors to city.
Unsurprisingly, it was listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Legacy in
1987. It spans 6700 km and it took over 200 years to complete. The
intention was to keep invaders out and the locals in. Qin Shihuang
(221-210 BC), the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty ordered the building
of the wall to keep out the Huns from the North. At its closest point
it is less than 60km/40 miles from city. Open 7am to 6.30pm.
The
Forbidden City - Gu Gon in Chinese - aka Palace Museum
Lying at the center of city, the Forbidden City was the imperial
palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Now known as the Palace
Museum, and is now the world's largest palace complex. Splendid painted
decoration on these royal architectural wonders, the grand and deluxe
halls, with their surprisingly magnificent treasures will certainly
satisfy 'modern civilians'.
Bird’s
Nest National Stadium
Designed by award
winning architects Herzog
& de Meuron, this
futuristic stadium that resembles a bird's nest hosted the track and
field events during the 2008 Summer Olympics. It is especially
beautiful at night when the stadium's lighting system is activated.
Temple
of Heaven (Tiantan) is
China's largest existing complex of
ancient sacrificial buildings. The principle buildings include the
Altar of Prayer for Good Harvests, Imperial Vault of Heaven and
Circular Mound Altar. It was entered into the world cultural heritage
list in 1998. Here, during the Ming and Qing dynasty, the emperor would
make sacrifices during the winter solstice, and pray to heaven and his
ancestors, on behalf of his people for bumper harvests. Entry Park
Free, Temple RMB 30.
Summer
Palace Regarded as the
largest imperial garden in
China, Summer Palace is in fact a park-styled royal retreat.
Once a
summer resort for emperors, this 290-acre park-palace is still a
retreat for visitors, who can take a rest here or wander around old
pavilions, buildings, temples, bridges and the huge Kunming Lake.
Underground
City This is an underground
bomb shelter just beneath the
city. It was built more than 20 years ago and opened to the public in
2000. It was built as a result of the Sino-Soviet border conflict in
1969 over Zhenbao Island in northeast China's Heilongijang River. This
was built in case of nuclear attack. It took 300,000 locals four years
to complete the underground city and it spanned 85 square kilometres 8
metres below the surface. There were hundreds of entrances via trap
doors to the shelter and most of these are hidden by shops and houses.
Ming
Tomb
Set among elaborate grounds of verdant courtyards and magnificent halls
some 30 miles north of the city, the imperial monuments of the Ming
Dynasty make for a nice afternoon spent outside the hustle and bustle
of the capital. Three of the 13 tombs are open to the public, and only
one has been fully excavated.
Hutong
Pedicab Tour ( Shichahai Area
)
Do you have the experience of taking a man-driving pedicab?
In the old Beijing hutong areas, you can find the ancient
transportation tools now still preserved for tourists as the main
traffic tool of visiting hutong - Beijing unique old city lanes. The
neighborhoods of narrow, twisting streets represent the “real
life” of Beijing, where passageways connect to courtyards of
traditional compact homes.
Lama
Temple
The Lama Temple is city's most visited religious site and is home to
the Yellow Sect of Buddhism. It is very active, with many faithfuls
burning armloads of incense. The temple has an important relic: the
largest Buddha statue carved from a single tree. It is quite easy to
get to the temple since it is the only temple in city to have its
own subway stop!
FUN
PLACES FOR KIDS
Amusement Park has Roller
coaster, ferris wheel and other
attractions to entertain kids. The Tuanjiehu Park is a water park with
a beach and wave along with a roller skating park. The Beijing
Planetarium is a state of the art planetarium with a 4D Theatre where
goggles are worn. Shijingshan Amusement Park is the largest amusement
park in city with water slide, roller coaster, bumper cars.
Zoo
Situated in the Xicheng District, Beijing Zoo is the largest in China.
This is a fully fledged zoo with more than 3,500 species from around
the world. But its unique feature is its giant pandas.
Ritan
Park
Located in Beijing 's central business district, north of Yongangli and
Jianguomen subway stations, is Ritan Park and the Temple of the Sun.
Dating back to the 16th century, the emperor made sacrificial offerings
to his sun god on the altar. Today, though, it is a beautiful green
space containing facilities for children such as trampolines, a
merry-go-round, mini golf and also various food outlets.
Yuyuantan
Park
Yuyuantan Park is a great place to take children in city. Centered
on a lake, it has an aquatic park, lots of child-friendly entertainment
and you can hire bicycles there. In April each year, Yuyuantan Park is
host to a cherry blossom festival showcasing its beautiful cherry and
magnolia blossoms. Its 136 hectares contain over 2,000 different types
of trees.
OTHER
PLACES OF ATTRACTION
Wangfuijing
Dajie (Street)
This street is the traditional centre of Beijing that has been
renovated into a pedestrian-only zone in 2000 and this is where you
should go to for some retail therapy. The street is not for the faint
hearted - it is very long and if you were to walk the length of it
without stopping to window shop, it would take around half an hour.
There are two shopping malls, one of which, the Oriental Plaza, sprawls
over two blocks to the east, potentially adding another 15 minutes.
Night market 5.30 to 10pm.
Tian'anmen
Square This is the biggest
city-based square in the world
and it was here in 1949, from a rostrum on Tian'anmen Guangchang (the
Gate of Heavenly Peace), that Chairman Mao announced the establishment
of the People's Republic of China. Tourists and locals mingle here and
kite fliers use it to enjoy their sport. This is also where 8 national
celebrations are held and where leaders address their people. To give
you an idea of size, there are lampposts kitted with megaphones so that
crowds of 10,000 people can hear. You can visit the balcony that
speakers use (for a small fee) and from here you will get a lovely view
over the square. At night the square is lit up giving off a lovely
glow. Entry free.
Zhoukoudian
is a World Heritage Site about 50 kilometres southwest of
the city at Dragon Bone Hill, where on the 2nd December 1929 a skullcap
was discovered that provided evidence of human life between 700,000 and
200,000 years before. Further, discoveries led to what is now called
Peking Man which was very similar to modern man except that the skull
has a low forehead with an eyebrow that sticks out and large teeth
which do not overlap. Close to the Peking Man three other adult skulls
were found and is now called Upper Cave Man which is estimated to be
18,000 years old.
Capital
Museum
A visit to Beijing City is incomplete without a visit of its museums.
There are so many museums scattered around the city. If you don't have
much time in Beijing, you can limit your museum tour
to Capital
Museum. Beijing's new Capital Museum is now open to the public, located
on Fuxingmenwai Dajie, the western extension of Chang'an Jie.
The museum is a five-storey building allowing for a maximum of 13
concurrent exhibitions, which can be viewed in about 5 hours at the
price of 30 yuan per visitor.
798
Art District
The 798 art district is located in an old, decommissioned complex of
military factories. There are numerous cafes and art galleries here
where you can browse and purchase paintings, pottery, etc. Look out for
faded Maoist propaganda slogans on the factory walls!
Old
Summer Palace
Qing dynasty emperors used to rule China from this once-beautiful
complex of palaces, lakes and gardens. However, during the Second Opium
War (in 1860) British and French troops looted and thoroughly burnt
down most of it. Today visitors can still see ruins of the
European-style palaces that better survived the burning because they
were made out of stone.
Marco
Polo Bridge
The Marco Polo Bridge crosses the Yongding River and is 15km southwest
of city. The original bridge was constructed in 1192 and
reconstructed in 1698. The bridge is 266.5 metre in length and 9.3
metre wide with 281 pillars with a lion on top each lying in a
different posture. At the end of the bridge are four columns. The Marco
Polo Bridge marks the start of the War of Resistance in July 1937
against the Imperial Japanese Army.
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