Attractions

Located on the southwest side of the Jianguomen crossroad in the Dongcheng District, the Beijing Ancient Observatory, one of the oldest observatories in the world, was built in 1442. During the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, this observatory served astronomers in their star-gazing reports to the Emperor, who considered the movements of the celestial bodies to be a highly important affair. The astronomical instruments were also utilized for sea navigation. In 1673, the Jesuit Ferdinand Verbiest supervised the rebuilding of some of the instruments and further developed the observation of the stars and planets with other Jesuits. The main astronomical devices are located on the observatory roof and the exhibition rooms within house ancient star maps dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907).

Lying at the center of Beijing, the Forbidden City, called Gu Gong in Chinese, was the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Now known as the Palace Museum, it is to the north of Tiananmen Square. Rectangular in shape, it is the world's largest palace complex and covers 74 hectares. Surrounded by a six meter deep moat and a ten meter high wall are 9,999 buildings. The wall has a gate on each side. Opposite the Tiananmen Gate, to the north is the Gate of Divine Might (Shenwumen), which faces Jingshan Park. The distance between these two gates is 960 meters, while the distance between the gates in the east and west walls is 750 meters. There are unique and delicately structured towers on each of the four corners of the curtain wall. These afford views over both the palace and the city outside. The Forbidden City is divided into two parts. The southern section, or the Outer Court was where the emperor exercised his supreme power over the nation. The northern section, or the Inner Court was where he lived with his royal family. Until 1924 when the last emperor of China was driven from the Inner Court, fourteen emperors of the Ming dynasty and ten emperors of the Qing dynasty had reigned here. Having been the imperial palace for some five centuries, it houses numerous rare treasures and curiosities. Listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site in 1987, the Palace Museum is now one of the most popular tourist attractions world-wide.

The Great Wall is a symbol of Chinese civilization, and one of the wonders that the Chinese people have created. It stretches 6,700 km (4,160 miles) across deserts, grasslands, mountains and plateaus. The Badaling section of the Great Wall, the most representative part, was promoted as a key national cultural relic, protected under the approval of the State Council in 1961. In 1988, it was enlisted in the World Cultural Heritage Directory by UNESCO. July 7, 2007 has once again witnessed the worldwide reputation that the Great Wall gained: it was listed among the New Seven Wonders of the World.

After uniting China in 221 BC, the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, ordered the building of the wall to connect the existing fortifications along China’s northern border to protect the country against intrusions by the nomadic tribes from the north.

Badaling Great Wall is situated in Yanqing County, over 70 kilometers (43 miles) north of Beijing. It is the most well-preserved section of the Great Wall, built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). This section with an average altitude of over 1,000 meters (3,282 feet) is the outpost of the Juyongguan Pass. The mountain slope is very steep and the roads are tortuous. These features made it a military stronghold. Badaling Great Wall is like a strong dragon winding its way along the mountain ranges.

People say that the real culture of Beijing is "the culture of hutong" and "the culture of courtyard". How true that is. Often, it is Beijing's winding hutongs that attract tourists from home and abroad rather than the high-rise buildings and large mansions.

Hutong is a typical lane or small street in Beijing that originated during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). "Hutong" is a Mongolian word, meaning "water well". During that time, water well is the settlement around which people lived. There are tens of thousands of hutongs surrounding the Forbidden City. In the past, Beijing was composed of countless courtyards. Hutongs were formed when people left a passageway between two courtyards to make entering them more convenient.

As the symbol of Beijing City, a hutong has its own layout and structure, which makes it a wonder in the world. When taking a bird's eye view of Beijing, you will find the combination of hutongs and courtyards just like an orderly chessboard with delicate gardens, fine rockeries, and ancient ruins. Hutongs have witnessed the development of Beijing. Where there is a hutong, there is a story.

On Friday 8 August 2008 the opening ceremony of the 29th Olympiad was held at The Beijing National Stadium, also known as the ‘Bird’s Nest’. It has a capacity of 80,000 seats for the games. The unique architecture and design of the building has made it an iconic focal point for Beijing. The circular shape of the stadium’s bowl was defined using computer software developed by Arup to allow spectators to have the optimum view.

The blue-colored National Aquatics Center (NAC), nicknamed the "Water Cube" was inaugurated and delivered for use on the morning of January 28, 2008. It took over four years to construct the Olympic venue, which is a new landmark in Beijing. The "Water Cube" was designed with water-saving and environmental effort; the venue can save 140,000 tons of recycled water a year

The Temple of Heaven is a worthwhile visiting place in Beijing. It is much bigger than the Forbidden City and smaller than the Summer Palace with an area of about 2,700,000 square meters. The Temple was built in 1420 A.D. during the Ming Dynasty to offer sacrifice to Heaven. As Chinese emperors called themselves 'The Son of Heaven, they dared not to build their own dwelling, 'Forbidden City' bigger than a dwelling for Heaven.

The Temple of Heaven is enclosed with a long wall. The northern part within the wall is semicircular symbolizing the heavens and the southern part is square symbolizing the earth. The northern part is higher than the southern part. This design shows that the heaven is high and the earth is low and the design reflected an ancient Chinese thought of 'The heaven is round and the earth is square'.

It is the symbol of the People’s Republic and the center of Beijing’s landmarks. The flagstones of Tian’anmen cover a staggering 440,000 square meters (100 acres), enough space to allow a million people to gather there, making it the largest open-urban square in the world. Used as a massive meeting place since its inception, its flatness is broken only by the 38-metre (125 ft) high Monument to the People's Heroes completed in 1958, and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong completed in 1977. The Tiananmen Gate Tower sites at the north, the Five-Star Red Flag flies high on the square, the Monument to the People’s Heroes dominates the center, the Great Hall of the People and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution and the Museum of Chinese History to the east and west of it, as well as The Chairman Mao Memorial Hall and the Tiananmen gate, sit in the south of the square.

This grand compound sits in a neighborhood once reserved for imperial relatives. Built during the Ming Dynasty, it fell to Prince Gong, brother of Qing emperor Xianfeng and later an adviser to Empress Dowager Cixi. With nine courtyards joined by covered walkways, it was once one of Beijing's most lavish residences. The largest hall offers summertime Beijing opera and afternoon tea to guests on guided hutong tours. Some literary scholars believe this was the setting of the Dream of the Red Chamber, China's best-known classic novel.