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SCENES & SIGHT SCENIC HIGHLIGHTS Tian'an men Square Large enough to hold 1 million people, the 440,000-square-metre Tian'anmen Square in the center of Beijing is the world's largest city square, where sunrises and sunsets are observed solemnly with national flag hoisting and lowering ceremonies. Tian'an men Gate on the northern edge of the square sued to be the front gate of the Ming and Qing Imperial Palace. The rostrum atop the gate, where national leaders review mass rallies or gala celebrations on important occasions, is open to tourists. The Monument to the People's Heroes stands in the center of the square. Behind Zhengyang Gate to the south sprawls Mao Zedong Memorial Hall; to the east is the complex which houses the Museum of Chinese Revolution and the Museum of Chinese History. The Great hall of the People stands on the western side. The night scene of Tian'anmen Square is definitely a MUST for any visitor to Beijing. Former Imperial Palace
China's largest temple and altar are found in Temple of Heaven, part of a 273 hectare park in Chongwen District today. Built in 1420, it was where Ming and Qing monarchs prayed for good harvests. Major structures are hall of Prayer for good Harvest, Imperial Vault of Heaven, Circular Altar, and Abstinence Palace. UNESCO endorsed Temple of Heaven as a world cultural heritage site in December 1998. Beihai Park Beihai Park, situated to the northwest of Palace Museum, is a typical imperial garden dating back to more than 800 years ago. Buildings are clustered around the famed White Pagoda on Qionghua (Jasper Flower) Island on the lake in the park's bosom. The island provides a vantage point for observing the landscape of Beijing. Major attractions are Circular City, Painted Boat Studio, Studio of the Tranquil Heart, Nine-Dragon Screen Wall and Five-Dragon Pavilions. Great Wall
Summer Palace
Thirteen Ming Tombs
Yonghegong (Palace of Harmony and Peace) in Eastern District had been the mansion of Emperor Yongzheng during his days as the crown prince. After he ascended the throne he had it converted into a lamasery, which has remained as such to this day. Influences of Han, Manchurian, Mongolian and Tibetan architecture are palpable in this complex that consists of three finely crafted archways and five imposing halls laid out tastefully over an area of 66,400 square meters. Among the treasures in these halls is a 26-metre-tall statue of Maitreya (the Smiling Buddha), which is carved out of a single sandalwood trunk. Beijing Zoo
Hutong s are back alleys where old traditions remain very much alive and kicking. There are about 4,550 of them in Beijing, ubiquitous in these hutongs are quadrangle dwellings. Close by prince Gong's Mansion are some of Beijing's best-preserved hutongs. Touring these hutongs by the traditional pedicab is a special travel program of Beijing. Prince Gong's Mansion Situated in Liuyin Street in the Scenic neighborhood of Shishahai, Prince Gong's Mansion is the best preserved of all princely mansions of the Qing in Beijing. Attached to the rear of this pompous mansion is a serene garden with well-manicured lawns. A theatre stands on the premises, where traditional ballad-singing and story-telling performances are given every day. Zhoukoudian-Home of Peking Man An abundance of paleo-fossils has been unearthed along with ruins of the world's earliest fire-using primitive man, Peking Man, at Zhoukoudian in Fangshan District of Beijing, None of these finds, however, are more important than the fossils of Peking Man and Upper Cave Man and more than 10,000 stone tools, which qualify Zhoukoudian as a world cultural heritage site. A Peking Man exhibition on the spot is visited everyday by tourists from both at home and abroad.
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The
720,000-square-metre Palace Mueum, better known as "Forbidden
City", was the imperial palace for the Ming and Qing. Built
during the 1406-1420 period, it is the largest royal palatial complex
in existence in China; ranging from the majestic to the exquisite,
they bear witness to a nation in transition. Other tourist attractions
on the premises include a huge stone ramp carved with intricate
dragon and cloud patterns, Imperial Garden and Nine-Dragon Screen
Wall. An immense trove of cultural artifacts and treasures of various
dynasties, some of them on display in the Treasure Hall and the
ceramics, painting, bronze ware galleries, are reason enough for
UNESCO to adopt the Former Imperial Palace as a world cultural heritage
site.
Temple
of Heaven
As
an emblem of Chinese civilization, a cultural phenomenon of world
caliber, and another UNESCO=endorsed world cultural heritage site,
the 6350km Great Wall was in China's feudal years a mammoth defense
bulwark that serpentines its way across mountains and valleys in
the northern part of the country. The Great Wall came under construction
in the 7th century BC. But it was Qinshihuang, the founding emperor
of the Qin, who brought it to completion. Repeated extensions were
done in later dynasties until the Ming. The 600-year-old Badaling
Fortification in Yanqing county in northwest Beijing is representative
of Ming sections of the Great Wall. The Great Wall looks equally
breathtaking at such sections as Jinshanling, Mutianyu and Simatai.
The
Summer Palace (Yiheyuan) in the northwestern suburb of Beijing was
built in 1750. by far the best-preserved imperial garden in China,
it was endorsed by the UNESCO in 1998 as a world cultural heritage
site. As a paragon of Chinese gardens, this huge garden includes
Longevity Hill, whose beauty is set off by a multitude of halls,
kiosks and trees, and Kunming Lake, a huge body of liquid silver.
Major tourist attractions are Tower of Buddhist Incense, 17-Span
Bridge, Long Gallery, Cloud Dispelling Hall, Marble Boat, Beamless
Hall, Garden of Harmonious Delights, the theatre in the Garden of
Moral Harmony, and Suzhou Street. The entire place is a de facto
museum of China's classical architecture. Housed in these buildings
are an immense collection of treasures and cultural artifacts.
The
Ming Tombs are scattered over an area 40km in circumference in Changping
County. Thirteen Ming emperors who ruled China after they moved
the capital from Nanjing to Beijing were buried there. The largest
is the Changling, built in 1413 for the remains for Zhu Di or Emperor
Chengzu. Burial objects are on display from the underground palace
of the Dingling, the tomb of the last Ming emperor, Zhu Yijun, and
his two empresses. The Holy Way leading to the Ming Tombs is flanked
on both sides by 30-odd men and horses and other animals carved
in graphic images out of massive boulders. In terms of size, this
group of stone sculptures is rare anywhere in China.
Yonghegong
Lamasery
Tour
of Hutongs