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See Beijing... Below are just a few of the many places to see around Beijing. There is always lots to see and do here, so we advise that you plan for a longer stay! |
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Forbidden City. The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost five centuries, it served as the home of the Emperor and his household, as well as the ceremonial and political centre of Chinese government. Built from 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 surviving buildings with 8,707 bays of rooms[1] and covers 720,000 m2 (7,800,000 sq ft). The palace complex exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture,[2] and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987,[2] and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. Since 1925, the Forbidden City has been under the charge of the Palace Museum, whose extensive collection of artwork and artifacts were built upon the imperial collections of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Part of the museum's former collection is now located in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Both museums descend from the same institution, but were split after the Chinese Civil War. Directions: Walk 10 minutes north, across Tiananmen Square to the South entrance Open: 9am-4pm (times differ but usually last entry is at 4pm) Entrance: 60-90rmb (discounts for children, elderly and students) Tips: Go early if possible!... Audio tapes can be hired to guide you around and tell you some historical facts. Several languages available... Jingshan park is opposite the north gate. Along with being a typical scenic Beijing park, there is a hill that looks down onto the Forbidden City roof-tops. |
Temple of Heaven. The Temple of Heaven, in Chinese literally the Altar of Heaven, is a complex of Taoist buildings. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest. It is regarded as a Taoist temple, although Chinese Heaven worship, especially by the reigning monarch of the day, pre-dates Taoism. The temple complex was constructed from 1406 to 1420 during the reign of the Yongle Emperor, who was also responsible for the construction of the Forbidden City in Beijing. The complex was extended and renamed Temple of Heaven during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor in the 16th century. The Temple of Heaven was then renovated again in the 18th century under the Qianlong Emperor. In 1914, Yuan Shih-kai, then President of the Republic of China, performed a Ming prayer ceremony at the temple, as part of an effort to have himself declared Emperor of China. The Temple of Heaven was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998 and was described as "a masterpiece of architecture and landscape design which simply and graphically illustrates a cosmogony of great importance for the evolution of one of the world’s great civilizations..." as the "symbolic layout and design of the Temple of Heaven had a profound influence on architecture and planning in the Far East over many centuries." According to Xinhua, in early 2005, the Temple of Heaven underwent a 47 million yuan (5.9 million USD) restoration in preparation for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and the restoration was completed on May 1st, 2006. Directions: Walk 30 minutes south-east, or take subway, bus or taxi, or bike it :) Open: 6am-5pm (approx) Entrance: rmb (discounts for children, elderly and students) Tips: Go early to see the locals doing traditional exercises... When you've explored the temple and its park grounds, leave by the east exit and the Pearl Market is across the road. |
Summer Palace. The Summer Palace, literally in chinese "Gardens of Nurtured Harmony", is mainly dominated by Longevity Hill (60 meters high) and the Kunming Lake. It covers an expanse of 2.9 square kilometers, three quarters of which is water. The central Kunming Lake covering 2.2 square kilometers was entirely man made and the excavated soil was used to build Longevity Hill. In the Summer Palace, one finds a variety of palaces, gardens, and other classical-style architectural structures. The Summer Palace started out life as the Garden of Clear Ripples in 1750 (Reign Year 15 of Emperor Qianlong). Artisans reproduced the garden architecture styles of various palaces in China. Kunming Lake was created by extending an existing body of water to imitate the West Lake in Hangzhou. The palace complex suffered two major attacks--during the Anglo-French allied invasion of 1860 (with the Old Summer Palace also ransacked at the same time), and during the Boxer Rebellion, in an attack by the eight allied powers in 1900. The garden survived and was rebuilt in 1886 and 1902. In 1888, it was given the current name, Yihe Yuan. It served as a summer resort for Empress Dowager Cixi, who diverted 30 million taels of silver, said to be originally designated for the Chinese navy (Beiyang Fleet), into the reconstruction and enlargement of the Summer Palace. In December 1998, UNESCO included the Summer Palace on its World Heritage List. It declared the Summer Palace "a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design. The natural landscape of hills and open water is combined with artificial features such as pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges to form a harmonious ensemble of outstanding aesthetic value." It is a popular tourist destination but also serves as a recreational park. Directions: Take subway, bus or taxi, or bike it :) Open: 9am-5pm (approx) Entrance: rmb (discounts for children, elderly and students) Tips: Before or after you see the Summer Palace you can visit the ruins of the old Summer Palace (10rmb). You can get there using the same subway line - just get out at the Yuanmingyuan stop (old summer palace in chinese). |
Lama Temple. Lama Temple features five large halls and five courtyards with beautifully decorative archways, upturned eaves and carved details. It houses a treasury of Buddhist art, including sculptured images of gods, demons and Buddhas, as well as Tibetan-style murals. After Yongzheng's death in 1735, his coffin was placed in the temple. Emperor Qianlong, his successor, upgraded Yonghegong to an imperial palace with its turquoise tiles replaced by yellow tiles (yellow was the imperial color in the Qing Dynasty). During the 9th year of Emperor Qian Long's reign (1744), it was converted into a lamasery and became a residence for large numbers of monks from Mongolia and Tibet. Directions: Take subway to Yonghegong, or take taxi, or bike it :) Open: 9am-5pm (approx) Entrance: rmb Tips: The confucius temple is nearby too, just to the west. |
Fragrant Hills Park. Fragrant Hills Park is a public park at the foot of the Western Mountains in the Haidian District, in the northwestern part of Beijing, China. It covers 1.6 km² (395 acres) and consists of a natural pine-cypress forest, hills with maple trees, smoke trees and persimmon trees, as well as landscaped areas with traditional architecture and cultural relics. The name derives from the park's highest peak, Xianglu Feng (Incense Burner Peak), a 557 meters (1827 ft) hill with two large stones resembling incense burners at the top. Fragrant Hills Park is recognized as one of the major tourist attractions in Beijing. When autumn arrives, the natural scenery in the park turns spectacular, with fiery red smoke tree leaves covering the mountain side. Every year, thousands of tourists ride the cable cars through the park in order see the hills in autumn colors. The grand opening of the annual Red Leaf Festival of Beijing takes place there. Another point of interest in the park is the Shuangqing Villa, once the residence of Mao Zedong and also an early site for the headquarters of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. Also, the Temple of Azure Clouds (Biyun Si) is located just outside the north gate of Fragrant Hills Park. Directions: Take bus, taxi, subway then taxi, or bike it :) Open: 9am-5pm (approx) Entrance: 10rmb (discounts for children, elderly and students) Tips: |
Ruins of Yuanmingyuan |
Confucius Temple. The Temple of Confucius in Beijing is the second largest Confucian Temple in China after the one in Confucius' hometown of Qufu. It was built in 1302, and imperial officials used it to pay their respects to Confucius until 1911. The compound was enlarged twice, during the Ming and Qing dynasties and now occupies some 20,000 square meters. Directions: Take subway to Yonghegong, or take taxi, or bike it :) Open: 9am-5pm (approx) Entrance: 10rmb Tips: |
Drum & Bell Tower. Gulóu, the drum tower of Beijing, is situated at the northern end of the central axis of the Inner City to the north of Di’ anmen Street. Originally built for musical reasons, it was later used to announce the time and is now a tourist attraction. Zhonglóu, the bell tower of Beijing, stands closely behind the drum tower. Together with the drum tower, they provides an overview of central Beijing and before the modern era, they both dominated Beijing's ancient skyline. Bells and drums were musical instruments in ancient China. Later they were used to tell time and became watches for the officials and common people as well. The Bell and Drum towers were the center of time telling during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. Directions: Take subway to Guloudajie, or take taxi, or bike it :) Open: 9am-5pm (approx) Entrance: Drum tower 20rmb, Bell tower 15rmb Tips: |
"BEIJING HAS LOTS OF HISTORICAL AND MODERN SITES TO SEE, MOST WITHIN REACH OF THE NEW SUBWAY SYSTEM..." |
