Located in the centre of Beijing City is Tian’anmen Square, where you can visit Tian’anmen Tower, Monument to the People’s Heroes, Great Hall of the People, Mao Zedong Memorial Hall and see the national flag raising ceremony. Thousands of people come to the square every day. It is a must to visit this place in Beijing city. The square derives its name from the imposing gate and towers on the north side, which gives entry to the Imperial City, known as the Forbidden City. When you stand with your back to the Tian’anmen Gate and the Forbidden City, the Great Hall of the People will be on the right or western side of the square, the Museum of Chinese Revolution and Museum of Chinese History will be on the left or eastern side, the Monument to the People’s Heroes will be straight ahead or south with the Mao Zedong Memorial Hall behind it.
Forbidden City - The Palace Museum
Within in the center of Beijing, the Forbidden City was the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Construction of the palace complex began in 1407 and was completed 14 years later in 1420. 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. Covering an area of 72 hectares, the Palace Museum has a total floor space of some 160,000 square meters with 9,999 individual rooms. The Throne Hall – the Hall of Supreme Harmony – is China’s tallest ancient palace building of timber, where all the important national ceremonies during the reign of the Ming and Qing emperors took place.
Following experts to visit the famous Qing Dynasty porcelain exhibition, you will have an in-depth understanding of the Forbidden City.
The Great Wall
The world–renowned Great Wall, a symbol of ancient Chinese civilization, has stood grandly in the land of China for more than 2,000 years. Stretching from the coast at Bohai Bay in the east and terminating at Jiayu Pass in the west, it serpentines among lofty mountains for 12,700 li (6,350 kilometres), hence its Chinese name Wan Li Chang Cheng (ten-thousand-li-long-wall). It is said to be one of the only two human engineering projects visible by astronauts from space with the naked eye.
Built of huge granite slabs and special-sized bricks, the Great Wall at Badaling, 75 kilometres north of Beijing is most typical of the wall during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The wall top is wide enough for five horsemen to ride abreast or ten men to walk side by side.
Temple of Heaven
China’s largest temple and altar complex, the Temple of Heaven, occupies an area of 270 hectares. Construction of the Temple began in 1420. The emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties worshipped heaven and prayed for abundant harvests at the temple.
The principle buildings include the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, the Imperial Vault of Heaven and the Circular Mound. The Temple of Heaven is a delightful and exquisite place to spend some time.
Hutongs
A hutong is a unique form of community that exists only in China. If you are fed up with high buildings and wide streets, enter Beijing’s hutongs then. The hutongs, the small windy alleyways between the city’s main boulevards, are delightful. Making a rickshaw tour through the hutongs will give you the opportunity to experience the different aspects of the past and the present of Beijing city, the society and the daily life of Beijing residents.
National Stadium
Located in the Olympic Green, the US$423 million stadium is the world's largest steel structure. The design was awarded to a submission from the Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron in April 2003, after a bidding process that included 13 final submissions. The design, which originated from the study of Chinese ceramics, implemented steel beams in order to hide supports for the retractable roof, giving the stadium the appearance of a "bird's nest". Ground was broken in December 2003 and the stadium officially opened in June 2008. A shopping mall and a hotel are planned to be constructed to increase use of the stadium, which will host football events after the Olympics.
National Aquatics Center
The National Aquatics Center, better known as the Water Cube, is an aquatic center that was built alongside Beijing National Stadium in the Olympic Green for the swimming, diving and synchronized swimming competitions of the 2008 Summer Olympics. Many people believe Water Cube to be the fastest Olympic pool in the world. It is 1 meter deeper than most Olympic pools. Up to a certain limit, beyond which swimmers will lose their sense of vision, deeper pools allow the waves to dissipate down to the bottom, leading to less water disturbance to the swimmers. The pool also has perforated gutters on both sides to absorb the waves. During Beijing Olympics, Aquatics Center saw 25 world records broken.