Holiday Destination: Beijing

Beijing, capital of the People's Republic of China, is the nation's political, economic, cultural, educational and international trade and communication center. Located in northern China, close to the port city of Tianjin and partially surrounded by Hebei Province, it also serves as the most important transportation hub and port of entry. Beijing Municipality is surrounded by Hebei Province with the exception of neighboring Tianjin Municipality to the southeast. Beijing is China's second largest city by urban population after Shanghai and is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's largest state owned companies. Beijing is a major transportation hub in the national highway, expressway, railway and high speed rail network. Beijing's Capital International Airport is the second busiest in the world by passenger traffic. Few cities in the world have been the political and cultural centre of an area as immense for so long. Beijing is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China, and it has been the political centre of China for centuries. The city is renowned for its opulent palaces, temples, and huge stone walls and gates, and its art treasures and universities have made it a centre of culture and art in China.

Climate

Summer 26.2 °C (79.2 °F), Winter (−3.7)°C (25.3 °F)

Tourist Season

Round the Year is best for tourism.

Accommodation

Hotels.

General Information Of Beijing

• Land Area: 6,487.00 sq mi (16,801.25 km2)
• Population: 1 Million.
• Capital City: Beijing.
• Language: Chinese, Guanhua and English.

Tourist Attraction in or Near by Beijing

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. The palace complex exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture, and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere. 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. 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.

Tiananmen Square

Tiananmen Square is a large city square in the center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen Gate located to its North, separating it from the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is the third largest city square in the world (440,000 m² - 880m by 500m or 109 acres - 960 by 550 yd). Tiananmen Square is the National Museum of China, and visiting the exhibition is like reading concise China General History; there are Monument to the People's Heroes and Chairman Mao's Mausoleum on the south. At sunrise and sunset the raising and lowering ceremony of the Chinese National Flag is well worth the watching. The precision of the young troops is very well performed. Go there about 30 minutes early to have a good seat. Spend the time to see the people makes the square a true highlight for the first time visitors.

Temple of Heaven

Temple of Heaven is located in the southern part of Beijing, and has been one of the most holy places for the whole country for more than five centuries. It used as a complex of sacrificial buildings for the Ming and Qing emperors, and is the largest one in Beijing among several royal altars to Heaven, Earth, the Sun, the Moon and other deities or symbolic forces of Nature. The Temple of Heaven, literally the Altar of Heaven is a complex of religious buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest.

Summer Palace

The Summer Palace is a palace in Beijing, China. The Summer Palace is mainly dominated by Longevity Hill and the Kunming Lake. It covers an expanse of 2.9 square km, three quarters of which is water. Longevity Hill is about 60 meters high and houses many buildings positioned in sequence. The front hill is rich in the splendid halls and pavilions, while the back hill, in sharp contrast, is quiet with natural beauty. The central Kunming Lake covering 2.2 square km 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. Summer Palace mainly consists of Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake. Much of it is covered by Kunming Lake. With masterly design and artistic architecture and integrationg the essence of Chinese garden arts, the Summer Palace has a title of Imperial Garden Museum.

Ming Tombs

This is an amazing site for many reasons. First, it is outside Beijing, so you have a chance to escape the city and see a bit of the countryside. Second, it is relatively near the Great Wall, so you can visit both in one day. Third, the tomb itself is an eye opener. Some 50 kilometers northwest of the downtown Beijing, known as the 13 Tombs, this is the burial site of 13 out of 17 emperors of the Ming Dynasty. There are just two tombs which have been excavated and open to the public Dingling and Changling. Changling is the first tomb to be built. It took 2 years for renovation, and was opened in 1958.

Great Wall

The Great Wall of China is a series of fortifications made of stone, brick, tamped earth, wood, and other materials, generally built along an east-to west line across the historical northern borders of China in part to protect the Chinese Empire or its prototypical states against intrusions by various nomadic groups or military incursions by various warlike peoples or forces. Several walls were being built as early as the 7th century BC these, later joined together and made bigger, stronger, and unified are now collectively referred to as the Great Wall. Especially famous is the wall built between 220/206 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. Little of that wall remains. Since then, the Great Wall has on and off been rebuilt, maintained, enhanced the majority of the existing wall was reconstructed during the Ming Dynasty. Other purposes of the Great Wall have included border controls, allowing the imposition of duties on goods transported along the Silk Road, regulation or encouragement of trade and the control of immigration and emigration.

Hutongs

Hutongs are a type of narrow streets or alleys, most commonly associated with Beijing, China. In Beijing, hutongs are alleys formed by lines of siheyuan, traditional courtyard residences. Many neighbourhoods were formed by joining one siheyuan to another to form a hutong, and then joining one hutong to another. The word hutong is also used to refer to such neighbourhoods. Since the mid 20th century, the number of Beijing hutongs has dropped dramatically as they are demolished to make way for new roads and buildings. More recently, some hutongs have been designated as protected areas in an attempt to preserve this aspect of Chinese cultural history. There are lots of many small resturants, bars, and inns. From Hutongsthe top of the Bell Tower you can overlook the surrounding hutongs. The most interesting part of the hutong tour is walking through Pipe Tobacco Alley near the Bell Tower.

Yonghe Temple

The Yonghe Temple, also known as the Palace of Peace and Harmony Lama Temple, the Yonghe Lamasery, or popularly the Lama Temple is a temple and monastery of the Geluk School of Tibetan Buddhism located in the northeastern part of Beijing, China. It is one of the largest and most important Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the world. The building and the artworks of the temple is a combination of Han Chinese and Tibetan styles. The Lama Temple is dedicated to the Yellow Sect of Buddhism. It is actually an active temple, with Lama Templemany faithful belivers with burning armloads of incense. The temple has a valuable relic the biggest Buddha statue carved from a single tree.

Beihai Park

Beihai Park is an imperial garden to the northwest of the Forbidden City in Beijing. First built in the 10th century, it is amongst the largest of Chinese gardens, and contains numerous historically important structures, palaces and temples. Since 1925, the place has been open to the public as a park. It is also connected at the south to the Shichahai. The Park has an area of more than 69 hectares, with a lake that covers more than half of the entire Park. At the center of the Park is an island called Qiónghuá Island with a highest point of 32 m. In the north of the park there is a large pool called the Taiye Pool connecting the two other pools, which are called the Middle Sea and the South Sea respectively. Therefore the Taiye Pool is also called the Beihai. The complex of buildings around Zhongnanhai houses China's paramount leaders.

Capital Museum

The Capital Museum located at 16 Fuxingmenwai Dajie, Xicheng District is an art museum in Beijing, China. It opened in 1981 while the present building was built in the late 1990s and it houses a variety of items from Imperial China as well as other Asian cultures. Part of the museum's collections were formerly housed in the Confucius Temple on Guozijian Road in Beijing. There are a great number of museums dotting around the city. If you don't have much time available in Beijing, you can focus your museum tour to Beijing Capital Museum. Beijing's new Capital Museum is nowBeijing Capital Museum open to the public, located on Fuxingmenwai Dajie, the western part of Beijing's Chang'an Jie.

Accessibility

Bus Terminal in or Near by

Muxiyuan Caihua Long-distance Bus Station

Dahongmen Road
Fengtai, Beijing, China

Bawangfen Long-distance Bus Station

17 West Dawang Road
Chaoyang, Beijing, China

Airports in or Near by

Beijing Capital International Airport: For international flights.

Beijing Daxing International Airport: For international flights.

Railway Stations

Beijing Railway Station

Bei Jing Zhan Xi Jie, Dong Cheng Qu
Beijing, China

Beijing West Railway Station

South Roadu
Beijing, China

Beijing South Railway Station

Nan Zhan Xing Fu Lu, Feng Tai Qu
Beijing, China

Beijing North Railway Station

Xizhimen North Street Side Road
Xicheng, Beijing, China