Tian’anmen Square

Tiananmen Square is one of the largest squares in the world. It is located in the center of Beijing, which sits to its north, separating it from the Forbidden City. It has great cultural significance as it was the site of several key events in Chinese history. It was first built in 1417 and served as the main entrance to the Imperial City, the administrative and residential quarters for court officials and retainers.

The 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 and covers 720,000 m2. The palace complex exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987 and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.

The Temple of Heaven

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. The Temple of Heaven is a complex of Taoist 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.

The Great Wall

The Great Wall is one of the wonders of the world that created by human being. It is not only the magnum opus of human being but also the soul of China. The Great Wall is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in northern China, built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire from Xiongnu attacks during various successive dynasties. Since the 5th century BC, several walls have been built that were referred to as the Great Wall. One of the most famous is the wall built between 220–206 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. The Great Wall is one of the few man made structures visible from space. From Beijing you can get to a few different pieces of the Great Wall within 2 or 3 hours by bus or car.

The Old Beijing Hutong

It was said that the real culture of Beijing is "the culture of hutong" and "the culture of courtyard". Hutong is a typical lane or small street in Beijing that originated during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). 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.

The Olympic Park

The Olympic Park, known as the Olympic Green in Beijing, is where 50% of the competition venues were found in 2008, and is located at the north end of the central axis of Beijing City. A forest park, a central area including competition venues, Olympic Village, the Main Press Center (MPC), and the International Broadcasting Center (IBC) and so on for Olympic Games can be found at Olympic Green. There are several subway stations to connect the Olympic Green and the downtown area.