Beijing Attractions
Beijing is a charming city, with both classical charm and fashion flavor. Small hutongs, old teahouses, trendy bar streets, bustling business district, infinite modern elements and the authentic taste of Beijing blend with each other, building a broad and profound cultural heritage and an orthodox and elegant way of life in Beijing. The scenic spots that must be visited in Beijing are Tiananmen Square, the Imperial Palace and the Great Wall. in addition, you can make a variety of choices according to your interests. Whether it is couple travel or parent-child travel, yearning for royal monuments or fashionable neighborhoods, you can find the most suitable place in Beijing.
The Palace Museum
Also known as the Forbidden City, it is the most well-preserved and largest wooden structure ancient building complex in China and even in the world, and is known as "the first of the five palaces in the world".
The inner court, centering on Palace of Heavenly Purity, Jiaotai Hall and the back three palaces of Kunning Palace, as well as the eastern and western sixth palaces on the east and west sides, were the residence of feudal emperors and concubines, commonly known as the "three palaces and six courtyards".
The Imperial Palace has a large collection of precious cultural relics, according to statistics, there are millions, accounting for 1/6 of the total number of cultural relics in the country. The watch museum has a clock demonstration at 11:00 and 14:00 every day. You can't miss it.
The Imperial Palace needs to be visited from south to north. The Meridian Gate is the only entrance, and the exits are Donghua Gate and Shenwu Gate.
Badaling Great Wall
Known as one of the "Nine Serbs under the World", it is the essence of the scenery of the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty. It is as high as 1015 meters above sea level and is also an outpost at Juyongguan pass.
Divided into the South Great Wall and the North Great Wall two parts, the South Great Wall has 7 enemy towers, relatively few tourists, the North Great Wall has 12 enemy towers, more difficult to climb.
More than 300 world celebrities, including Nixon and Thatcher, have climbed the Great Wall as a must-visit to Beijing.
5A-level scenic spots are listed on the World Cultural Heritage list by UNESCO, second only to Tiananmen Square.
Temple of Heaven Park
The Temple of Heaven is a special altar for the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties to offer sacrifices to heaven, pray for rain and pray for a good harvest. It is divided into two parts: the inner altar and the outer altar, mainly the Hall of Prayer for New year and the Hall of Emperor Qian.
In addition to watching the exquisite architecture of the halls, the ingenious designs such as the Echo Wall and the three-tone Stone also make people sigh at the wisdom of the ancients.
Visit the general south gate into the north gate (or east gate), visit Qiqiu, Imperial Dome, Danbi Bridge, Prayer Hall and Huangqian Hall in turn.
The two scenic spots, Zhai Palace and Zaizhu Pavilion, will be closed on Monday.
The Summer Palace
The Summer Palace, located in the western suburbs of Beijing, is the first classical garden in China. It was listed on the World Heritage list on December 2, 1998.
Composed of Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake, the whole park is set against the background of Xishan peaks, the architectural complex is integrated with the situation of mountains and lakes, and the scenery is ever-changing.
The park is divided into three areas, namely, the political activity area with Renshou Hall as the center, the Emperor's living area with Yulan Hall and Leshou Hall as the main body, and the scenic tourist area composed of Wanshou Hill and Kunming Lake.
Old Summer Palace
Adjacent to the Summer Palace, composed of Yuanming, Changchun and Yichun, it is a large royal palace founded and operated by emperors of the Qing Dynasty for more than 150 years.
Anglo-French coalition forces burned the main buildings to ashes in 1860, and now tourists can only mourn in the wreckage in search of the glorious imperial figure of that year.
There are many small scenic spots in Yichun Garden, which is a large collection of small waterscape gardens. Today, it is the main venue of Old Summer Palace's annual Lotus Festival.
Changchun Garden takes the large-scale waterscape as the main body, and the "Great Water method", which is familiar to everyone, is located here.
Mutianyu Great Wall
Located in Huairou District, it is one of the new sixteen scenes in Beijing. Juyongguan Great Wall in the west and Gubeikou in the east.
With a total length of 5400 meters, it is currently the longest Great Wall in China, with an open section of 2250 meters.
The famous Great Wall landscape arrow buckle, ox horn edge, eagle flying upside down and so on are located at the western end of the Mutianyu Great Wall, which is the essence of the Great Wall.
Former British Prime Minister John Major, former US President Bill Clinton and many other foreign leaders have visited Mutianyu.
Jingshan Park
Jingshan Park is located on the central point of the north-south axis of Beijing, with the Imperial Palace in the south, the Beihai in the west and the Gulou in the north. It was once the highest point in the center of Beijing.
The park has towering ancient trees, unique peaks, towering halls, a wide variety of peonies and rich cultural activities.
Among them, Wanchun Pavilion is known as the commanding height on the central axis of Beijing, enjoying the right time and place, overlooking the panoramic view of the Imperial Palace and a panoramic view of the capital axis.
Another famous cultural landscape in Jingshan Park is the place where Emperor Chongzhen was hanged.
BeiHai Park
Beihai Park, located in the center of Beijing, is a classical royal garden with the earliest construction, the most complete preservation and the deepest cultural deposition in the existing history of China.
With Beihai as the center, the park is divided into four areas: "North Bank Scenic spot", "East Coast Scenic spot", "Qiongdao Scenic area" and "Tuancheng Scenic area".
The vast waters are very rare in Beijing, and evening is the best time for boating and visiting the park, where you can watch the imperial buildings, sit by the lake and talk with the old people around you about the royal wild history of the capital.
On the east bank, several groups of courtyard-style gardens, such as Hao Pujian, painted Fang and Silkworm altar, are hidden in the green pines and cypresses, which are not only full of natural interest, but also have the charm of private gardens in the south of the Yangtze River.
On the north bank, from east to west, there are Jingxin Zhai, West Sanskrit, Chengguan Hall, Jiulong Wall, Xianfu Temple and Paradise World. Wulong Pavilion is embellished along the lake, skillfully integrated with natural landscapes, and a landscape painting without artificial traces, just like Tiancheng.
Qianmen Street
Qianmen Street is a famous commercial street in Beijing, which is located on the central axis of Beijing, starting from Moon Bay to the intersection of Tianqiao, and connected to the South Street of Tianqiao.
The street is 845 meters long and is known as Zhengyangmen Street from the Ming and Qing dynasties to the Republic of China. It is commonly known as Qianmen Street. It was officially named Qianmen Street in 1965.
There are many famous time-honored shops, such as Quanjude, Donglaishun and so on. Dashilan and Xianyukou Hutong are also among them.
While the original time-honored shops and traditional business features are basically preserved, new stores such as clothing department stores, food, watches and clocks have been opened one after another.
Tian'anmen Square
Tiananmen Square is one of the largest squares in the world, located on the south side of Chang'an Street, on the traditional central axis of Beijing.
The center of the square is the Monument to the people's Heroes, the Great Hall of the people to the west, the National Museum to the east, and the Tiananmen Tower opposite to the square.
Every morning and evening, a flag-raising ceremony is held. For people who are new to Beijing, it is necessary to watch a flag-raising ceremony.
There are a large number of people who come to see the flag-raising ceremony in the early morning, so be sure to go out early or travel at the wrong peak.
Prince Gong's Mansion
Prince Gong’s Mansion is the most well-preserved Wangfu complex in China, with more than 30 various architectural communities, exquisite layout and extraordinary style.
Prince Gong’s Mansion was originally the residence of Heshen, which went through the historical process of the Qing Dynasty from its heyday to its decline and fall, so there is a saying that "a building of Prince Gong’s Mansion has half the history of the Qing Dynasty".
The whole is divided into two parts: the mansion and the garden. The Western Gate, the Grand Theatre and the back tower are the "three wonders" in Prince Gong’s Mansion, which must not be missed.
Miyun Cave is also worth a look, in which lies the Kangxi imperial pen "Fu" tablet stolen by Heshen from the palace.
