Top 15 attractions in Beijing, China
Beijing, the capital of China, is undoubtedly one of the most visited places in the world, with hundreds of millions of tourists every year. The city's long history and glorious culture endow the city with a great number of tourist attractions and historical sites. For a short stay in Beijing, visiting all the interesting places is impossible, but don't miss the following top 15 attractions.
The Forbidden City（紫禁城/故宫）
Also known as the Imperial Palace, or the Palace Museum, the Forbidden City was the place where the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties carried out their administration and lived. Now it is open to the public as a palace museum where people can see the great traditional palace architecture, enjoy the treasures kept in the palace, and learn of the legends and anecdotes of the imperial family and the court.
The Forbidden City is the largest and best-preserved mass group of palaces in China. The palaces are fully walled on four sides by 10-meter-high walls which extend 760 meters (0.47 miles) from east to west and 960 meters (0.6 miles) from north to south. It has 720,000 square meters (72 hectares) of courtyards, pavilions, great halls, flourishing gardens and nearly 10,000 rooms. Built by tens of thousands of people, it took over 14 years and 32 million bricks to complete.
The entire complex sits on a north-south axis, with halls and houses symmetrically arranged on the side. It consists of three parts: the outer court where the emperor received high officials and administered state affairs; the inner court where the emperor, empress and concubines lived; and the private Imperial Garden for the imperial family to entertain and relax.
The Forbidden City became a ! UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
Admission: 60 yuan (US$ 9.46)/person (summer);
40 yuan (US$ 6.31)/person (winter)
Tian'anmen Square（天安门广场）
Tian'anmen Square measures 500 meters (0.31 miles) from east to west and 880 meters (0.55 miles) from north to south. Covering an area of 44 hectares, the square is big enough to hold half a million people. It is the largest city square in the world.
It was named after the Tian'anmen (literally, Gate of Heavenly Peace) which stands on its north side. Tian'anmen is the front gate of the Forbidden City, the gate leading to the supreme power in imperial times.
The tower over the gate was used for grand ceremonies in the Ming (1638-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, for instance, issuing imperial edicts. In modern China, it is also a symbol of power. From the tower of Tian'anmen, on October 1, 1949, Chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China.
In the square stand the 38-meter high Monument to the People's Heroes completed in 1958, and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong completed in 1977. The square lies between two ancient, massive gates: the Tian'anmen to the north and the Zhengyangmen, better known as Qianmen, to the south. Along the west side of the square is the Great Hall of the People. Along the east side is the National Museum of China.
Admission: Free
The Great Wall（长城）
"You are not a true man if you have not been to the Gre! at Wall."! So the saying goes in China. The Great Wall, it is said, is one of the few man-made objects on earth visible from space.
From Shanhaiguan, northeast of Qinhuangdao City in Hebei Province on the east coast, the Great Wall rises and falls with the contours of the mountains spanning westwards, crossing nine provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions over 6,700 kilometers (4163.19 miles), to end at Jiayuguan, southwest of Jiayuguan City in Gansu Province.
The Great Wall was a daunting defensive project used in ancient times as early as in the 7th century B.C.
For self-protection, rival kingdoms built walls around their territories, laying the foundation for the present
Great Wall. When Emperor Qin Shihuang unified the whole country in 221 B.C., the existing walls were linked up and new ones added to counter attacks by the remnants of defeated states.
The Great Wall comprises walls, passes, watchtowers, castles and fortresses. The walls are made of large stone blocks. From east to west, the sections at Shanhaiguan, Jinshanling, Mutianyu, Badaling and Jiayuguan have become popular tourist attractions.
Most of The Great Wall that we see today dates back to the Ming Dynasty. The best-preserved and most imposing section is at Badaling in Beijing. This section, located at the head of the Juyongguan Pass, is made of large blue bricks and has an average height of 7.8 meters. Five to six horses can be ridden abreast along it. At regular intervals there is an arched door giving access to the top of the wall. The walls feature regular lookout holes, window embrasures and castellated crenels. Beacon towers for passing on military information also appear at fixed intervals. All of these emphasize the important role of the Great Wall in military defense.
As one of the most magnificent ancient defense works, the Great Wall was included in the World Cultural Heritage List in 1987.
Admission (Badaling Great Wall): 45 yuan (US$ 7.09)/person (summer);
40 yuan (U! S$ 6.3)/! person (winter)
The Summer Palace（颐和园）
The Summer Palace lies in the northwestern outskirts of Beijing, about 5 kilometers (3.11 miles) northwest of Beijing University. Occupying an area of 290 hectares, the park consists mainly of a hill, called Longevity Hill and a lake, Kunming Lake, with halls, towers, galleries, pavilions, bridges and islands dotted all over the land, hill and lake. Blending southern China-style garden architecture with northern China's natural landscapes, the gardens are probably the best of their kind in Chinese garden architecture.
In December 1998, UNESCO included the Summer Palace on its World Heritage List. It declared the Summer Palace an "outstanding expression of the creative art of Chinese Landscape Garden Design, incorporating the works of humankind and nature in a harmonious whole."
The Summer Palace began as the Garden of Clear Ripples in 1750. Artisans reproduced the Garden Architecture styles of various palaces in China. The palace complex suffered two major attacks - during the Anglo-French allied invasion of 1860, 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 its current name. It served as a summer resort for the Empress Dowager Cixi, who diverted 30 million taels of silver, said to be originally designated for the Chinese navy, into the reconstruction and enlargement of the Summer Palace.
Admission: 30 yuan (US$ 4.73)/person (summer);
20 yuan (US$ 3.15)/person (winter)
Ming Tombs（明十三陵）
![]()
The Ming Tombs lie at the foot of Tianshou Mountains, about 50 kilometers (31.07 miles) northwest of Beijing, in Changping District. Thirteen of the sixteen Ming emperors were buried here, so that the Ming Tombs are known in Chinese as Shisanling (Thirteen Tombs).
The tombs are spread over an area of over 40 kilometers (24.85 miles) in circumference. The site was chosen by the third Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) Emperor Yongle, who moved the capital of China from Nanjing to the present location of northwest Beijing.
The Ming Tombs were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in August 2003. They were listed along with other tombs under the "Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties" designation.
Admission (Dingling Tomb): 60 yuan (US$ 9.46)/person
Temple of Heaven（天坛）
The Temple of Heaven, literally the Altar of Heaven, is a complex of Taoist buildings situated in southeastern Beijing. The Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911) visited the complex annually when they prayed to Heaven for good harvests. It is regarded as a Taoist temple, although Chinese Heaven worship, especially by the reigning monarch of the day, actually pre-dates Taoism.
The temple complex covers an area of 270 hectares, about three times the size of the Forbidden City. The main buildings in the park were built in 1420 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) by Emperor Yongle for worshipping the heaven and the earth. The complex was extended during the reign of Emperor Jiajing in the 16th century and was renovated in the 18th century by Emperor Qianlong.
The temple was included in the UNESCO World H! eritage L! ist in 1998.
Admission: 15 yuan (US$ 2.36)/person (summer)
10 yuan (US$ 1.58)/person (winter)
Beihai Park（北海公园）
Located to the west of the Forbidden City and Jingshan Park, Beihai (literally the Northern Sea) Park is one of the oldest, largest and best-preserved ancient imperial gardens in China. It was the former palace of emperors for successive dynasties.
The park covers an area of 68 hectares, half of which is covered by a lake. The park's landscape includes artificial hills, pavilions, halls, temples and covered corridors, and is one of the best examples of China's classical gardens. It is a combination of the grandiosity of northern Chinese gardens and the refinement of gardens found in southern China.
Towering over the central islet is the 36-meter-high White Dagoba, and is an impressive sight that dominates the local skyline.
Beihai Park was opened to the public in 1925.
Admission: 10 yuan (US$ 1.58)/person
Yuanmingyuan Park（圆明园）
Yuanmingyuan Park, which was extolled as the "Garden of Gardens," used to be a summer palace for the imperial family. The palace was continuously expanded under five emperors' supervision in Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), and its expansion continued for over 150 years.
Its glorious past might have come to an abrupt end as its buildings were destroyed by the British and French armies during the Second Opium War in 1860.
The massive imperial compound is now a ! beautiful! park filled with lakes and a wide variety of plant life. To show the original appearance of the park to the visitors, part of its ancient architecture has been restored.
Admission: 10 yuan (US$ 1.58)/person
Hutong（胡同）
In the rich and historical culture of Beijing, the Hutong has a very special and important position. It is one of the most distinctive features and must-see attractions in Beijing.
The word hutong came from the Mongolian language about 700 years ago. According to research, it originates from the word hot-tog in Mongolian meaning "water well". Where there was a spring or well, there were residents. The word hottog became hutong after it was introduced into Beijing.
Hutong means lane and alley, smaller than a street. It is in fact the passage formed by lines of siheyuan where most Beijing residents live. One hutong connects with another, and siheyuan connects with siheyuan, to form a block, and blocks join with blocks to form the whole city.
There were 459 hutongs in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and 978 hutongs in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The present number is 1,316 in the urban and suburban districts of Beijing.
To get a better experience of the unique culture of ancient Beijing, you are suggested visit a few of Beijing's Hutongs. The famous ones include: Nanluoguxiang, Yandaixiejie, Mao'er Hutong and Guozijian Street.
Admission: Free
Also read: Top 10 most attractive hutongs in Beijing
Lama Temple（雍和宫）
If you go on the northern section of the Second Ring Road, you will pass a lamasery with red walls and yellow tiled roofs near the flyover of Andingmen. This is the Lama Temple, or the Yonghegong Lamasery, also known as the Harmony and Peace Palace Lamasery. It is a renowned lama temple of the Yellow Hat Sect of Lamaism.
The lamasery, built in 1694, was originally the residence of the Qing (1644-1911) Emperor Yongzheng before he ascended the throne. Since imperial residences could not revert to secular use according to law, half of it was converted to a lamasery and the other half remained as a temporary palace residence after the Emperor Yongzheng moved into the Forbidden City.
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 Buddha, as well as Tibetan-style murals.
When Emperor Yongzheng died in 1735, his coffin was placed in the temple. Emperor Qianlong, his successor, then upgraded Yonghegong to an imperial palace and its green tiles were thus changed to yellow tiles (yellow was the imperial color of the Qing Dynasty). This is why a temple like Yonghegong had such a high status in imperial times. Not long afterwards, the temporary palace was burned down, and the other half was formally declared a lamasery in 1744, which became a residence for large numbers of monks from Mongolia and Tibet.
Yonghegong was opened to the public in 1981.
Admission: 25 yuan (US$ 3.94)/person
Bell and Drum Towers（钟鼓楼）
Situated in central Beijing and south of the northern section of the Second Ring Road, the Bell Tow! ers and D! rum Towers are prominent landmarks symbolizing the ancient capital city. Both structures were built in 1272 under the reign of Kublai Khan during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).
Bells and drums were originally used as musical instruments in China, and later they were used for telling time. These towers stood at the very heart of the Yuan capital, known as Dadu. They used to be the time-telling center of the capital city during the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties (1271-1911).
In both the Drum and Bell Towers, visitors can climb the steep stairways to the top to have a panoramic view over the city. Drum performances take place every hour in the Drum Tower.
Admission: Bell Tower: 15 yuan (US$ 2.37)/person
Drum Tower: 20 yuan (US$ 3.15)/person
Bird's Nest and Water Cube（鸟巢、水立方）
As Beijing dazzled the world with the spectacular Olympic Games in 2008, the impressive Olympic structures, Bird's nest and its neighboring Water Cube, have become popular attractions ever since.
The Bird's Nest, officially known as the National Stadium, is the main track and field stadium for the 2008 Summer Olympics, and gained the nickname for its innovative grid formation.
The twig-like structural elements and the bowl-shaped roof are the masterpiece of the project, yet they pose great challenges for technicians and workers to make the building stand on its own feet.
The ground was broken in 2003, and the construction took more than four years to complete. It was built with 36 kilometers (22.37 miles) of unwrapped steel, with a combined weight of 45,000 tons. The stadium has some 11,000 square meters (1.1 hectares) of underground rooms with waterproof walls. The stadium can seat as many as 91,0! 00 specta! tors.
What located right next to the National Stadium is the Beijing National Aquatics Center, also colloquially known as the Water Cube.
The center was built alongside the stadium in the Olympic Green for the swimming competitions of the 2008 Summer Olympics. Despite its nickname, the building is not an actual cube, but a rectangular box. The ground was also broken in 2003, and completed and handed over for use in 2008. Swimmers at the Water Cube broke 25 world records during the 2008 Olympics.
After the Olympics, the building underwent a 200-million-yuan (US$ 31.53 million) revamp to turn half of its interior into a water park. The building officially reopened on August 8, 2010.
Admission: Bird's Nest: 50 yuan (US$ 7.88)/person
Water Cube: 30 yuan (US$ 4.73)/person
Houhai（后海）
Located opposite to the north gate of Beihai Park, Houhai scenic area encompasses a lake and its surrounding area in central Beijing. Due to its proximity to the Forbidden City, this area was historically home to court officials and the city's elite. In recent years it has become famous for nightlife because it is home to many popular restaurants, bars, and cafes.
Historic sites include the Drum and Bell Towers, and former residences of literati and court officials, including revolutionary author Guo Morou, Song Qingling, Sun Yat-sen's widow, and Chinese author, Mao Dun. Prince Gong's Mansion, a courtyard home that housed He Shen, a corrupt member of Emperor
Qianlong's imperial guard, can also be found in the area.
Aside from the alleyways and historic sites, what attracts most people is the variety of bars and restaurants. Lotus Lane and Yandai Xiejie are two popular strips along Qianhai Lake! . The str! ip along the western bank of Qianhai and Houhai lakes is also popular, as well as the renovated Nanluoguxiang Hutong, east of the lake.
Admission: Free
Panjiayuan Antiques Market（潘家园）
Situated west of Panjiayuan Bridge and south of the East Third Ring Road, the Panjiayuan Antiques Market is Beijing's most famous antique market, growing from its humble beginnings as a flea market in the early 1990's.
All manner of antiques are on sale among the thousands of market stalls. Paintings, calligraphy works, ceramics, jade, furniture, coins, army surplus, Buddhist artifacts are all available. If you are not an expert, simply wandering around the 40,000 plus stalls is just as much fun!
The market is specially animated on weekends when the permanent stalls and shops are joined by vendors setting out their wares on the ground. Get there early.
Admission: Free
National Museum of China（国家博物馆）
The National Museum of China, located on the east side of the Tian'anmen Square in central Beijing, was founded in 2003 after a merger between the former National Museum of Chinese History and the National Museum of Chinese Revolution.
Covering nearly 200,000 square meters, the museum is now the largest museum in the world with first-class facilities. It holds a collection of 1.2 million pieces of cultural relics in forty-eight galleries. There are two permanent exhibitions: Ancient China and The Road of Rejuvenation, and ! more than! a dozen categories of display related to thematic exhibitions and international exchange exhibits.
The museum also hosts special exhibitions on Chinese ancient art, such as bronze, porcelain, jade articles, Buddhist statues, furniture of Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911), ink painting and calligraphy.
One of the museum's most valuable collections is Si Muwu bronze quadrate vessel, 1.33 meters high and about 833 kg in weight, dating back to about 3,500 years ago.
Group visitors need to book in advance while individuals can get tickets at the entrance for free.
Admission: Free
Source: china.org.cn via China Daily
Read More @ Source
The Forbidden City（紫禁城/故宫）
Also known as the Imperial Palace, or the Palace Museum, the Forbidden City was the place where the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties carried out their administration and lived. Now it is open to the public as a palace museum where people can see the great traditional palace architecture, enjoy the treasures kept in the palace, and learn of the legends and anecdotes of the imperial family and the court.
The Forbidden City is the largest and best-preserved mass group of palaces in China. The palaces are fully walled on four sides by 10-meter-high walls which extend 760 meters (0.47 miles) from east to west and 960 meters (0.6 miles) from north to south. It has 720,000 square meters (72 hectares) of courtyards, pavilions, great halls, flourishing gardens and nearly 10,000 rooms. Built by tens of thousands of people, it took over 14 years and 32 million bricks to complete.
The entire complex sits on a north-south axis, with halls and houses symmetrically arranged on the side. It consists of three parts: the outer court where the emperor received high officials and administered state affairs; the inner court where the emperor, empress and concubines lived; and the private Imperial Garden for the imperial family to entertain and relax.
The Forbidden City became a ! UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
Admission: 60 yuan (US$ 9.46)/person (summer);
40 yuan (US$ 6.31)/person (winter)
Tian'anmen Square（天安门广场）
Tian'anmen Square measures 500 meters (0.31 miles) from east to west and 880 meters (0.55 miles) from north to south. Covering an area of 44 hectares, the square is big enough to hold half a million people. It is the largest city square in the world.
It was named after the Tian'anmen (literally, Gate of Heavenly Peace) which stands on its north side. Tian'anmen is the front gate of the Forbidden City, the gate leading to the supreme power in imperial times.
The tower over the gate was used for grand ceremonies in the Ming (1638-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, for instance, issuing imperial edicts. In modern China, it is also a symbol of power. From the tower of Tian'anmen, on October 1, 1949, Chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China.
In the square stand the 38-meter high Monument to the People's Heroes completed in 1958, and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong completed in 1977. The square lies between two ancient, massive gates: the Tian'anmen to the north and the Zhengyangmen, better known as Qianmen, to the south. Along the west side of the square is the Great Hall of the People. Along the east side is the National Museum of China.
Admission: Free
The Great Wall（长城）
"You are not a true man if you have not been to the Gre! at Wall."! So the saying goes in China. The Great Wall, it is said, is one of the few man-made objects on earth visible from space.
From Shanhaiguan, northeast of Qinhuangdao City in Hebei Province on the east coast, the Great Wall rises and falls with the contours of the mountains spanning westwards, crossing nine provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions over 6,700 kilometers (4163.19 miles), to end at Jiayuguan, southwest of Jiayuguan City in Gansu Province.
The Great Wall was a daunting defensive project used in ancient times as early as in the 7th century B.C.
For self-protection, rival kingdoms built walls around their territories, laying the foundation for the present
Great Wall. When Emperor Qin Shihuang unified the whole country in 221 B.C., the existing walls were linked up and new ones added to counter attacks by the remnants of defeated states.
The Great Wall comprises walls, passes, watchtowers, castles and fortresses. The walls are made of large stone blocks. From east to west, the sections at Shanhaiguan, Jinshanling, Mutianyu, Badaling and Jiayuguan have become popular tourist attractions.
Most of The Great Wall that we see today dates back to the Ming Dynasty. The best-preserved and most imposing section is at Badaling in Beijing. This section, located at the head of the Juyongguan Pass, is made of large blue bricks and has an average height of 7.8 meters. Five to six horses can be ridden abreast along it. At regular intervals there is an arched door giving access to the top of the wall. The walls feature regular lookout holes, window embrasures and castellated crenels. Beacon towers for passing on military information also appear at fixed intervals. All of these emphasize the important role of the Great Wall in military defense.
As one of the most magnificent ancient defense works, the Great Wall was included in the World Cultural Heritage List in 1987.
Admission (Badaling Great Wall): 45 yuan (US$ 7.09)/person (summer);
40 yuan (U! S$ 6.3)/! person (winter)
The Summer Palace（颐和园）
The Summer Palace lies in the northwestern outskirts of Beijing, about 5 kilometers (3.11 miles) northwest of Beijing University. Occupying an area of 290 hectares, the park consists mainly of a hill, called Longevity Hill and a lake, Kunming Lake, with halls, towers, galleries, pavilions, bridges and islands dotted all over the land, hill and lake. Blending southern China-style garden architecture with northern China's natural landscapes, the gardens are probably the best of their kind in Chinese garden architecture.
In December 1998, UNESCO included the Summer Palace on its World Heritage List. It declared the Summer Palace an "outstanding expression of the creative art of Chinese Landscape Garden Design, incorporating the works of humankind and nature in a harmonious whole."
The Summer Palace began as the Garden of Clear Ripples in 1750. Artisans reproduced the Garden Architecture styles of various palaces in China. The palace complex suffered two major attacks - during the Anglo-French allied invasion of 1860, 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 its current name. It served as a summer resort for the Empress Dowager Cixi, who diverted 30 million taels of silver, said to be originally designated for the Chinese navy, into the reconstruction and enlargement of the Summer Palace.
Admission: 30 yuan (US$ 4.73)/person (summer);
20 yuan (US$ 3.15)/person (winter)
Ming Tombs（明十三陵）
The Ming Tombs lie at the foot of Tianshou Mountains, about 50 kilometers (31.07 miles) northwest of Beijing, in Changping District. Thirteen of the sixteen Ming emperors were buried here, so that the Ming Tombs are known in Chinese as Shisanling (Thirteen Tombs).
The tombs are spread over an area of over 40 kilometers (24.85 miles) in circumference. The site was chosen by the third Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) Emperor Yongle, who moved the capital of China from Nanjing to the present location of northwest Beijing.
The Ming Tombs were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in August 2003. They were listed along with other tombs under the "Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties" designation.
Admission (Dingling Tomb): 60 yuan (US$ 9.46)/person
Temple of Heaven（天坛）
The Temple of Heaven, literally the Altar of Heaven, is a complex of Taoist buildings situated in southeastern Beijing. The Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911) visited the complex annually when they prayed to Heaven for good harvests. It is regarded as a Taoist temple, although Chinese Heaven worship, especially by the reigning monarch of the day, actually pre-dates Taoism.
The temple complex covers an area of 270 hectares, about three times the size of the Forbidden City. The main buildings in the park were built in 1420 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) by Emperor Yongle for worshipping the heaven and the earth. The complex was extended during the reign of Emperor Jiajing in the 16th century and was renovated in the 18th century by Emperor Qianlong.
The temple was included in the UNESCO World H! eritage L! ist in 1998.
Admission: 15 yuan (US$ 2.36)/person (summer)
10 yuan (US$ 1.58)/person (winter)
Beihai Park（北海公园）
Located to the west of the Forbidden City and Jingshan Park, Beihai (literally the Northern Sea) Park is one of the oldest, largest and best-preserved ancient imperial gardens in China. It was the former palace of emperors for successive dynasties.
The park covers an area of 68 hectares, half of which is covered by a lake. The park's landscape includes artificial hills, pavilions, halls, temples and covered corridors, and is one of the best examples of China's classical gardens. It is a combination of the grandiosity of northern Chinese gardens and the refinement of gardens found in southern China.
Towering over the central islet is the 36-meter-high White Dagoba, and is an impressive sight that dominates the local skyline.
Beihai Park was opened to the public in 1925.
Admission: 10 yuan (US$ 1.58)/person
Yuanmingyuan Park（圆明园）
Yuanmingyuan Park, which was extolled as the "Garden of Gardens," used to be a summer palace for the imperial family. The palace was continuously expanded under five emperors' supervision in Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), and its expansion continued for over 150 years.
Its glorious past might have come to an abrupt end as its buildings were destroyed by the British and French armies during the Second Opium War in 1860.
The massive imperial compound is now a ! beautiful! park filled with lakes and a wide variety of plant life. To show the original appearance of the park to the visitors, part of its ancient architecture has been restored.
Admission: 10 yuan (US$ 1.58)/person
Hutong（胡同）
In the rich and historical culture of Beijing, the Hutong has a very special and important position. It is one of the most distinctive features and must-see attractions in Beijing.
The word hutong came from the Mongolian language about 700 years ago. According to research, it originates from the word hot-tog in Mongolian meaning "water well". Where there was a spring or well, there were residents. The word hottog became hutong after it was introduced into Beijing.
Hutong means lane and alley, smaller than a street. It is in fact the passage formed by lines of siheyuan where most Beijing residents live. One hutong connects with another, and siheyuan connects with siheyuan, to form a block, and blocks join with blocks to form the whole city.
There were 459 hutongs in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and 978 hutongs in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The present number is 1,316 in the urban and suburban districts of Beijing.
To get a better experience of the unique culture of ancient Beijing, you are suggested visit a few of Beijing's Hutongs. The famous ones include: Nanluoguxiang, Yandaixiejie, Mao'er Hutong and Guozijian Street.
Admission: Free
Also read: Top 10 most attractive hutongs in Beijing
Lama Temple（雍和宫）
If you go on the northern section of the Second Ring Road, you will pass a lamasery with red walls and yellow tiled roofs near the flyover of Andingmen. This is the Lama Temple, or the Yonghegong Lamasery, also known as the Harmony and Peace Palace Lamasery. It is a renowned lama temple of the Yellow Hat Sect of Lamaism.
The lamasery, built in 1694, was originally the residence of the Qing (1644-1911) Emperor Yongzheng before he ascended the throne. Since imperial residences could not revert to secular use according to law, half of it was converted to a lamasery and the other half remained as a temporary palace residence after the Emperor Yongzheng moved into the Forbidden City.
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 Buddha, as well as Tibetan-style murals.
When Emperor Yongzheng died in 1735, his coffin was placed in the temple. Emperor Qianlong, his successor, then upgraded Yonghegong to an imperial palace and its green tiles were thus changed to yellow tiles (yellow was the imperial color of the Qing Dynasty). This is why a temple like Yonghegong had such a high status in imperial times. Not long afterwards, the temporary palace was burned down, and the other half was formally declared a lamasery in 1744, which became a residence for large numbers of monks from Mongolia and Tibet.
Yonghegong was opened to the public in 1981.
Admission: 25 yuan (US$ 3.94)/person
Bell and Drum Towers（钟鼓楼）
Situated in central Beijing and south of the northern section of the Second Ring Road, the Bell Tow! ers and D! rum Towers are prominent landmarks symbolizing the ancient capital city. Both structures were built in 1272 under the reign of Kublai Khan during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).
Bells and drums were originally used as musical instruments in China, and later they were used for telling time. These towers stood at the very heart of the Yuan capital, known as Dadu. They used to be the time-telling center of the capital city during the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties (1271-1911).
In both the Drum and Bell Towers, visitors can climb the steep stairways to the top to have a panoramic view over the city. Drum performances take place every hour in the Drum Tower.
Admission: Bell Tower: 15 yuan (US$ 2.37)/person
Drum Tower: 20 yuan (US$ 3.15)/person
Bird's Nest and Water Cube（鸟巢、水立方）
As Beijing dazzled the world with the spectacular Olympic Games in 2008, the impressive Olympic structures, Bird's nest and its neighboring Water Cube, have become popular attractions ever since.
The Bird's Nest, officially known as the National Stadium, is the main track and field stadium for the 2008 Summer Olympics, and gained the nickname for its innovative grid formation.
The twig-like structural elements and the bowl-shaped roof are the masterpiece of the project, yet they pose great challenges for technicians and workers to make the building stand on its own feet.
The ground was broken in 2003, and the construction took more than four years to complete. It was built with 36 kilometers (22.37 miles) of unwrapped steel, with a combined weight of 45,000 tons. The stadium has some 11,000 square meters (1.1 hectares) of underground rooms with waterproof walls. The stadium can seat as many as 91,0! 00 specta! tors.
What located right next to the National Stadium is the Beijing National Aquatics Center, also colloquially known as the Water Cube.
The center was built alongside the stadium in the Olympic Green for the swimming competitions of the 2008 Summer Olympics. Despite its nickname, the building is not an actual cube, but a rectangular box. The ground was also broken in 2003, and completed and handed over for use in 2008. Swimmers at the Water Cube broke 25 world records during the 2008 Olympics.
After the Olympics, the building underwent a 200-million-yuan (US$ 31.53 million) revamp to turn half of its interior into a water park. The building officially reopened on August 8, 2010.
Admission: Bird's Nest: 50 yuan (US$ 7.88)/person
Water Cube: 30 yuan (US$ 4.73)/person
Houhai（后海）
Located opposite to the north gate of Beihai Park, Houhai scenic area encompasses a lake and its surrounding area in central Beijing. Due to its proximity to the Forbidden City, this area was historically home to court officials and the city's elite. In recent years it has become famous for nightlife because it is home to many popular restaurants, bars, and cafes.
Historic sites include the Drum and Bell Towers, and former residences of literati and court officials, including revolutionary author Guo Morou, Song Qingling, Sun Yat-sen's widow, and Chinese author, Mao Dun. Prince Gong's Mansion, a courtyard home that housed He Shen, a corrupt member of Emperor
Qianlong's imperial guard, can also be found in the area.
Aside from the alleyways and historic sites, what attracts most people is the variety of bars and restaurants. Lotus Lane and Yandai Xiejie are two popular strips along Qianhai Lake! . The str! ip along the western bank of Qianhai and Houhai lakes is also popular, as well as the renovated Nanluoguxiang Hutong, east of the lake.
Admission: Free
Panjiayuan Antiques Market（潘家园）
Situated west of Panjiayuan Bridge and south of the East Third Ring Road, the Panjiayuan Antiques Market is Beijing's most famous antique market, growing from its humble beginnings as a flea market in the early 1990's.
All manner of antiques are on sale among the thousands of market stalls. Paintings, calligraphy works, ceramics, jade, furniture, coins, army surplus, Buddhist artifacts are all available. If you are not an expert, simply wandering around the 40,000 plus stalls is just as much fun!
The market is specially animated on weekends when the permanent stalls and shops are joined by vendors setting out their wares on the ground. Get there early.
Admission: Free
National Museum of China（国家博物馆）
The National Museum of China, located on the east side of the Tian'anmen Square in central Beijing, was founded in 2003 after a merger between the former National Museum of Chinese History and the National Museum of Chinese Revolution.
Covering nearly 200,000 square meters, the museum is now the largest museum in the world with first-class facilities. It holds a collection of 1.2 million pieces of cultural relics in forty-eight galleries. There are two permanent exhibitions: Ancient China and The Road of Rejuvenation, and ! more than! a dozen categories of display related to thematic exhibitions and international exchange exhibits.
The museum also hosts special exhibitions on Chinese ancient art, such as bronze, porcelain, jade articles, Buddhist statues, furniture of Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911), ink painting and calligraphy.
One of the museum's most valuable collections is Si Muwu bronze quadrate vessel, 1.33 meters high and about 833 kg in weight, dating back to about 3,500 years ago.
Group visitors need to book in advance while individuals can get tickets at the entrance for free.
Admission: Free
Source: china.org.cn via China Daily
Balloon, Exquisite Skill, Pandas in Ocean Park, Hong Kong
Comments