Tiananmen Square

What is the symbol of Beijing? There are various answers. But Tiananmen Square is definitely on the top list. Located in the heart of Beijing City, it is the site for massive parades and rallies, which is the largest square of this kind in the world. This was the site when in 1949, from a rostrum on Tiananmen (the Gate of Heavenly Peace). Chairman Mao proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China.

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 (soldiers, tourists and locals) makes the square a true highlight for the first time visitors.

Great Wall

The Great Wall, as you probably know, 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 Badaling part of the great wall is a fully restored section which is long enough to make you feel that it is never going end. 

Forbidden City ( the Imperial Palace )

To many, many people, Beijing is an ancient capital city in the east world. Forbidden City is the right place for you to start your Beijing tour by unveiling its mysterious face. Consisting of over 9,999 rooms and spread over 250 acres, this large palace complex was built between 1406 and 1420, but was burnt down, rebuilt, sacked and renovated countless times, so most of the architecture you can see today dates from the 18th century and on wards during the Qing Dynasty.

Summer Palace

As the largest royal garden in China, Beijing's Summer Palace is actually a park like imperial retreat spread out over 10 square miles. The Summer Palace in northwest suburban Beijing is the largest and most complete imperial garden existing in China. With masterly design and artistic architecture and integration the essence of Chinese garden arts, the Summer Palace has a title of "Imperial Garden Museum". It is an imperial garden most completely reserved with richest landscapes and concentrated buildings. The Summer Palace was added to the world cultural heritage list in 1998.

Temple of Heaven

I recommend Temple of Heaven as a real highlight of Beijing. It 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.

Wangfujing Street

Wangfujing is now considered the central heart of the city. Certainly from Wangfujing all areas of Beijing are easily accessible. Wangfujing is a fairly long street. A walk from end to end would take you about 30 minutes, and that's without looking at any shops. Wangfujing street is also home to a number of large department stores, souvenir stores, and whole side streets full of food stalls, Chinese painting stores and other goodies.

Ming Tombs (13 tombs in Ming Dynasty)

This is an amazing site for many reasons. 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. Dingling has been excavated so thoroughly that one has to get into the burial chamber itself.

Lama Temple

Lama Temple is Beijing's most visited religious site. It has five main halls and numerous galleries. This temple was first the palace of a prince. When he became the Emperor, he offered it to the Tibetan Buddhists. The Lama Temple is home to the Yellow Sect of Buddhism. The temple has an important relic: the largest Buddha statue carved from a single tree. The statue is huge: 3 stories up and about 9 feet across.

Beihai Park (Winter Palace)

It is used to be a winter palace for emperors for successive dynasties. There are now two things to see here: the park itself and the round city. The round city has a jar, which is said to be the only thing remaining from the great Khan that ruled what is now Beijing in Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368 A.D). The lake is Beijing's largest and most beautiful public waterway.

Chairman Mao Zedong Memorial Hall

The chairman Mao Zedong Memorial Hall stands on the former sits of Zhonghuamen Gate at the southern end of Tiananmen Square between the Monument to the People's Heroes and Zhengyangmen Gate. Red Sichuan granite at its base and trees around the hall is designed on principles of symmetry and centrality. Sculptures north and south supplement the artistic rendering of national struggle presented on the Monument to the People's Heroes.

Beijing National Stadium

The stadium will host the opening and closing of the 29th Olympiad, as well as track and field events. On completion it will have a capacity of 100 000 and it is believed that it will be the world’s largest enclosed space.

National Aquatics Center

The blue-colored National Aquatics Center (NAC), nicknamed the "Water Cube" and located by Beijing's North Fourth Ring Road, was inaugurated and delivered for use on the morning of January 28, 2008. It took over four years to construct the Olympic venue, which is a new landmark in Beijing. The "Water Cube" was built in accordance with a water-saving design concept to be a gigantic green architectural wonder. The project's ETFE air cushion structures are the first of their kind to be used in China and the largest and most complicated membrane system in any single project in the world.