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Forbidden City
This is the Palace Museum, also known as the Purple Forbidden City. It is the largest and most well preserved imperial residence in China today. Under Ming Emperor Yongle, construction began in 1406. It took 14 years to build the Forbidden City. The first ruler who actually lived here was Ming Emperor Zhudi. For five centuries thereafter, it continued to be the residence of 23 successive emperors until 1911 when Qing Emperor Puyi was forced to abdicate the throne. In 1987, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization recognized the Forbidden City as a world cultural legacy.It is believed that the Palace Museum, or Zi Jin Cheng (Purple Forbidden City), got its name from astronomy and folklore. The ancient astronomers divided the constellations into groups and centered them around the Ziwei Yuan (North Star). The constellation containing the North Star was called the Constellation of Heavenly God and the star itself was called the purple palace. Because the emperor was supposedly the son of the heavenly gods, his central and dominant position would be further highlighted by the use of the word purple in the name of his residence.

The Tian'anmen Square
Tian'anmen square, or Gate of Heavenly Peace, sits at the entrance to the former Forbidden City, the imperial residential quarter of the Ming and Qing dynasties, and towers over the immense square of the same name. The gate, first built in 14167 as the front gateway to the imperial capital, consists of a double-roofed tower with nine frontal columns, elevated upon a red platform with five vaulted gateways. From base to rooftop the structure stands 33.7 metres in height. The vermillion platform beneath the tower rises more than ten metres high upon a white marble pedestal. The tower looks majestic with its double roofs and flying eaves, yellow glazed tiles and vermillion walls, elaborately carved brackets and beams and painted pillars. Tian'anmen is a symbol of New China. A rendition of it forms the centerpiece of the Chinese national emblem. The ceremony to inaugurate the People's Republic of China took place at Tian'anmen on October 1,1949.

The Great Wall
The Great Wall, symbolizing China's ancient civilization, is one of the world's most renowned projects. It is a distance of 75 kilometres northwest of Beijing. Its highest point at Badaling is some 800 metres above sea level.
Construction of the Wall first began during the period of the Warring States (476 - 221 BC). Formerly, walls were built at strategic points by different kingdoms to protect their northern territories. In 221 BC after the first Emperor of the Qin Dynasty unified China, he decided to have the walls linked up and extended.
Historical records show that about 1 million people, one-fifth of China's population at the time, were involved in the project which took more than ten years. When it was finished we call it "Wan Li Chang Cheng" which means "Ten Thousand-Li-Long Wall". Now, nature has taken over most of the Great Wall.The Great Wall which we are going to visit was rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty in the 16th century. It extends from Shanhaiguan Pass, a seaport along the coast of Bohai Bay, to Jiayuguan Pass in Gansu Province. Its total length is more than 6,700 kilometres.
There were many places of strategic importance along the Wall. Fortresses were constructed at strategic points. Beacon towers were built on both sides of the Wall at commanding points. Whenever the enemy was sighted, bonfires were lit on the towers to signal warning messages.
Before the Ming Dynasty, the Wall was built mainly of earth and rock. Under the Ming, it was rebuilt in most places with bricks and stones. For instance, the section at Badaling near Beijing was faced with slabsof rock and large bricks and filled with earth and stones. It is 6 to 7 metres high.
At regular intervals along the southern side of the Wall, there are gates with stone steps leading to the top of the Wall. The top surface of the wall is paved with three or four layers of large bricks. It is 4 to 5 metres wide, enough for five horsemen to ride abreast. Along the Wall, there are parapets and battlements built of bricks and turrets and watchtowers at regular intervals.
The Wall traverses mountains and gullies. It was extremely difficult to build along steep slopes under harsh conditions. Some of the slabs of rock were as long as two metres and weighed as much as one ton. All the rocks, bricks and lime had to be carried up the mountains at the cost of backbreaking labour. The earth and bricks were passed up from hand to hand or carried in baskets by donkeys and goats. The large slabs were moved up slopes by means of rolling rods and hoisting bars. According to rough calculation, the amount of bricks and rock used to build the Wall would have been enough to build a wall five metres high and one metre thick around the world.

The Ming Tombs
The Ming Dynasty lasted from 1368 to 1644. The first Ming emperor had his tomb built in Nanjing, the town which he had chosen for his capital. As his eldest son died early, he was succeeded by his grandson, who became the second emperor. His fourth son, the Prince of Yan, was guarding the northern frontier near Beijing with an army 100,000 strong. The second emperor attempted to weaken his forces but was met with counter-attacks. After a 3-year war he was ousted and lost track of completely. So, the fourth son became the third emperor, Emperor Yongle, of the Ming Dynasty.
As a frontier commander, he was aware that a peaceful northern frontier was of great importance to the Ming Palace, he chose this valley to build his tomb. All his successors followed his example and had their tombs built here, except one who was dethroned and buried in the western suburb. Out of the sixteen emperors, thirteen lie here with their empresses and concubines.
The site was chosen with the greatest care, with geomancy taken into account. The tombs are located about 50 kilometres to the north of Beijing. They are scattered over a basin approximately 40 square kilometres in area, screened by mountains on three sides and open to the Beijing Plain in the south. The road leading to the tombs is guarded by the Tiger Hill on the left and the Dragon Hill on the right. It was a forbidden ground except for those who were officially in charge of its upkeep. It was not allowed to cultivate land, cut wood or to take stones from here. No one could enter it on horseback, even the emperor himself had to dismount at the gate.

The Summer Palace
The summer Palace, located approximately twelve kilometers to the northwest of Beijing's city proper, was first built in 1750 and rebuilt in 1886. An outstanding example of imperial gardens in classical Chinese style, the Summer Palace spreads on an area of 2.9 million square metres, three fourths of which are water surfaces. Its major attractions are the Wanshou (longevity) Hill and the Kunming (Jade Spring)Lake. The garden is a showcase of pavilions in diversified, exotic designs which are strung together by a corridor more than seven hundred metres in length and a seemingly unending chain of balustrades of snow-white marble. With western hills simmering in the background, the Summer Palace is strewn with postcard perfect sceneries, including the Yuquan(Jade Spring)Pagoda, the Kunming Lake, and the bridge with seventeen arches. The huge garden's artistic style, which is at once kaleidoscopic and harmonious, is attributable to the unknown designers' ingenious landscaping skills.

The Temple of Heaven
Situated in Chongwen District, Tiantan, or Temple of Heaven, is a 2.7 million square metre affair which was first constructed in 1420 as the venue for emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties to pray to Heaven for good harvests. The worldwide fame of Tiantan is attributed to its well disciplined layout and unique, elegantly ornamented architecture structures. The Qiniandian, or Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, is the centerpiece of Tiantan, built in a unique Chinese style, it is a circular wooden structure 38 metres in height and 32 metres in diameter, with a triple conical roof topped with a huge gold-plated cupola.

Yonghegong Lamasery (The Lama Temple)
Yonghegong is a famous lamasery located in the northeastern part of the old city of Beijing. It was a palatial residence built in 1694 by Qing Emperor Kangxi for his fourth son, Prince Yongzheng who later succeeded to the throne. This magnificent temple consists of five main buildings lying on the north-south axis, with annex halls standing on both sides. The temple is listed by the Chinese Government as one of the important historical monuments under special preservation.
After the death of his father, Emperor Yongzheng moved to the Forbidden City. The compound was closed to ordinary people and was renamed Yonghegong (the Palace of Harmony). Green roof tiles were replaced by yellow ones to suit a monarch's home. In 1744 his successor Emperor Qianlong converted the palace into a lamasery.
Several renovations have been carried out since 1949. The temple has taken on a new look and was reopened to the public in 1981. It is now not only a functional lama temple, but also a tourist attraction.

Beihai Park
Beihai (North Sea) Park is one of the most popular parks in the city of Beijing. It covers a total area of over 68 hectares, more than half of it is taken up by the lake. Early in the 10th century, the Liao Dynasty built a secondary imperial residence here, called Yaoyu or Jade Islet. When the Jin took over, they renamed the capital Zhongdu, meaning Central Capital, and built an imperial palace. Qionghua (Jade Flowery) Islet was built of earth dug out from the lake, and the rocks used for piling on the hill were brought from Kaifeng, Henan Province. During the Yuan Dynasty, the place was rebuilt three times, and Guanghandian or the Palace in the Moon where Kublai Khan used to live and many other palace buildings were built on top of the hill. It was in this palace that Kublai Khan received Marco Polo. Unfortunately it was destroyed. The Islet became the centre of Dadu (Great Capital) and is still situated in the heart of modern Beijing.
The Ming Dynasty saw more construction and renovation: the Five Dragon Pavilions and the Nine-Dragon Screen on the north bank of the lake and many pavilions and galleries were erected during that period. From the White dagoba, visitors can have an excellent view of the Five Dragon Pavilions standing on the opposite bank of the lake, with colourful ferry boats travelling back and forth between the shores. During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, construction lasted for 30 years. The project included many other pavilions, halls and terraces which made the park even more harmonious in design.
The layout of the park is based on an ancient Chinese legend. According to the legend, there were supposed to be three islands to the east of Bohai Bay where the gods lived. One of them was called Penglai Island where a kind of herbal medicine grew, that was supposed to prolong life. The first emperor of the Qin Dynasty wanted to live fovrever. He sent people to the islands to look for the longevity medicine, but failed. Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty also wanted to live an eternal life. He ordered that a big pool be dug at the back of his palace, complete with three artificial hills to represent Penglai and the other islands. So these legendary hills were built in the eastern capital of Luoyang during the Sui Dynasty and also in the Tang Dynasty capital of Chang'an. Such a traditional style of gardening was followed during the succeeding dynasties and Beihai Park was built after this traditional style.

Jingshan Park
The Coal Hill Park lies right to the north of the Palace Museum. It used to be a private garden of the imperial family. When the Imperial Palace was built in the early Ming Dynasty, the earth excavated to make the moat was piled up, and five peaks took shape. Coal was once heaped around the foot of the hill, it is therefore also known as Coal Hill. In Qianlong's time, fruit trees grew and birds were raised in the grounds, the place was then called the Hundred Fruits Garden. Feudal emperors came here to climb the hill, attend the banquets, shoot arrows, and enjoy flowers as well. The hill is just behind the Forbidden City. It used to be a natural screen. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was regarded as "Dominating Hill", a symbol of stability of the feudal rulers. Five pavilions were later built on the ridges, From east to west they are: Guanmiaoting (Wonderful View Pavilion), Zhoushangting (Surrounding View Pavilion), Wanchunting (Everlasting Spring Pavilion), Fulanting (Panoramic View Pavilion) and Jifangting (Harmonious Fragrance Pavilion). From the hilltop, visitors can have a bird's-eye view of the city. There used to be a bronze statue of a god in each of the pavilions. Unfortunately four of them were stolen by the allied forces of the eight powers in 1,900, and the one on the uppermost pavilion was totally damaged.
Entering the front gate, you come to Qiwanglou (Chamber of Beautiful Expectation) which stands with its back to the hill 43 metres high. In the old days there was a Confucius' shrine in the building, where the Qing officials and scholars paid their respects to him. It is now a gift shop.
On your way up the hill from the eastern slope, you will come across a locust tree right below the Wonderful View Pavilion. There was formerly an old locust tree from which the last Ming emperor Chongzhen hanged himself when a peasant army led by Li Zicheng broke into Beijing in 1644. A new tree has been planted to mark the site.
On top of the hill, you will find the park located on the meridian line. It starts from Yongdingmen Gate at the southernmost city limit and runs northward through the Front Gate, Tian'anmen, the Forbidden City to the Everlasting Spring Pavilion and leads on to the Drum Tower and Bell Tower to the north. Looking southward on a bright sunny day, the yellow glazed-tile roofs of the Forbidden City glitter like thousands of gilded fish-scales under the sun. To the southwest lies the North Sea, Middle Sea and the South Sea. Further to the west is the White Dagoba which emerges on the island in Beihai Park like a maiden in her white sari, pretty, elegant and graceful. At night, the scene is unusually striking.
Behind the hill is Shouhuangdian (Hall of Imperial Longevity) where the portraits of the ancestors of the Qing court were housed. To its east is Guandedian (Hall of View of Virtue) used as a temporary resting-place for deceased emperors before burial.
The Coal Hill Park was opened to the public in 1928. After liberation, the buildings were renovated and flowers and fruit trees were planted. The Hall of Imperial Longevity was turned into a Children's Palace. Now the Coal Hill Park has become one of the popular holiday resorts for the people of Beijing.

Beijing Zoo
The Beijing Zoo was built in 1906 and opened to the public in 1908 with an area of about 10 hectares and a few humble pavilions to house the animals. At that time only several dozens of species were shown. such as lions, tigers, leopards and monkeys. Now the Beijing Zoo covers an area of about 50 hectares. The animal houses and enclosures, with a total floor space of 40,000 square metres, include those for pandas, elephants, brown and polar bears, tigers, hippopotami, rhinoceros, antelopes, giraffes and reptiles. More than 6,000 animals of over 500 species are on show. Among them are giant pandas, golden monkeys, addaxes, tigers from Northeast China, elks, yaks, precious birds and gold fish. Also on show ale rare animals from various continents, such as hippopotami, zebras, giraffes. Chimpanzees, lions and antelopes from Africa, parrots from South America, birds and kangeroos from Australia, polar bears from the Arctic, bisons from Europe and Asian apes.

Giant Panda
One of the most famous mammals in the world, the giant panda is meek and looks like a bear. With the exception of its shoulders, its limbs and the rims of its ears and eyes which are black, this lovable animal is white all over. Statistics show that China now has only approximately l,000 giant pandas living in the wild, in some remote mountain areas of Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces.
Zoological research has proved that giant panda came into existence 600,000 to 700,000 years ago. Subsequent drastic changes in the climate resulted in deforestation which threatened its existence. The panda used to be a ferocious carnivore, but with environmental changes, it gradually became accustomed to a diet of mainly bamboo. As its natural habitation shrank, its numbers decreased, and the panda itself became docile.
To protect this rare animal, the Chinese Government has established 10 nature reserves in places where pandas are found: eight in Sichuan, one in Gansu and another in Shaanxi
In 1955, giant pandas were exhibited in the Beijing Zoo. In 1978, by artificial insemination, the female giant panda Juanjuan gave birth to twins, one of which survived. Chinese pandas now symbolize the friendship between the Chinese people and the people of other countries. They have been sent to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Japan, the United States, France, Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany, Spain, Mexico and other countries.
Giant pandas live in humid and dense bamboo groves in mountainous areas at altitudes ranging from 2,000 to 4,000 metres. They are afraid of living in extreme weather conditions and make their lairs in tree holes or mountain caves. They seldom live in groups and eat bamboo leaves, sprouts and shoots. They mostly mate in April and May and give birth in autumn, with one or two cubs in each litter and occasionally three.

Lugouqiao ( Marco Polo) Bridge
Lugouqiao (literally the Bridge Over the Reed Ditch) has been made famous by at least three historic events: Marco Polo's description, Emperor Qianlong's inscription and the outbreak of the War against the Japanese Aggressors. Officially the bridge was called the "Lugou Stone Bridge", and it was built completely of white stone and looked majestic with a total of 485 stone lions lined on the balustrades of both sides. Apart from minor maintenance repairs made during subsequent dynasties, historical records show that it underwent a major restoration in 1689 after two arches had been washed away by floods. It was on that occation that the river was renamed Yongding (Eternal Stability), but the name of the bridge remained Lugou.
Marco Polo, the great Italian traveller, saw it towards the end of the year 1276 during his tours in China under the Yuan Dynasty. In the book of travelogues bearing his name, which came out years later, Marco Polo gave a detailed description of it:"... a very great stone bridge... For you may know that there are few of them in the world so beautiful, nor its equal ... It is made like this. I tell you that it is quite three hundred paces long and quite eight paces wide, for ten horsemen can well go there one beside the other ... It is all of grey marble very well worked and well founded. There is above each side of the bridge a beautiful curtain or wall of flags of marble and pillars made so, as I shall tell you ... And there is fixed at the head of the bridge a marble pillar, and below the pillar a marble lion ... very beautiful and large and well made." This description earned the bridge its name, Marco Polo, in the Western World. However, Marco Polo may have suffered a slip of memory when he gave the number of arches of the bridge as 24 instead of the 11 that it has always had.
Incidentally it may be interesting to note that Marco Polo called the bridge "Pulisangin". This is because, as some scholars point out, the upper course of the river Lugou or Yongding is the River Sanggan, and the river itself may have been known at the time as Sanggan or Sangin. As for "puli", it came from Persian word "pul", which means bridge. Therefore, Pulisangin was an international coinage for the "bridge on the Sanggan River" - a name highly indicative of the amount of intercourse between China at the time and countries to her west.
Almost from its very inception, namely in the Mingchang period (1190-1208) of the Jin Dynasty, the bridge was listed by travellers and men of letters as one of the "Eight Scenic Spots of Yanjing (Beijing)" under the descriptive title "Lugou Xiaoyue" or Moon Over Lugou at Daybreak (The Morning Moon Over Lugou Bridge ).

The Site of Peking Man
The Site of Peking Man is located at Zhoukoudian Village, 48 kilometres southwest of Beijing. It is screened by mountains on the northwest with fertile land lying to its southeast. West of the Village stands the Dragon Bone Hill, noted for its large quantities of Chinese medicine dragon bone.
Formed by limestone in the Ordovician period, the Hill rises 70 metres above the river. It is there that the fossils of the Chinese ape-man and their caves were found.
The Chinese ape-man, also known as Peking Man, lived some 690,000 years ago, in mid-period of Pleistocene epoch. The first complete skull of Peking Man was discovered in December, 1929 by Pei Wenzhong, a Chinese paleoanthropologist. Later, large-scale excavations were done on several occasions, amounting to 25,000 cubic metres of earthwork. Fossils of men and vertebrates were found. Of men fossils alone, a total of 152 pieces were uncovered of skulls, fragments of skulls, facial bones, lower jawbones and teeth belonging to over 40 individuals of different ages and sexes.
The findings of 100,000 pieces of stone implements, charred bones and ashes have proved that Peking Man knew how to use fire and was capable of making production tools. The Site of Peking Man provides not only a valuable scientific basis for the study of the origin and development of mankind but also an important base for research in the origin of human species.
In the cave above that of Peking Man were found fossils of the Upper Cave Man. They lived more than 10,000 years ago.
The exhibition is put up by the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. On display are: Peking Man material and casts, reconstructed models of human fossils and the fossils of vertebrates discovered in various parts of China since 1949.
New discoveries since 1949 include five teeth, fragments of an upper arm bone and shin bone, a lower jaw bone and a skull cap. The shin bone is the first to have been discovered. Such an abundance of ape-man fossils found at a single site is rare in the world.
The exhibition is divided into three sections. The exhibits in the first section show the animal world before man. It depicts the early stage of the earth's existence when there was no living matter and the long process of its emergence from inorganic matter and the evolution of life from lower to higher stages. The pictures, fossils, casts and reconstructed models trace the history of the animal world with emphasis on the evolution of vertebrates.
In the second section, casts and models of Peking Man, his stone implements and ashes showing the use of fire by ape-man explain the origin and development of mankind.

Niujie Mosque
The Niujie (Ox Street) Mosque in Beijing's Xuanwu District, the spiritual centre for the 10,000 Muslims living in the vicinity, is the biggest and oldest in Beijing.
The mosque is a mixture of Islamic and Chinese cultures. The outside shows the Chinese influence while the inside decoration is rich in Islamic flavour. Founded in 996 during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the mosque was rebuilt in 1442 in the Ming Dynasty and expanded in 1696 under the Qing Dynasty. It consists of an observation tower, prayer hall, and minaret with a pavilion on each side. The observation tower is just behind the entrance. It was built and originally used for astronomical observations needed for drawing up the Islamic calendar. The hexagonal wooden structure is also Chinese outside but Islamic inside, with Arabic designs on the ceiling and the beams.
The prayer hall, with its courtyard to the east, consists of five major areas. The three central areas, running lengthwise, are divided into five bays, some narrow with coffered ceilings, and some wide with high-beam ceilings. The two side wings have plain ceilings with beams laid lengthwise. At the entrance of the hall, the ceiling bears the Arabic names of noted imams around the world. Farther in, Chinese flower and cloud paintings mingle with Arabic inscriptions and patterns on the coffered ceilings, and the chandeliers are slightly reminiscent of Venetian glass. There is an arch between each pair of pillars, gleaming with gold patterns.
The minaret (calling tower), a two-storey obelisk in the centre of the courtyard, was originally built as a script depository. Later imams used it as a calling tower. When prayer time came, they ascended the tower and recited the Koran, and Muslims living in the vicinity came to listen. On the ground floor is a large copper cauldron, which was used to prepare communal meals.
To the southeast of the tower lie the tombs of two Muslims who came from the Middle East and preached in the Mosque. The tomb for Ahmad Burdani was built in 1320, and the one for Ali in 1283. Both came from ancient Persia. The tombstones bear Arabic inscriptions and have been set into a nearby wall.
In the imam's library, there are Koran manuscripts and old wooden printing blocks. The mosque used to be a printing house as well.
At the south of the courtyard are the men's and women's prayer-preparation bathrooms.
There are long-beaked kettles for the devout to use to wash their nostrils, ears, and mouths. It is considered sacrilegious to enter the mosque without cleaning oneself.
Muslims must wash their whole bodies on Friday, the major prayer day. They only need to wash their heads, hands and feet on other days.
Muslims are supposed to pray five times a day - at dawn, at mid-day, in the afternoon, at dusk, and in the evening. Adults who have no time to pray during their working hours come in the early morning before work and in the evening after work.
Non-Muslim visitors are also welcome, but they have to make arrangements in advance. They may have a look around and hear explanations from the imams or staff of the Islamic Society. But when prayer is going on, they may not enter the prayer hall.

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