Beijing : Main Scenic Spots
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..................................................................................................................................................................................... Tiananmen Square ..................................................................................................................................................................................... |
| Tiananmen Square is the largest public square on earth. Covering some 123 acres (50 hectares), it serves as a logical starting point for exploring Beijing. The square itself is an open area paved entirely by numbered concrete slabs, which were used to position hundreds of thousands of participants in the huge demonstrations during China's Cultural Revolution (1966-76). Some of China's most recognizable and impressive sights encircle the square. |  |
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..................................................................................................................................................................................... Forbidden City ..................................................................................................................................................................................... |
| Also called the Imperial Palace or Palace Museum, this 9,000-room "city-within-a-city" was home to 24 Sons of Heaven (as the emperors were known), beginning with the Yuan Dynasty in 1271 and ending with the Last Emperor, Pu Yi, in 1911. Commoners were forbidden to enter the place grounds on pain of death. |  |
| ..................................................................................................................................................................................... Coal Hill ..................................................................................................................................................................................... |
| As travelers cross the moat on their way out of the Forbidden City, they may be struck by the sight of five white pavilions sitting atop a hill. This is Coal Hill, a public park created in the 13th century from the dirt that laborers excavated in digging the palace moat. Coal Hill affords a spectacular view of the city. |  |
| ..................................................................................................................................................................................... The Summer Palace ..................................................................................................................................................................................... |
Despite
its name, the Summer Palace is not a palace in the sense of the Forbidden
City but an imperial park criss-crossed by pathways and nestled against
lovely Kunming Lake. The Qing court spent much of the year here in the empire's
final decades. Located about an hour's drive northwest of the Forbidden
City (depending on traffic), the Summer Palace rests on the very site where
Emperor Qian Long constructed a beautifully landscaped garden in the mid-18th
century. In 1860, the garden and the imperial buildings were destroyed by
the joint Anglo-French expeditionary forces. Eighteen years later, the notorious
Empress Dowager Ci Xi diverted funds from the Chinese navy to restore the
buildings and to add many new marvels of her own-most notably the colossal
Marble Boat. Many Chinese equate the building of this white elephant to
the sinking of the Qing Empire.
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| ..................................................................................................................................................................................... Beihai Park ..................................................................................................................................................................................... |
| Beihai is a colorful, bustling playground that also has its peaceful side. A climb up the hillside to White Dagoba (Baidasi), an impressive 16th-century pavilion built to honor the Dalai Lama, provides a sweeping view of the islands, lakes, and gardens that make up Beihai (North Lake) Park. Inside are the three treasures that ward away evil spirits from all dagobas: scriptures, a statue, and a monk's kasaya and cap. |  |
| .................................................................................................................................................................................... Temple of Heaven .................................................................................................................................................................................... |
| Many visitors to the China Pavilion at Epcot Center will recognize the Temple of Heaven. Here is the original, dating from 1420. China's emperors, with great ceremony, once humbled themselves in the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests to ensure a bountiful crop. Tiantan, as the temple is known in Mandarin, consists of three elaborately decorated buildings, each of which played a special role in the annual harvest ceremonies. |
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| .................................................................................................................................................................................... Yong He Lamasery .................................................................................................................................................................................... |
| Unusually private and peaceful, the Palace of Peace and Harmony (Yong He Gong) was the home of Qian Long's father before his ascent to the throne. It became a working lamasery during Qian Long's reign. The Lama Temple is a short drive from the Friendship Store. Visitors may contact the temple's administrative offices for information on religious ceremonies open to the public. |
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| .................................................................................................................................................................................... The Underground City .................................................................................................................................................................................... |
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Beijing's Underground City is literally that. Built in the late 1960s
as a series of linked air raid shelters, the Underground City has been
converted into
warehouses, shops, restaurants, and even a hotel. |
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