Tiananmen Square is one of the largest city squares in the world. It is located on the central axis of old Beijing.

In the center of Tiananmen Square stands the Monument to the People’s Heroes. It was built in 1952 to commemorate those soldiers who fell fighting in the revolution. Behind the Monument to the People’s Heroes is the Chairman Mao’s Mausoleum in which the remains of Chairman Mao are displayed in a crystal casket.

The Museum of Chinese History and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution are located on the eastern side of Tiananmen Square. The Museum of Chinese History displays three main periods of Chinese history－the Primitive Society the Slave Society and the Feudal Society while The Museum of the Chinese Revolution emphasizes the history of the past 150 years.

The Great Hall of the People is located on the western edge of Tiananmen Square. It was built in 1959 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.

On the north side of the square is the gate "Tiananmen" (The Gate of Heavenly Peace). It was built in 1417 and served as the entrance gate to the Forbidden City.

Beginning in the Warring States period (475－221 BC) to prevent northern nomadic tribes from invading their territory Chinese rulers built the Great Wall which is known as the "10 000－li (5000 km) wall" in China and one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. And subsequent dynasties continued the project. The Great Wall averages 7.8 meters in height and is 6.5 meters wide at the base and 5.8 meters wide at the top. A watchtower was built every hundred meters. Beyond the city wall at Badaling are scattered beacon towers on which sidewalls were constructed. These towers served as advance defensive posts to protect Badaling. Not far from Suoyao Pass out of the North Gate is a brick－structured building known as Chadaocheng. This used to be the advance command headquarters. Built during the reign of Emperor Longqing of the Ming Dynasty (1571) it housed three generals and 788 soldiers as well as stockpiles of weapons.

Mutianyu 90 kilometers (56 miles) from Beijing is another option. There is also a cable car and gift shops but the crowds are a bit smaller. Made of choice material Mutianyu Great Wall was very solidly built. The wall is 7 to 8 meters high and the top is 4 to 5 meters wide. The base of the wall is composed of thirteen layeas of green granite. The structure of Mutianyu Pass is rare in the whole building of the Great Wall.

Simatai 110 kilometers (68 miles) from Beijing used to be the unspoiled option. It is a very steep sweeping section of the wall and therefore very dramatic. But even there the cable car tourist shops and crowds have arrived.

Those with a spirit of adventure － and plenty of time － can hike from Simitai over to the Jinshanling section. It is only 10 kilometers (6 miles) but because of the steep broken path it takes the best part of a half－day and is tricky in parts.

Covering an area of 72 hectares (about 180 acres) the Forbidden City consists of 9 999 rooms surrounded by a 10－meter high city wall which measures 960 meters long from south to north and 750 meters wide from east to west. Outside the wall is a 52－meter－wide moat. It is indeed a city within a city.

Most of the structures in the Forbidden City are wooden with white stone foundations yellow glazed tiles and colorful wall paintings. A south－to－north axis line divides the complex by half. The whole complex looks imposing and stately.

The Forbidden City can be divided into the Outer Court and inner Court. The Outer Court consists mainly of the Hall of Supreme Harmony the Hall of Middle Harmony and the Hall of Preserving Harmony. The Hall of Supreme Harmony was where the emperor held grand ceremonies.

The inner Court is composed of the Palace of Heavenly Purity the Hall of Union and Peace and the Palace of Earthly Tranquility with three palaces on either side. Here the emperor used to handle daily state affairs and the empress and concubines used to live. In the Ming Dynasty the height of its decadent history about 10 000 concubines lived here together with the 70 000 eunuchs who were there to cater for the ladies’ (almost) every whim.

Much of the Forbidden City later fell into disrepair but the restoration work has been superb. The complex once again is the actual and spiritual heart of Beijing and it is certainly worth more than one viewing. On your first visit you can hire one of the informative taped audio guides available at the entrance (the voice on the English tape belongs to ex－James Bond Roger Moore). The tape provides ample historical background. After the tutored walk－through you can retrace your steps without the audio guide so you can take in the magnificence of the buildings.

Amble through the seemingly endless courtyards and halls and occasionally close your eyes and dream － this place is so atmospheric you can almost smell the history.

The Summer Palace covers an area of 290 hectares three－fourths of which is water the Kunming Lake. There is a Seventeen－Arch Bridge over the Lake. To the north of the lake is the Longevity Hill.

Like the most imperial palaces in china the summer palace is divided into three parts: halls for political affairs religious buildings and living quarters.

The Hall of Benevolence and Longevity is the main hall of the Summer Palace and the most important hall for political activities. It was the place for Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Ci’xi to handle state affairs and receive foreign envoys. The Hall of Jade Billows is well known to have served as a prison for Emperor Guangxu for ten years after the failure of the Reform Movement in 1898.

The tower of Buddhist incense stands atop the Longevity Hill. It is the symbol of this royal garden and the highest building inside the Palace. This Tower used to be a place for emperors and empresses to pray. Behind the tower of Buddhist incense is the Sea of Wisdom on which there are about 1 000 small glazed Buddhist sculptures.

The hall of Joyful Longevity was the residence for Empress Dowager Ci’xi. Many of the treasures used by Empress Dowager are on display here. The Garden of Virtuous Harmony is the best－preserved ancient theatre in China. The Empress Dowager Ci’xi was a great lover of traditional Chinese plays. Another of her favorite pastimes was fishing for pleasure. The Garden of Harmonious interests served for this purpose.

The Covered Walkway is one of the most important structures in the Summer Palace. This 728 meters long walkway is the longest of its kind in the world with over 14 000 traditional Chinese paintings on the beams and crossbeams. These paintings are painted during the reign of Emperor Qianlong. Emperor Qianlong traveled to the South on six of his inspections and was so much in love with the beautiful scenery there that he asked the best painters to sketch them down and later had them copied on the beams and crossbeams of the walkway.

The Suzhou Street in the Rear Hill and Rear Lake was called "Business Street" in the past. At that time many eunuchs disguised themselves as traders and the emperors may come here to do some shopping or have some other fun. And now if you want to buy some souvenirs here you can’t use cash but have to change the cash into traditional Chinese coins in the old "bank".

The highlight of the Temple of Heaven is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest. The hall a cone－shaped structure with triple eaves was built without beams and purlins. The heavy triple eaved top is supported entirely by 28 huge columns. The Hall is enclosed by lattice doors and windows instead of brick walls. The whole building is of high artistic value in structure shape and application of colors.

The imperial Vault of Heaven is a single－eaved round building covered by dark－blue glazed tiles on the roof. The tablet of "the imperial God in Heaven " was kept here and moved to the Circular Mound Altar to be worshipped on the occasions of sacrificial ceremonies.

The well－known Echo Wall 65.1 meters in diameter surrounds the Vault. When two persons stand at the east and west ends respectively and whisper toward the wall they can hear each other as distinctly as if they were talking over the telephone.

The Circular Mound Altar was used to worship Heaven so it was built in a round shape. The Circular Mound is comprised of three round white marble terraces. In the center of the upper terrace is the Heaven’s Heart Stone which is surrounded by concentrically arranged flagstones.
Worship of the God of Heaven followed a fixed pattern. No common people or foreigners were allowed to watch the Emperor’s procession to the temple. Even the trains were forced to stop in order not to disturb the solemnity of the ceremony.

The widest is 4 meters and the narrowest 70cm. `The longest Rongxian (Embroidery Floss) Hutong is two kilometers long while the shortest is Yichi Dajie (One－foot Street) which is actually twenty meters long. The majority of Hutongs run straight from east to west some from north to south. Most of the Hutongs that remain today were formed in the Ming and Qing dynasties. They look almost the same with gray walls and bricks.

In these small lanes there are many Siheyuan or quadrangles which are the living quarters of ordinary Beijingers. Hutongs are a happy kind of place. There are often 4 to 10 families with an average of 20 people sharing the rooms of one courtyard complex. The main attraction of Hutong life is a friendly and interpersonal communication. Children living in one courtyard play together and grow up like one family.

Many Hutongs have a story behind them. Beijing’s Hutong is not a simple architecture. It contains a lot of human elements. It’s a museum of Beijing folk custom and also the witness of history.

Consisting of Beihai Lake and the Jade Flowery islet the park covers a water area of over 700 000 square meters. The Jade Flowery islet an artificial hill made in imitation of the fairy hills is at the center of the park. This islet was built of earth dug out from the lake and the rocks used for piling on the hill were brought from remote places. The Tibetan－style White Dagoba 35.9 meters high is the most famed landmark at Beihai Park. It was built in honor of a visiting Dalai Lama and later to house Buddhist relics. Temple of Eternal Peace is located south of the isle housing statues of Sakyamuni and Tsong－kha－ha. To the east of the isle is the Pavilion of Ancient Manuscripts where tablets and rubbings are kept. To the west is Jade islet in Shady Springtime tablet one of the Eight Famous Sights in Beijing.

The most famous Fangshan (Emperor’s Meal) Restaurant is also located in Beihai Park. There are 11 halls in the restaurant which can accommodate a total of 250 people. The dishes and desserts are all imitations of imperial cuisine.

Beihai Park is also home to the famous Nine－Dragon Wall and iron Screen. The Nine－Dragon Wall served as a screen to protect a temple that no longer exists. Measuring 5 meters high 27 meters long and 1.2 meters thick the wall was built with colored glazed tiles. On both sides are nine dragons playing with pearls in the cloud above the blue sea.