Beijing to Tibet

Forbidden City

The magnificent Forbidden City is the largest and the best-preserved imperial palace complex in the world. It has 9,999 rooms in flourishing period with just a single room short of the number that ancient Chinese belief represents 'Divine Perfection' and surrounded by a moat six meters deep and ten-meter high wall. Spreading 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. For five centuries, this palace functioned as the administrative center of the country.

Tips for visiting Forbidden City:

(1) Wear comfortable shoes as you have to walk a lot.

(2) If you are group tourists, hiring a guide is highly recommended. It really is helpful to have a guide explain the stories behind the site and tell you about the important historical parts in the forbidden city.

(3) If you are non-group tourists, you can rent multi lingual guide recorder either at Meridian Gate (southern gate of Forbidden city) or the Gate of Divine Prowess (Northern gate of Forbidden City) and return it when you finish your tour of Forbidden City.

(4) Opening Hour: 8:30am-17:00pm Time of finshing selling ticket: 15:00 pm Travel Time: two hours Entrance Fee: RMB 60   

Great Wall

The Great Wall of China is one of the 'Eight Wonders of the World' and is enlisted in the World Heritage Directory. This immense wall was built to keep out invaders as well as to retain the inhabitants. It spans five provinces from Shanhaiguan Pass in the east to Jiayuguan Pass in the west, looking like a gigantic dragon across deserts, grasslands and mountains. In the downtown area of Beijing, it is possible to climb Badaling Great Wall. If you are in a rush, you can get the most out of your visit to Beijing by hiking one of the sections of the Great Wall. The Great Wall snaking across Beijing in its northern part is about 600 kilometers long. Along the total length of the Great Wall around Beijing, there are major eight sections including Badaling, Juyongguan, Huanghuacheng, Jiankou, Mutianyu, Gubeikou, Jinshanling, and Simatai. Most of the sections of Great Wall in Beijing are well-preserved and mainly the remains from the Ming Dynasty, an era of huge construction.

Tips for visiting the Badaling Great Wall:

(1) Strong footwear is needed for climbing the Great Wall.

(2) In summer, please prepare for sunblock, sunglasses and water.

(3) Entrance Fee: RMB45 Opening Hours: 06:40am-18:30pm Hiking Time: Two and a half hours

Tiananmen Square

The solemn and respectful Tiananmen Square is the largest central city square in the world, which serves not only Beijing's symbol but also the whole of China. Located in the heart of Beijing City, it is the site for massive parades and rallies. This immense courtyard is surrounded by a variety of significant edifices such as the Tiananmen Tower on its north, Great Hall of the People on its west, Mao Zedong Memorial Hall on the south, Monument to the People's Heroes and National Museum of China on the east. 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.

Tips for visiting the Tiananmen Square：

(1) Go there about 30 minutes early to have a good seat.

(2) Spend the time to see the people (soldiers, tourists and locals) who make the square a true highlight for the first time visitors.

(3) Entrance Fees: Tiananmen Square - Free, Tiananmen Tower - RMB 15, The Great Hall of the People - RMB 15, Chairman Mao's Mausoleum - Free, The National Museum of China - RMB 15; Open Time (Tiananmen Square): Whole Day Travel time: 2-4 hours

Temple of Heaven

Due to religion was always related with the supreme imperial power, Beijing at one time served as the focus of religious life with lots of beautiful temples. The Temple of Heaven, where the Emperors paid homage to the glory of heaven, is the largest group of structures in the country dedicated to rituals. To be opposite, the Altar of Earth was used to worship the God of the Earth. The Great Bell Temple, where the Emperor prayed for rainfall in the Qing Dynasty. But 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. What makes the temple unique is the century-old trees - line upon line of Chinese cypress, Chinese juniper and scholar trees. Some of the cypresses are more than 600 years old. Dr. Henry Kissinger, when he visited the temple, stated that while the USA could recreate the Temple of Heaven if it desired, it could not create the trees!

Tips for visiting Temple of Heaven:

(1) Go to the Temple of Heaven in the early morning to see groups of people practicing all types of kung fu and taiji. You can also practice with them if you are so inclined.

(2) Entrance Fee: RMB 35 Open Time: 6:00-21:00 Travel Time: 1.5 hours

Summer Palace

As the largest royal garden in China, Beijing's Summer Palace is actually a parklike 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. Once a summer retreat for emperors, this 290-acre park is still a retreat for the tourists, who can relax here or walk around ancient pavilions, mansions, temples, bridges and huge lake. Summer Palace mainly consists of Longevity Hill (Wanshoushan) and Kunming Lake. Much of it is covered by Kunming Lake. With masterly design and artistic architecture and integrationg the essence of Chinese garden arts, the Summer Palace has a title of "Imperial Garden Museum". It is an imperial garden most completely reseved with richest landscapes and concentrated buildings. The Summer Palace was added to the world cultural heritage list in 1998.

Tips for visiting Summer Palace

Open Time: 6:30-20:30 Entrance Fee: RMB 40 (low season), RMB 50 (peak season)

Ming Tombs

This is an amazing site for many reasons. First, it is outside Beijing, so you have a chance to escape the city and see a bit of the countryside. Second, it is relatively near the Great Wall, so you can visit both in one day. Third, the tomb itself is an eye opener. 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. However, it is a very steep climb down and people who have problems with their heart or kneels are not suggested to visit the underground tomb. For wheel-chair users or those who don't want to go deep inside a tomb, I recommend Changling Tomb.

Tips for visiting Ming Tombs

Entrance Fees: Changling Tomb: RMB 30 (Nov.01 to Mar.31), RMB 45 (Apr.01 to Oct.31) Dingling Tomb: RMB 40 (Nov.1 to Mar.31), RMB 60 (Apr.1 to Oct.31) Opening Time: Changling Tomb: 08:30 to 17:30, Dingling Tomb: 08:30 to 18:00 Travel Time: Two hours

Hutongs

If you would like to experience the local life, there is a great deal of Beijing's Hutongs and Courtyards distributed for your choice. Do you have the experience of taking a pedicab? In the old Beijing hutong areas, you can find the ancient transportation tools now still preserved for tourists as the main traffic tool of visiting hutongs - Beijing unique old city lanes. The neighborhoods of narrow, twisting streets represent the "real life" of Beijing, where passageways connect to courtyards of traditional compact homes. Pedicab tours of the hutongs cover the attractions that normally include the Bell Tower, courtyard neighborhoods and Prince Gong's mansion which should be the most magnificent courtyard and was the residence of an official and then a prince. There are lots of many small resturants, bars, and inns. From the top of the Bell Tower you can overlook the surrounding hutongs. The most interesting part of the hutong tour is walking through "Pipe Tobacco Alley" near the Bell Tower. On this tour you will enjoy the real people's Beijing. On the other end of Pipe Tobacco Alley has some of Beijing's fashionable cafes.

Tips for visiting Hutongs in Beijing:

(1) Two Sites for Hutong Exploring: Shichahai Area: north of Beihai Park Dazhalan Area: south of Tiananmen Square Rickshaw: RMB 50-100

(2) If you are interested in Chinese calligraphy, painting or other artwork, you can pay a visit to Liulichang Street.

(3) The Lugou Bridge carved with marvelous stone lions is an optional place for you a take a walk.

Olympic Sites - Bird's Nest and Water Cube

Thanks for the 29th Summer Olympics, Beijing has been well-known for travelers all over the world. This hospitable metropolis of China has been mixed with lots of modern elements, which is also a new part for its mysterious orient civilization. There are so many representative buildings displaying this international metropolis, such as the Beijing National Stadium (Bird's Nest) and the National Aquatics Center for 2008 Olympics. Usain Bolt of Jamaica broke the world record by winning both the 100 and 200 gold medals at the Olympics; at the Water Cube (the National Aquatics Centre), Michael Phelps of America makes history with 8 Gold Medals in Beijing! A visit to the Beijing Olympic Green sitting at the north end of the Beijing city's axis is an eye-opener for your Beijing trip.

Tips for visiting Bird's Nest and Water Cube:

Opening Hours: Bird's Nest: 9:00 to 18:00 on weekdays; 9:00 to 21:30 on weekends and public holidays. Water Cube: 9:00-19:00 (Monday-Thursday); 9:00-17:00 (Friday-Sunday). Entrance Fee: Bird's Nest: RMB 50; Water Cube: RMB 30.

Nightlife in Beijing

1. Enjoy Beijing Roast Duck Beijing duck is the local flavor of Beijing. Climbing the Great Wall, enjoying Beijing Opera and savoring Beijing Duck are the three "musts" for those visiting Beijing for the first time, which you cannot miss. The traditional method of preparing Beijing Duck has a history of over a hundred years and boasts a great reputation to this day. If you ask which is the best Beijing duck house ( restaurant ) in Beijing, different people will offer you different answers. Actually it is quite a personal taste of which one is the best.

2. Watch Beijing Opera After treat yourself with a delicious Beijing Duck, you can spend the rest time of the night on watching Beijing Opera. Beijing Opera is a number of stylized action, including singing, dancing, dialogue and acrobatic fighting to tell a story or present different characters and their feelings of happiness, anger, sorrow, surprise, fear and sadness. In Beijing opera there are four main types of roles: sheng (male), dan (young female), jing( painted face,male), and chou (clown, male or female). The characters may be loyal or treacherous, beautiful or ugly, good or bad, their images being vividly presented.