Beijing

BEIJING ATTRACTIONS

The Great Wall - Building of this magnificent structure commenced over 2,000 years ago and took thousands of workers 10 years of hard labour to complete. It stretches across the northern part of China for over 6,000 kms. Although not that successful as a means of defence against warring neighbours, it worked very well as a highway for people and equipment travellling across the mountainous terrain. Take a tour along the most famous and best preserved part of the Great Wall - the Badaling Section - about 70 kms northwest of Beijing city.

Tiananmen Square is one of the most visited tourist destinations in China. Said to be the largest Square in the world, Tiananmen Square measures 880 m from north to south and 500m from east to west. It can hold one million people. At the north end of the Square is the Tiananmen Tower, built in 1417 and was the front door to the Forbidden City. Until 1911, the royal family and aristocrats were the only people permitted to enter the Tower. In the center of Tiananmen Square is the granite Monument to the People's Heroes. Built in 1952, it is the largest monument in China's history. You will find "The People's Heroes are Immortal" written by Chairman Mao is engraved on the monument. Eight very large relief sculptures depict the development of Chinese modern history.West of the Square is the Great Hall of the people built in 1959. The Great Hall has three parts - Central Hall (the floor of which is paved in marble with crystal lamps hanging from the ceiling), the Geat Auditorium (which seats 10,000) and the Banqueting Hall (which seats 5,000). Situated at the south sid of the Square is the Mao Zedong Memorial Hall which is also divided into three Halls. Chairman Mao's body lies in a crystal coffin in one of the halls. Present day Tiananmen Square is a popular place to come and relax, fly kites or just take a walk.

The Forbidden City holds a formidable collection of Chinese art. Situated in the heart of Beijing, the Forbidden City (Imperial Palace) remained the residence of Emperors for nearly 500 years from the 15th to 20th Century. Built in the Ming Dynasty, many of the buildings have been repaired and rebuilt over the years. This magnificiently palatial complex covers over 2,350,000 sq. ft and contains 9,999 rooms, unbelievable to image. It is surrounded by 10 foot high walls crowned by four observation towers and flanked by a moat. There are four large gates within the walls. Its palaces and halls are filled with countless works of art and cultural artifacts.

Ming Tombs - The Ming Tombs are situated 50 kms northwest of Beijing. This name is given to the Mausoleums of 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty which have been perfectly preserved. Originally built as Changling, the tomb for Emperor Zhu Di and his empresses, with the succeeding 12 emperors having their tombs built around Changling. Only the Changling and Dingling tombs are open to the public. Changling is the largest and is completely preserved. The internal area of the main building is 1956 sq metres. Dingling is under ground and about 27 m deep. It is the mausoleum of Emperor Zhu Yijun, the 13th emperor and his two empresses and is made completely of stone. The south Tower, the entrance to the underground chambers has yellow glazed tiles, eaves, archway rafters and columns, sculptures from stone, colourfully painted. It is very beautiful. There are precious items displayed with these coffins including the gold imperial crown, one of the world's most rare treasures.