 The
Forbidden City, Beijing, China
The Forbidden City stands in the center of Beijing.
It is protected by high walls and a moat on
all four sides and consists of dozens of halls
and courtyards. The emperors of two dynasties,
the Ming and the Qing, lived here with their
families and hundreds of court ladies and palace
eunuchs. From their throne in the Forbidden
City they governed the country by holding court
sessions with their ministers, issuing imperial
edicts and initiating military expeditions.
It was the home of 24 emperors of the Ming and
Ching dynasties. Naturally it was the scene
of many important events affecting the course
of Chinese history, including political struggles
and palace coups, some of them extremely tragic.
After the republican revolution of 1911, the
last emperor of the Ching Dynasty, then still
a child, abdicated the next year. But he and
his family and their entire entourage were allowed
to stay in the palaces.
 The
Great Wall of China
Lying to the north of Juyong Pass,
the Great Wall at Badaling is about 60 kilometers
from the city proper of Beijing. The Gate-tower
of the Juyong Pass was firstly constructed in
the 18th year of the Hongzhi reign period of
the Ming Dynasty (1505), with two gates, one
in the cast and the other in the west. Over
the eastern gate is a horizontal tablet, inscribed
with the characters meaning "Outer Juyong
Town," and the horizontal tablet over the
western gate also has four characters, meaning
"A Strategic Pass in the North." The
Ming tombsare located at the foot of the picturesque
Tianshou Hills in Changping County, Beijing,
the Ming Tombs are 44 kilometers from the city
proper. Altogether 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty
were buried here. Of them, Changling Mausoleum
is well known for its grand architecture and
Dingling Mausoleum for its excavated underground
palace.
 Tiananmen
Square, Beijing, China
Tiananmen Square is the largest square in the
world, where the five-star m. flag is raised
., dawn, an,. lowered at sunset everyday. Standing
at the Tiananmen Gatetower, you will have a
nice view of the splendid and magnificent square.
The square is flanked by the Museum of Chinese
History and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution
on the east, the Great Hall of the People on
the west, Zhenyangmen and the Arrow Tower on
the south, the Monument to the People's Heroes
at the center, and the Chairman Mao Memorial
Hall at the southern end. Tiananmen Square attracts
numerous Chinese and foreign tourists everyday.
 Beihai
Park
Located in the center of Beijing, the Beihai
Park is well known for its Jade Islet, Beihai
Lake and White Dagoba. The 35.9-meter-high White
Dagoba, which was firstly built in 165 L, sits
on a Sumeru base built with bricks and stones.
Many halls and pavilions stand among green pines
and cypresses, in addition to a long corridor
by the lake. The Beihai Park is an ideal place
for going boating in summer and skating in winter.
Immediately outside the southern gate is the
Circular City, known as a small city in the
city proper of Beijing. The Hall of Receiving
Light is in the center of the Circular City,
where visitors can see the 800-year-old pine
trees planted in Kin (1115-1234).
 Temple
of Heaven, in Beijing, China
As the largest of the all existing
temples in China, the Temple of Heaven was the
place where the emperors of the Ming and Qing
dynasties worshiped heaven and prayed for good
harvests. The construction of the Temple of
Heaven was completed in the 18th year of the
Yongle reign period of the Ming Dynasty (1420).
Its main structures include the Hall of Prayer
for Good Harvests, the Imperial Vault of Heaven
and the Circular Mound Altar. The Hall of Prayer
for Good Harvests is a lofty, round structure
supported by 28 wooden pillars, with a coneshaped
deep blue-tile roof crowned with a gilded knob.
The Imperial Vault of Heaven is surrounded by
a circular wall, known as Echo Wall. If a person
whispers close to the wall at any point, the
voice can be heard distinctly at any other point
along the wall.
 The
Beijing Zoo - The Beijing Zoo, the
largest zoo in China, has the most valuable
animals in the world, such as giant pandas and
golden monkeys. It has more than 3,000 animals
from all over the world, which fall into over
500 species, such as rhinoceroses, chimpanzees,
gibbons, elephants, lions, polar bears, penguins,
etc.
Beijing Hutong - Hutong is
an ancient city alley peculiar to Beijing. Beijing
has more than 4,550 Hutong. Those surrounding
the Forbidden City and taking Prince Gong's
Residence as the center are the best-preserved.
The buildings in Beijing hutong are mainly compounds
with houses around a courtyard, also known as
quadrangles. Narrow passages between these quadrangles
linked one with the other are hutong. The hutong
in Beijing was mainly formed in the Yuan (1279-1368),
Ming and Qing dynasties. Tourists may have a
tour of the 700-yearold hutong in Beijing by
tricycle.
 Peking
Opera
Peking opera of China is a national treasure
with a history of 200 years. In the 55th year
of the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing
Dynasty(1790) ,the four big Huiban opera Troupes
entered the capital and combined with Kunqu
opera, Yiyang opera, Hanju opera and Luantan
in Beijing's thearetical circle of the time.
Through a period of more than half a century
of combination and integration of various kinds
of opera there evolved the present Peking opera,
the biggest kind of opera in China, whose richness
of repertoire, great number of artists of performance
and of audiences, and profound influence are
incomparable in China. Peking opera is a synthesis
of stylized action, singing, dialogue and mime,
acrobatic fighting and dancing to represent
a story or depict different characters and their
feelings of gladness, anger, sorrow, happiness,
surprise, fear and sadness. In Peking opera
there are four main types of roles: sheng (male)
dan (young female), jing( painted face,male),
and chou (clown, male or female).
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