


Tiananmen Square





The Mutianyu Great Wall
The Mutianyu Great Wall is about 75 kilometers northeast of Beijing. It's the most famous section for foreigners . Unlike Badaling Great Wall, Mutianyu has a beautiful landscape all the year round, but less tourists there. It was built in the Ming Dynasty, served as a very important a...
The Mutianyu Great Wall is about 75 kilometers northeast of Beijing. It's the most famous section for foreigners . Unlike Badaling Great Wall, Mutianyu has a beautiful landscape all the year round, but less tourists there. It was built in the Ming Dynasty, served as a very important and strategic pass in the old days. There are two unique features of the Mutianyu Great Wall. The other parts of the Great Wall have battlements on the outer sider only. But the surroundding wall of the Mutianyu section with merlons on both sides. So, you can image how important strategic place it was .Sometimes, the enemy came from either side. Another feature of Mutianyu Great Wall is the branch walls. Which was built on the mountain ridge but connected with the main wall. There was the watch tower on the branch wall also.
It's accessible by cable cars from below, and use the toboggan to slide down.
Bus No. 926 to Huai rou Country , and take a Mini bus ( 10 RMB or 20 RMB ) to the Great Wall.

The Summer Palace
The Summer Palace is located on the northwest outskirts of Beijing, about 20 kilometers away from the center of the city. It is formed mainly of Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake ,covering a total area of over 290 hectares while Kunming Lake occupies three quarters of the whole area. As the best pr...
The Summer Palace is located on the northwest outskirts of Beijing, about 20 kilometers away from the center of the city. It is formed mainly of Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake ,covering a total area of over 290 hectares while Kunming Lake occupies three quarters of the whole area. As the best preserved imperial garden in the world and one of the largest of its kind still existing in China today, it was placed on the List of World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 1998.
According to the legend ,there were supposed to be 3 islands called Penglai, Yingzhou and Fangzhang to the east of Bohai Bay, where people believed that the Gods lived. One of the island-Penglai Island was where a kind of Chinese herbal medicine grew which was supposed to prolong people’s lives. Emperor Qin Shihuang ,the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty and Emperor Wu Di in the Han Dynasty both sent lots of people to look for the herbal longevity medicine in Penglai Island but both of them failed . After the failure, Emperor Wu Di ordered people to dig a big pool at the back of his palace with 3 artificial hills representing the 3 Fairland Mountains of Penglai, Yingzhou and Fangzhang. Since Han Wu Di built a big pool with 3 artificial hills in his garden, this layout became a traditional legendary style of gardening followed by one dynasty after another. The Summer Palace was also built in this traditional style.
“Although it is artificial, it looks like the masterpiece from the hands of God.” This is a basic construction theory in our ancient Chinese Architecture . And the Summer Palace has been the most beautiful illustration of it.
East Gate of the Summer Palace (Dong-gong-men Stop):
Bus 330、331、332、346、394、712、718、726、732、737、801、808、817、826
North Gate of the Summer Palace (Bei-gong-men Stop):
Bus 303、330、331、346、375、384、393、634、716、718、737、801、808、817、834、Express 5
South Gate of the Summer Palace ( Xin-jian-gong-men Stop):
Bus 374、437、481、952、704、992
West Gate of the Summer Palace ( Xin-jian-gong-men Stop):
Bus 469

The Temple of Heaven (Tiantan)


Juyongguan Section of the Great Wall

Organized Tour - If you go with a tour group, try to pick one that not only gets you where you want to go, but also doesn't take you where you don't want to go. Tourists are sometimes not allowed to leave "factories" or "galleries" until they buy something which is, of course, overpriced.


The Ming Tombs
The Ming Tombs are located in Changping District, about 50 kms to the northwest of Beijing. This imperial cemetery covers an area of 80 km2 with 13 Ming emperors, 23 empresses, many imperial concubines, princes and princesses buried here. These tombs are the best preserved of all Chinese imperial...
The Ming Tombs are located in Changping District, about 50 kms to the northwest of Beijing. This imperial cemetery covers an area of 80 km2 with 13 Ming emperors, 23 empresses, many imperial concubines, princes and princesses buried here. These tombs are the best preserved of all Chinese imperial tombs. There are a total of 13 Ming emperors buried in this area, so it is called the “13 Ming Tombs” in Chinese. In 1961, the Chinese Government listed the 13 Ming Tombs as one of the important monuments under special preservation, and in 2003, the 13 Ming Tombs were listed as a world cultural heritage site by UNESCO.
So far, only 3 tombs are open to the public- Chang Ling, Ding Ling and Zhao Ling. And only the underground palace in Ding Ling was excavated.

Jinshanling Great Wall
The initial section of the wall has been restored to original condition, so I was totally amazed by its historic beauty and landscape. Unlike the bareness of Simatai section, Jinshanling is the real Great Wall in my heart. There was nobody on the Wall when we were hiking. The Great Wall is all y...
The initial section of the wall has been restored to original condition, so I was totally amazed by its historic beauty and landscape. Unlike the bareness of Simatai section, Jinshanling is the real Great Wall in my heart. There was nobody on the Wall when we were hiking. The Great Wall is all yours! More pictures in my mini-album in Synotrip.
Cable Way: CNY 50 (round-trip) ; CNY 30 (one-way) By Bus 1. Take a bus to Miyun County at Beijing Dongzhimen Long Distance Bus Station, and take the local tourist bus to Jinshanling Great Wall in Miyun County. 2. Take a bus to Chengde at Liuliqiao Long Distance Bus Station, the bus leaves at about every one hour between 08:00 and 18:00, and get off at Jinshanling Intersection, and take a taxi or walk to Jinshanling Great Wall.

Jingshan Park
Situated directly to the north of the Forbidden City, on the other side of the road. Jingsha Park is one of the most pleasant parks in Beijing. It doubles as an excellent viewpoint over the city centre, particularly the Forbidden City and its gilded roofs with Tian'an men Square in the background...
Situated directly to the north of the Forbidden City, on the other side of the road. Jingsha Park is one of the most pleasant parks in Beijing. It doubles as an excellent viewpoint over the city centre, particularly the Forbidden City and its gilded roofs with Tian'an men Square in the background.