The largest central city square in the world, which serves not only
as Beijing's symbol but also for the whole of China. This immense
courtyard is the site of various historical events. The square is
surrounded by a variety of significant edifices namely, the Chinese
Revolution History Museum, the Mao Mausoleum, the Great Hall of the
People, the elegant and beautiful Tiananmen (Heavenly Peace Gate) Tower,
and the Qianmen (Front Gate).
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The largest and the best-preserved Imperial Palace complex in the
world. It once had 9,999 rooms, just a single room short of the number
that ancient Chinese belief represents 'Divine Perfection' (many were
desolated and now there are around 8,000 rooms). It's surrounded by
a moat six meters deep and a ten-meter high wall. For five
centuries, this palace functioned as the administrative center of the
country as well as being the residence of emperors and empresses of the
Yuan (1271 - 1368), Ming (1368 - 1644) and Qing (1644 - 1911)
dynasties.
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| Forbidden City 60RMB/$8.6 |
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The highest point in Beijing City, was built in 1179 during the Jin
Dynasty and has a history of more than 800 years. Inside Jingshan Park, an
area of approximately 57 acres, is Jingshan Hill which rises to a height
of 48 meters, and from its top visitors can see the entire city of
Beijing. Jingshan Hill was built in 1420 during the Ming Dynasty. On
the summit of Jingshan Hill five scenery viewing pavilions were built, and
from these the visitor can clearly see the layout of the Forbidden
City. This is a very popular park for local Chinese to gather and
sing traditional songs, dance and exercise.
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Made of bricks and stone, is 48 meters high and also is two stories.
On all four sides of the tower there is an arched door on the first floor.
A stairway leads to the second floor. On the second floor there is also an
arched door with a stone window framing each side. Right in the middle of
the second floor is the big copper bell that tells the time. It is hung on
a wooden framework. It is the heaviest bell in China. There is a round
wooden peg that knocks the bell.
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The telling time center during the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties
(1271-1911), located at Dongcheng District of Beijing, is a unique tourist
attraction. Drum Tower was initially built in 1272 during the Yuan
Dynasty, was rebuilt in 1297 during the Yuan Dynasty and in 1420 and 1539,
during the Ming Dynasty. The two-story structure was made of wood with a
height of 47 meters. On its second floor there originally were 25 drums.
Among them, there was one big drum and 24 smaller drums. Now, only the big
drum is left. The drum is beaten four times a day, for 15 minutes at a
time.
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Designed to introduce the long history of the city of Beijing,
display the great achievements of the modern urban planning and
development, and exhibit the future of Beijing's urban development. The
16,000 square-meter floor space is distributed on 4 floor levels in the
Hall, with 8,000 square meters for exhibits
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| Beijing Planning Exhibition 30RMB/$4.3 |
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The Summer Palace is the archetypal Chinese garden, and is ranked
amongst the most noted and classical gardens of the world. In 1998, it was
listed as one of the World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Composed mainly
of Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake, The Summer Palace occupies an area of
294 hectares (726.5 acres), three quarters of which is water. Guided by
nature, artists designed the gardens exquisitely so that visitors would
see marvelous views and be amazed by perfect examples of refined craftwork
using the finest materials. Centered on the Tower of Buddhist
Incense, the Summer Palace consists of over 3,000 structures including
pavilions, towers, bridges, and corridors.
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Initially built in the 10th century, it has a history of over a
thousand years, including five dynasties, Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing
Dynasty (916--1911). The Park has an area of more than 700,000
square meters, with a water area that covers more than half of the entire
Park. At the center of this Park is an island called Qionghua Island
(Qiong Island for short). The perimeter of the Island is 1,900 meters and
its highest point is 32 meters. In the north area of the park is a big
pool called Taiye Pool connecting the other two pools with each
other.
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A beautiful lake surrounded by hutongs, hundreds of bars and
restaurants. Possible to hire bicycles, boats or even ride on a
traditional rickshaw. A very popular place for families to relax
during the day and also a nightlife hotspot.
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The place where people paid homage to Confucius during the Yuan
Dynasty (1271-1368), Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty
(1644-1911). Now the temple houses the Beijing Capital Museum. The
Temple of Confucius was initially built in 1302 and additions were made
during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It has a total area of 22,000 square
meters (5.4 acres). It is the second largest temple constructed for
Confucius, the greatest thinker and educationalist in ancient China,
ranking only behind the Temple of Confucius in Qufu, Shandong
Province.
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| Confucian Temple 10RMB/$1.4 |
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Wangfujing is now considered the central heart of
the city. A walk from end to end would take you about 30 minutes,
and that's without looking at any shops. The street has two major
shopping malls and a number of large department and souvenir stores, and
whole side streets full of food stalls, Chinese painting stores, the
biggest bookstores in Beijing, and the largest outdoor TV screen in
Beijing. At night the neons can be compared to those of any major
city in the world and are very popular with Chinese tourists, especially
those coming from less developed parts of China. Most shops stay
open till around 9pm and sometimes an impromptu night market
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This mall replaced the infamous outdoor
market. If you don't have much time for shopping in Beijing, this
could be the only place you need to visit. There are many fake goods
here despite the government making efforts to stamp it out across the
city. Items which you can find include: Clothes, Shoes, Souvenirs,
Chinese Rugs/Carpets, Golf Equipment, Pearls, Watches, Sunglasses, Silk by
the roll, Chinese Paintings, Small Electronics and many other
things. Many goods can be very cheap but don't go here by yourself
or you will pay far too much for anything you buy. The first price
you will be quoted may be 10 or 20 times the actual price. Either go
with your helper or bargain very hard.
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Silk Market (Xiu Shui) Free
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The Temple was built in 1420 A.D. during the Ming Dynasty to offer
sacrifice to Heaven. As Chinese emperors called themselves 'The Son of
Heaven', they dared not to build their own dwelling, 'Forbidden City'
bigger than a dwelling for Heaven. The Temple of Heaven is enclosed
with a long wall. The northern part within the wall is semicircular
symbolizing the heavens and the southern part is square symbolizing the
earth. The northern part is higher than the southern part. This design
shows that the heaven is high and the earth is low and the design
reflected an ancient Chinese thought of 'The heaven is round and the earth
is square'.
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| Temple of Heaven 35RMB/$5 |
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The Old Summer Palace which is also known as the Ruins of the
Yuanmingyuan (the Garden of Perfection and Light). The Garden was first
constructed in the year 1709 during the reign of the Emperor Kangxi of the
Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Hundreds of scenic spots in the Garden are made
up of exquisitely constructed halls, pavilions, chambers, kiosks, earth
and rock hills, rivers and ponds, and exotic flowers and grasses from
different parts of the country. Indeed, it embodies the essence of Chinese
ancient landscape gardening.
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Ruins of the Yuanmingyuan
( Old Summer Palace)
25RMB/$3.6 |
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The Beijing Botanical Garden is a 400 Hectare park close to XiangShan
Park at the foot of the Western Fragrant Hills. The Botanical Garden
contains the WoFoSi (Sleeping Buddha) temple and was established in
1955.
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Beijing Botanical Garden
10RMB/$1.4 |
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The hutongs came into existence in the Yuan
Dynasty (1271-1368) when Kublai Khan (first emperor of the Yuan Dynasty)
founded Beijing as the capital. In the residential area, all closed
courtyards were built in a neat layout, and hutongs served the purpose of
going around. During that period, hutongs were all 9.3 meters (30.5 feet)
in width, which let the sunshine in all the year round. In the later
dynasties, small ones were formed within the existing hutongs, as a
result, hutongs now vary in width and length and some even have many
turnings.
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The park was first built in 1186 in the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) and
later extended to a large scale in the Yuan and Ming dynasties. In 1745,
Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799) ordered the addition of many new halls,
pavilions and gardens and gave it a new name, Jingyi Garden (Garden of
Tranquility and Pleasure). Unfortunately, in 1860 and 1900 after the
Summer Palace and the Yuanming Yuan (the Old Summer Palace) were set on
fire, lots of relics in the Fragrant Hills were damaged by foreign troops.
Since 1949, with a half-century's restoration and development by Chinese
government, Fragrant Hills Park has been recognized as one of the ten most
famous parks in Beijing.
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Fragrance Mountain
20RMB/$2.9 |
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The 'Eight Great Sites' park, refers to the eight Buddhist temples
and monasteries scattered across Cuiwei, Pingpo and Lushi hills at the
foot of Beijing's Western Hills Scenic Area. Located along the outskirts
of Beijing, it was restored during the 1980's and has since become a
famous tourist destination. There are a total of eight former Buddhist
temples and monasteries in Badachu Park. Including the Temple of Eternal
Peace (Chang'ansi), the Temple of Divine Light (Lingguangsi), Three-hill
Nunnery (Sanshan'an), the Temple of Great Mercy (Dabeisi), Dragon Spring
Nunnery and the Temple of Fragrant World.
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Elegant and ancient temple known as the Yonghe Lamasery, which is the
largest and most perfectly preserved lamasery in present day China.
Built initially in 1694 during the Qing Dynasty, this building was the
residence of Emperor Yongzheng when he was just a prince. However, in 1744
the Qing Dynasty formally changed the status of the dwelling to that of a
lamasery, and so Yonghe Lamasery became the national centre of Lama
administration.
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Near the Badaling section of the Great wall, so
certainly worth going if you go to Badaling (see below). The mausoleums of 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644).
The mausoleums have been perfectly preserved, as has the necropolis of
each of the many emperors. Because of its long history, palatial and
integrated architecture, the site has a high cultural and historic value.
The layout and arrangement of all thirteen mausoleums are very similar but
vary in size as well as in the complexity of their
structures.
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Most tourists visit this section of the wall because it is the
closest and best restored part of the great wall. However it is also
the most crowded. There is also a cable car (50 RMB).
For those who have limited time.
Or for those who want to see a few other places while there such as
the Ming Tombs and Sacred way.
To rent a taxi for the day will cost around
900 RMB ($128)
Alternatively do a group tour with your
hotel.This tour available daily costs 380RMB including admission, lunch & transportion with stop over for shopping
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1 hour drive from central
Beijing
1-2 hours on the wall |
Badaling: The Great Wall 40RMB/$5.7 |
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Steps are easier than Badaling, there is a cable car up (35 RMB) and
a toboggan (55 RMB) or cable car down (50 RMB return trip). Also
good for those who want a challenge because you can walk all the way to
the left, then all the way to the right.
2to4 hours on the wall
For those with children or those who do not want to commit to walking
for a long distance.
To rent a taxi for the day will cost around
750 RMB ($108)
Alternatively do a group tour with our
hostel.This tour available daily in our hostel costs 320RMB/ person inluding admission£¬breakfast, lunch and transportaion, no shopping.
If you don't wish to take the kunch, you could pay 30RMB less. As you know the food on the wall is generally extremely expensive we suggest youshould tale the whole package.
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Mutianyu: The Great Wall 45RMB/$6.5
2 hour drive from central
Beijing
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Perhaps the best option if you have the time and energy (to walk one
direction for 3-4 hours 10 km). Absolutely beautiful, some areas are
really badly damaged, there are bridges and rivers and usually not many
people. But it is not recommend for senior citizens, children , the person with heart disorder or the disabled to climb this section .
3-4 hour walk (from one end to the other, 10 km)
If you have the time and energy.
Alternatively do a group tour with your
hotel.
This tour available in our hostel costs 350RMB/person inluding breakfast, admission, lunch & transportation there and back .
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Hiking on the wall from Jinshanling to Simatai: The Great Wall
which involves two sections of the wall and twice entrnce fee should be paid
entrace fee 45RMB times 2 /$13
4 hour drive from central
Beijing
To rent a taxi for the day will cost around
700 RMB ($100)
for transportation only
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Starts at 19:30, The Red Theatre, 44 Xingfu
Daije, Chongwen District (6714 2473)
Originally known as Chongwen Worker's Cultural Palace Theater. After the renovation, the stage facilities has been dramatically improved and now the theater specializes in traditional Chinese performances, such as "The Legend of Kung Fu".
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Kung Fu Show
180RMB - 680RMB/$26 - $97
It is available daily and you could book the cheapest ticket through our hostel at 190 RMB for both admission and one way transportation |
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show with acrobatics, traditional music, opera,
dance and traditional costume, includes dinner.
Dinner: 19:00. The Performances: 20:00 -
21:30
1 Dayabao Hutong, Dongcheng District (6527
2814)
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280RMB - 680RMB/$40 - $97
It should be cheaper if you book through your hotel |
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It should be cheaper and available daily if you book through our hostel
Performances start at 17:15 and 19:15
Chaoyang Theatre, 36 East Ring Road, Chaoyang
District (6507 2421) or at Workers' Club in Hufangqiao
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Chinese Acrobatics Show
180RMB/$26 including admission and one way transportation |
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It should be cheaper if you book throughour hostel which costs 160RMB/ person including admission & one way transportation
Performances run from 19:30 to 20:40
Li Yuan Theatre, inside the Qianmen Hotel
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Beijing Opera
160RMB - 480RMB/$23 -
$69
including one way transportation and admission
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Start at Tian'anmen Square, enter the
Forbidden City, have lunch then go to either Jingshan Park (aerial
view of forbidden city) or Beihai Park (large lake etc).
Alternatively look around the hutongs (walk, cycle or take a
rickshaw). There is so much to do in this area (and it's very
central). The Bell and drum towers are also in the area. It's
well worth spending a couple of days here if you have time. Some
people prefer to spend a whole day on just the Forbidden
city.
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Go to the Summer Palace, you can really spend all day here. The
old summer palace is very close so it's probably worth a look if you have
the time. There's a fun maze there and the whole park looks very out
of place in Beijing. Opposite is a nice restaurant with a tea shop
where you can try a variety of traditional Chinese tea.
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Visit the Great wall. Have a look at the three sections that we
suggest above (Badaling, Mutianyu and Simatai).
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If you want to see a few more different temples go to the Lama
Temple, then the nearby Confucian temple have some lunch before finishing
your day at the Temple of heaven.
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Head back to Tiananmen Square, take a look at the Beijing Planning
exhibition and possibly one of the Museums surrounding the square.
In the evening you could also go to Wangfujing Night Market for all Chinese food
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Climb Fragrant Mountain (or take the cable car) then look around the
botanical gardens before heading over to Badachu park if you still have
time and energy.
You can then head to Wangfujing, Pearl Market or Silk Street for some
shopping.
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Taxis
Taxis are very cheap and convenient. Most of the attractions
are very central (around 10RMB/$1.29 to 25RMB/$3.23 ). The
longest rides will be to the Summer Palace and Fragrant Mountain or
Badachu park (less than 60RMB/$7.60). You can rent a taxi for the day for 8 hours
(400RMB/$51.60). However this is not recommended as there is
no real benefit and parking can be problem. The same goes for
renting a car (also double or triple the cost of renting a taxi for the
day).
Larger vehicles: If you require a larger rental vehicle, we
can arrange this for you or you can book it through your hotel.
However we strongly suggest using taxis (use 2 taxis if you need
to).
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A bus ride will usually cost 1RMB/$0.12
A subway ride will usually cost
3RMB/$0.36
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