Sightseeing in Beijing 

Great wall of China

As one of the wonders of the ancient world, the Great Wall, resembling a sleeping dragon, spans across almost the whole China from the bank of Yalu River to the Gobi Desert. The best-preserved part of the Ming Great Wall ties in the municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin and in Hebei province.

The section of the Great Wall near Beijing runs for 629 kilometers with 71 passes and 827 wall towers. The wall is so well preserved that it is as imposing as ever.

The Temple of Heaven

The Temple of Heaven is the most holy of Beijing's Imperial temples. For this is where the Emperor came every winter solstice to worship heaven and to solemnly pray for a good harvest. Since his rule was legitimised by a mandate from heaven, a bad harvest could be interpreted as his fall from heaven's favour and threaten the stability of his reign. So, it was not without a measure of self-interest that the Emperor fervently prayed for a very good crop.

The New Summer Palace         

The history of the gardens at the New Summer Palace date back to the Mongol Emperor Kublai Khan; to improve Beijing's water supply, he ordered the construction of canals transporting water from the Western Hills to an enlarged lake, now known as the Summer Palace's Kunming Lake. Five hundred years later, Emperor Qianlong (r. 1736 - 1756) added lake-side gardens and a Temple for Gratitude and Longevity in honour of his mother's birthday.