China Travel Guide

Great Wall(Chinese: 长城), one of the greatest wonders of the world, was enlisted in the World Heritage in 1987. Just like a gigantic dragon, it winds

up and down across deserts, grasslands, mountains and plateaus stretching approximately 6,700 km(3,948 miles) from east to west of China. With a history of more than 2000 years, some sections are now in ruins or even entirely disappeared. However, it is still one of the most appealing attractions all around the world owing to its architectural grandeur and historical significance. A Chinese saying goes like that, "you are not a real hero until you have climbed the Great Wall".The Great Wall extends from ShanHaiGuan (the 'Old Dragon Head'), a seaport along the coast of BoHai, in the east (near BeiDaiHe resort) to JiaYuGuan Pass in GanSu Province in the west. Like a giant dragon, the Great Wall of China winds its way across grasslands, deserts and mountains.

The wall is complemented by defensive fighting stations, to which wall defenders may retreat if overwhelmed. Each tower has unique and restricted stairways and entries to confuse attackers. Barracks and administrative centers are located at larger intervals. In addition to the usual military weapons of the period, specialized wall defense weapons were used.

Although the Great Wall was originally built for protection, the wall stands as a tribute to the amazing ingenuity of the Chinese.

Listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987, the Great Wall ('Chang Cheng' in chinese) is a true marvel and a testament to the long history of the Chinese Civilisation.

Today, people from all over the world visit to walk on the Great Wall of China, to stand on a watchtower and view the wall snaking into the distance. This treasure is now protected so that future generations can see the Great Wall with the same wonder and amazement as we do now.

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The Summer Palace(Chinese: 颐和园) is located on the western edge of Beijing, between the fourth and fifth ring roads, close to the western hills, 12km from central Beijing. It is not expensive to get there by taxi and does not take long. Use a map to tell the driver you want to be taken to the north gate if you would like to follow our suggested route through the park, or ask your hotel receptionist to add 'north gate' to 'Summer Palace' written in chinese script on a piece of paper to show the taxi driver.

The Summer Palace is the largest and best-preserved imperial garden in China. Its chinese name, YiHeYuan, translates as 'Garden of Nurtured Harmony' or 'Garden for Maintaining Health and Harmony'.

As its name implies, the Summer Palace was used as a summer residence by China's imperial rulers - as a retreat from the main imperial palace now known as the Palace Museum (or 'Forbidden City') - a pleasureground in the countryside, yet near to the city.

The Summer Palace is virtually a museum of traditional Chinese gardening that uses rocks, plants, pavilions, ponds, cobble paths and other garden styles to create a poetic effect between different scenes. When you stroll around the Summer Palace, you will constantly find the area changing.

The gardens that became the Summer Palace date from the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234). In 1750, Emperor QianLong (1736-1796) of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) added substantially to the gardens of the Summer Palace. His appointed designers reproduced the styles of various palaces and gardens from around China. KunMing Lake was extended to imitate the West Lake in HangZhou.

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Forbidden City or Palace Museum (Chinese: 紫荆城 or 故宫) , at the center of the ancient city of Beijing, was home to 24 emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Today, the Forbidden City is a public museum and World Heritage site, attracting millions of tourists from around the world.

In the early 1400s, the third Ming Emperor, YongLe, moved the capital of China to Beijing. In 1406, he began construction of a new 'Forbidden City' that would include the imperial palace complex.

The Forbidden City, located at the exact center of the ancient city of Beijing, was the home and center of power for 24 emperors during the mid to latter Ming and Qing dynasties.

The Forbidden City is an extremely formal place. It is almost symmetrical and hierarchically arranged so that all the important buildings run down the center, north-south. In keeping with geomancy, the main gate is in the south and the northern side is "protected" by the artificial Coal Hill. The palace contained many diversions and beautiful women, but in the summer months the emperors gladly retired to summer palaces north of Beijing—perhaps visiting the Fragrant Hills.

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The Imperial Ancestral Temple, Ancestral Hall, Working People's Cultural Palace or Taimiao (Chinese: 太庙) of Beijing, is a historic site in the heart of city, just outside the Forbidden City, where during both the Ming and Qing Dynasties, sacrificial ceremonies were held on the most important festival occasions in honor of the imperial family's ancestors.

The compound is laid out parallel to north-south axis of the Forbidden City. Its principle buildings consist of three main halls, two gates, two subsidiary shrines, and various accompanying buildings.

A visitor to the site first enters through the Glazed Gate at the south, then finds himself in a narrow courtyard with ponds covered by arched bridges. The next gate is called the Halberd gate and is an original Ming dynasty construction from 1420. In the courtyard beyond the gate is the two-tiered Hall for Worship of Ancestors. It was also built in 1420 but was frequently repaired. It contains seats and beds for the tablets of emperors and empresses, as well as incense burners and offerings. On the occasion of large-scale ceremonies for worship of ancestors, such as the "Shi Xiang" (held in the first months of the four seasons), the "Xia Ji" (end-of-year ceremony) and "Gao Ji" (national events ceremonies) the Qing emperor would come here to participate.

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Tiananmen Square( the Gate of Heavenly Peace), is located in the center of Beijing. It was first built in 1417 and named Chengtianmen( the Gate of Heavenly Succession). At the end of the Ming Dynasty, it was seriously damaged by war. When it was rebuilt under the Qing in 1651, it was renamed Tiananmen Square, and served as the main entrance to the Imperial City, the administrative and residential quarters for court officials and retainers. The southern sections of the Imperial City wall still stand on both sides of the Gate. The tower at the top of the gate is nine-room wide and five –room deep. According to the Book of Changes, the two numbers nine and five, when combined, symbolize the supreme status of a sovereign.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Tiananmen Square was the place where state ceremonies took place. The most important one of them was the issuing of imperial edicts, which followed these steps:
1) The Minister of Rites would receive the edict in Taihedian( Hall of Supreme Harmony), where the Emperor was holding his court. The minister would then carry the decree on a yunpan( tray of cloud), and withdraw from the hall via Taihemen( Gate of supreme Harmony)
2) The Minister would put the tray in a miniature longting( dragon pavilion). Beneath a yellow umbrella and carry it via Wumen( Meridian Gate), to Tiananmen Square Gate tower.
3) A courtier would be invested to proclaim the edict. The civil and military officials lining both sides of the gateway beneath the tower would prostrate themselves in the direction of the emperor in waiting for the decree to the proclaimed.

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