China Travel Guide

Beijing is China's capital and the political, economic, cultural, technological center of the country. Beijing has a long history of over five thousand years and was the capital city of Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, and in here 34 emperors ruled China. A long history has left numerous famous historical sites which possess great aesthetic and cultural values. Thus Beijing became a famous tourism city with the reform and opening up of China. In Beijing, you'll see a large collection of ancient imperial palaces, imperial gardens, temples, monasteries, imperial tombs and pagodas. There are also lots of museums, exhibition halls and modern buildings.

As the capital of China, Beijing has a history of over 3000 years. She is the center of China's politics, culture, science, commerce, international interchanging, etc. At the same time, she has reserved her ancient view, so she is also famous for touring. There are various scenic spots in Beijing, many of them are very famous. Following, you can not only have a general understanding of those famous spots, but also have a virtual tour to these places.

Beijing is one of the Six China's Ancient Capitals. Forbidden City, the Great Wall, Zhoukoudian, the Summer Palace and Tiantan (Temple of Heaven) have been listed on World Cultural Heritage by UN. Besides, there are countless historic sites in Beijing, such as Shijingshan, Ditan (Temple of Earth), Beihai, Hutong (small alleys) and so on. For travelers, the best season is fall while in other seasons, it's terribly windy or frozenly cold.

Beijing Hot Attractions
1.Tian'anmen
2.The Forbidden City
3.The Great Wall
4.The Summer Palace
5.Heaven Temple
6.The Fragrant Hills Park
7.The Lama Temple
8.The Ming Tombs
9.Beijing Zoo
10.Yuanmingyuan

Beijing Local Products
Beijing and its surrounding counties are known to have the best quality Miyun dates, Jingbai pears and Liangxiang chestnuts. King-size persimmon and especial the frozen ones are unique. Preserved fruits from of a part of Beijing's traditional speciality. The Beijing Duck is a fine breed, well-know for its delicate meat. Beijing also offers artefacts, jade and stone carvings, filigree and lacquer ware, jewellery and the watercolor wood block printing of Rongbaozhai.

Beijing Geography and Climate
Located in the North Temperate Zone with a continental monsoon climate, Beijing enjoys and annual mean temperature of 11.8°C (53.24°F) and annual mean precipitation of 630 mm, which concentrates mainly in the summer. January is the coldest month with the monthly mean temperature of -4.7°C (23.54°F) while July the hottest month with a mean temperature of 26.1°C (78.98°F). Beijing's spring is relatively short, and people used to say that when the last day of the winter is gone, the summer is about to set in. Summer is usually hot with abundant rainfall. Autumn days are cool with clear sky and gentle breeze, making it the best season to travel. As winter is severe, outings naturally require heavy clothing. Climatically, Beijing's four seasons cater to different interests of tourists.

Beijing Local Cuisine
Beijing presents a galaxy of China's famous cuisine. Here you not only are offered with four major schools of Chinese cuisine, namely, Shandong, Sichuan, Jiangzhe and Guangdong, but have a great variety of gastronomically specialities to choose from Beijing, Hunan, Shanxi and Henan styles, let alone numerous local flavors and snacks.
Beijing roast duck provides a special enjoyment to thousands of customers, Chinese and foreigners alike. The top restaurants serving Beijing roast duck are Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant at Hepingmen and its branch at Qianmen and Bianyifang Roast Duck Restaurants. They stick to the traditional roasting method and maintain the original flavor. You will find the duck with dark brown color, crispy skin, and tender and tasty meat lightening the enjoyment of the guests. Your visit to Beijing is incomplete without a try at the Beijing roast duck.
You can also try the Beijing rinsed mutton with Mongolian hot pot at Donglaishun Restaurant, imperial recipes at Fangshan Restaurant, any of the famous dishes at Sichuan, Guandong, Huaiyang, and Tanjin, styles at the Beijing Hotel Restaurant, a "complete fish meal" at the Hall of Listening to the Oriole Restaurant at the Summer Palace, or a "complete pork meal" at Shaguoju or a "complete lamb meal" at Hongbinlou. The Barbecue of Kaorou Ji and Kaorou Wan is also quite famous.