Welcome to Beijing, a city where history and modernity share center stage!
Welcome to a capital city whose story goes back at least 3,000 years. In Beijing, you'll find a wealth of history, both ancient (the Hall of Preserving Harmony, Summer Palace, Forbidden City) and more recent (Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, Tiananmen Square). A visit to the Great Wall, the longest manmade structure in the world, is absolutely essential.
Beijing, Jing for short, is the nation's political, economic, cultural and educational centre as well as China's most important centre for international trade and communications. Together with Xian, Luoyang, Kaifeng, Nanjing and Hangzhou, Beijing is one of the six ancient cities in China. It has been the heart and soul of politics and society throughout its long history and consequently, there is an unparalleled wealth of discovery to delight and intrigue travellers as they explore Beijing's ancient past and enjoy its exciting modern development.
With over 21 million residents, Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city and is China's second largest city after Shanghai.
Visit and enjoy Beijing culture!
Beijing is home to many national monuments and museums and has seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites— the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Ming Tombs, Zhoukoudian, and parts of the Great Wall and the Grand Canal — all of which are popular tourist locations. Siheyuans, the city's traditional housing style, and hutongs, the narrow alleys between siheyuans, are major attractions and are common in urban Beijing.
Tian'anmen Square
Situated in the center of Beijing, Tian'anmen Square is the largest square in the world. Tian'anmen on its north originally is the entrance gate of the imperial city in Ming and Qing Dynasties, was first built in Yongle Year15 of the Ming Dynasty. Its height is 33.7 meters whose middle entrance was only for the emperor, and it was the place the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties announced their edicts.
The Great Wall
The Great Wall is a world-famous cultural heritage and spiritual symbol of China. It winds its way through the northern part of China, with a total length of over 6350 kilometers and over 16 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions. Since the well-kept part of the Great Wall locates inside Beijing city, it became the best choice for a visit!
The Temple of Heaven
The Temple of Heaven is located in southern Beijing. It is included in the UNESCO world heritage list in 1998. With an area of 2.7 million square meters, it is the largest of its kind in the country. Built in 1420, the 18th year of the reign of Ming Emperor Yongle, the temple was where emperors went to worship heaven for good harvests.
The Forbidden City
The Forbidden City was constructed from 1406 to 1420 and was the former Chinese imperial palace and winter residence of the Emperor of China from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty, between 1420 and 1924. The Forbidden City served as the home of Chinese emperors and their households and was the ceremonial and political centre of the Chinese government for over 500 years. Since 1925, the Forbidden City has been under the charge of the Palace Museum, whose extensive collection of artwork and artifacts were built upon the imperial collections of the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987.
The Summer Palace
The Summer Palace, in Chinese the YiHe Yuan, is now the largest and the most well-preserved imperial garden in China counted as one of the four famous Chinese imperial gardens. It was listed as World Heritage by UNESCO in 1998. Situated in Haidian District, the Summer Palace occupies an area of 290 hectares, with the lake taking up three-quarters of its total area. It is designed around Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill as the key features, modelled on West Lake in Hangzhou, and draws from design techniques and artistic conception of gardens from the south of China. This large landscaped and well-preserved garden is known as the Chinese imperial garden museum.
Have You Eaten?
In Beijing, chī le ma? (have you eaten?) is literally how locals greet their neighbors. Food is the glue that binds all Beijingers, no matter their beliefs or bank balance. Whether you're slurping noodles, queuing for jiānbing, or guiltily rolling just one more Peking duck pancake, you're in good company. A mouth-watering melting pot, Beijing hosts exotic regional cuisines from across China, which equates to unbridled adventure for foodies.
Time Zone-Beijing Time
The time difference between Beijing and the Greenwich Mean Time is 8 hours (Beijing is ahead of GMT). China uses only one standard time, i.e. Beijing time, throughout the country.
Currency
The official currency in China is Renminbi, RMB, and the currency unit is Yuan, or kuai in oral Chinese. 1 Yuan = 10 Jiao (or Mao in oral Chinese), 1 Jiao = 10 fen, i.e. 1 yuan =10 jiao =100 fen. The current exchange rate is $1 ≈ RMB 7.2 Yuan. You can change your currency at the airport, hotels or banks. Passport is needed in currency exchange. Keep your receipt for you will need it at the airport to exchange RMB back into your original currency.
Useful Numbers
110 ....................Police
119 ....................Fire
120....................Ambulance
114 ...................Local Telephone Information
117 ...................Time Check
121 ...................Weather Information