Introduction

Tiananmen Square is also known as the gate of heavenly peace and is located in the center of Beijing, at Changan avenue. Tiananmen Square is named after Tiananmen Gate which is the entrance to the Forbidden City. The Square was originally built in 1651 and was later enlarged by four times when it was cemented with concrete in 1958.

It is enclosed by two imperial gates in the north and south with the north side being the Gate of Heavenly Peace also known as the Tiananmen Gate and the Front Gate towards the south known as Qianmen Gate.

As you approach Tian'anmen there is a Golden Water Bridge, a pair of columns made from white marble sculptured with lion and dragon designs that is not only for decoration but also the expect for the emperor.

Things and activities to do on a visit   

Chairman Mao Zedong Memorial Hall   

Located on the southern side of Tiananmen Square, this hall is divided into three parts and in one of the halls is the place where peple admire Chairman Mao at his crystal coffin surrounded by fresh flower bouquets. People offer respect to the greatest founder of the modern nation of China.

The Great Hall of the People  

Situated on the west of Tiananmen Square is where the Great Hall of the People is located. This building was constructed in 1959 and is the site where congress meetings and diplomatic activities take place. Twelve marble posts are in front of the hall which has three parts the Central Hall, the Great Auditorium and a Banqueting Hall. The floor of the Central Hall is paved with marble and crystal lamps hang from the ceiling.

Monument to the People's Heroes   

At the center of Tiananmen Square is a granite and marble monument that weighs over 10,000 tonnes that is known as the Monument to the People's Heroes built in 1952 and is one of the largest monuments in China's history. On the monument, Chairman Mao engraved “Eternal glory to the People's Heroes”, and visitors can testify the gradual development of Chinese modern history. It serves as a memorial to heroes who lost their lives in the revolutionary struggle and conflicts of the early 19th and 20th centuries from the First Opium War to the Civil War.

Tiananmen Tower  

Built in 1417 during the Ming Dynasty at the north end of the Square, this tower has been built and rebuild through the course of time until 1661 during the reign of Emperor Shunzi when it was remodeled, rebuilt and named the Tiananmen Tower. It measures 38 meters in height and 66 meters in length and has five arched gates, only royalty was allowed to enter from the middle gate. Today the tower is widely recognized by the Chairman Mao portrait which hangs above the archway gates.

China National Museum

The China National Museum location is right in front of the Great Hall of the People and was constructed in the year 2003 with a set up of a mix of Chinese History Museum and Chinese Revolutionary Museum. It occupies close to 200,000 square meters in exhibition space and is the third largest museum in the world with over a million priceless relics dating back to 1.7 million years. The museum is home to cultural relics, material objects, books, pictures and models to present the growth of China through its long history and rich culture of China. Get into concise Chinese General History, and visit remains of the prehistoric Yuanmou Man.

Flag Raising and lowering Ceremony  

This is one of the focal points in the Tiananmen Square attractions flying high in the sky above Tiananmen Square. A seven-ton flagpole that is renowned for the raising ceremony takes place very early in the morning and lowering takes place in the evening and many tourists both from home and abroad look forward to seeing the guard of honor raise the flag and change guard. The reviewing stands flanks were opened on the west and the east sides to watch the ceremony. The flag is affixed and raised in time to the rising sun and the lowering is at dusk over an approximate two minutes and seven seconds after which the national anthem plays afterwards.

Statues

Situated at the back of the Monument of the People’s Heroes there are a couple of statues that pay tribute to workers, soldiers and just normal people who took part in China’s revolutions; the eastern statue represents the New Democratic Revolution period and the western side statues pay homage to those who contributed to the construction of chairman Mao’s leadership structure.

Magnificent Flower Beds

Tiananmen Square is home to the most extraordinary and ever-changing colorful floral displays according to seasons and it gets into its peak during special occasions and national holidays.

Introduction

The Forbidden City is an awe-inspiring building situated in the center of Beijing city and towards the northern side of Tiananmen Square. It was constructed during the early Ming Dynasty in 1420 and took a total of 14 years to build from 1406 to 1420. Construction was done by a million workers and another one hundred thousand artisans who were subjected to long term hard labor yet displayed very impressive and considerable skills in building the City. For instance, the bricks used are extremely strong and were made from white lime and glutinous rice and the cement used was made from glutinous rice and egg whites.

The city is one of the world's most captivating royal structures and global landmarks where visitors can discover Chinese history more comprehensively as well as learn about Chinese culture. It actually once served as the imperial palace for 24 emperors during the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368 - 1911) and people were forbidden to enter into this city without special permission from the emperor. The last occupant who was even the last emperor of imperial China: Puyi left in 1925 after which the precinct was converted into the Palace Museum. The city covers a total of 74 hectares and it is surrounded by a 52 meters wide moat and a 10 meters high wall with gates on each side of the wall. The distance between the south Meridia Gate and the North Gate is 961 meters and the distance between the east and west gates is 753 meters. There are also other unique towers on each of the four corners of the wall that give excellent views of both the palace inside and the city outside.

The Forbidden City is divided into two parts. The southern section where the emperor exercised his supreme power and the northern section where the emperor lived with his royal family. The architectural style chosen for the Forbidden City reflects a sense of hierarchy with each structure designed in accordance with State Building Standards in Chinese social structure. Its design features a central axis, a symmetrical design of the outer court in the front and inner court at the rear part including courtyards derived from Yuan city layout.

Things and activities to do on a visit

Tickets of the attraction get tourists advanced reservation to visit the Beijing Palace Museum housed inside the Forbidden City and discover the rich and varied history of this breathtaking palace.

Palace Museum

The Forbidden City holds more than a million rare and valuable works of art, cultural relics and countless cultural artifacts from China’s long and splendid history dating all the way back from its earliest dynasties. There are also numerous exhibits going on in the Palace Museum with a collection of jade pieces, calligraphy, ceramics, paintings, bronzes, ancient books, historical documents and timepieces. In addition to this, there are also digital presentations with numerous sights to see and learn.

The Outer Court

The outer court has three main buildings, where emperors attended grand ceremonies and conducted state affairs. It contains spectacular palace compounds including the emperor’s places for religious rituals, formal reception halls and where state ceremonies are carried out. The first hall known as the hall of supreme harmony is the most important and largest structure in the Forbidden City and is where the emperors' Dragon Throne is situated. The second hall situated behind the Hall of Supreme Harmony is the place where Emperors would rehearse their presentations and speeches before heading to the Temple of Heaven for sacrificial ceremonies. It is also the resting place of the emperors before presiding over grand events held in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. The last hall is the hall used for banquets and imperial examinations.

Inner Court

This inner court is what was known as the domestic space, dedicated mainly to the imperial family. It includes the palaces in the northern part of the Forbidden City. The northeastern corner of the complex is known as the Tranquil Longevity Sector where the Empress Dowager and the many imperial concubines resided where visitors can see well preserved nine dragon wall particularly noted as one of just three of this type of decorations that remains prominent in China. The Palace of Heavenly Purity (Qianqinggong) is located on the south while the Hall of Celestial and Terrestrial Union (Jiaotaidian) where imperial weddings and familial ceremonies took place. In addition to the living quarters, you can admire the beautifully preserved architecture.

The western and eastern sides of the inner court were back in the days reserved for the retired emperor and empress dowager. The last major construction in the imperial precinct took place when Emperor Qianlong built his post-retirement palace and the Hall of Pleasant Longevity in the northeast corner of the Forbidden City. There are also structures for the imperial family’s religious activities in the inner court towards the eastern and western sides where the Buddhist and Daoist temples are located.  

Hall of Clocks

This impressive Hall of Clocks features unique, intricate and lavish timepieces that were gifted to Qing emperors by different European leaders from the 17th.

Traditional Gardens  

There are a couple of gorgeously preserved grounds side gardens to explore and learn Chinese history through the countless cultural artifacts.  

Introduction 

Mutianyu Great Wall is located in Huairou County at least 1.5 hours drive from downtown Beijing and from Peking International Airport it is 1 hour 20 minutes. It covers a total length of 3.4 miles and is made up of a total of 23 watchtowers which are densely distributed. This section of the Great Wall connects with Gubeikou towards the east and Juyongguan Great Wall section towards the west. This section of the wall attracts thousands of visitors because of its easier hiking conditions in addition to a range of convenient facilities including chairlift, cable car and toboggan. 

The wall was first built during the Northern Qi Dynasty and during the Ming Dynasty Tan Lun and Qi Jiguang: two patriotic generals, reconstructed to further strengthen its defensive capabilities. Mutianyu was the northern protective screen and it guarded the capital and imperial mausoleums for so many years. The material used to construct the wall is mainly granite slabs measuring 8 meters by 4 meters by 5 meters. On both side of the wall are parapets that were used for the purpose of defense against enemies. Their normal shape is rectangular while others are unique and are saw tooth shaped.

Hiking from the base of the wall to the top watch towers takes around 40 to 60 minutes while exploring and walking the entire wall might take approximately 2 to 3 hours factoring in time for resting, relaxing and admiring the fortification.

Things and activities to do on a visit

Hiking

Mutianyu Great Wall is the best place for hiking as it has a smooth terrain. The section between tower 1 and 6 are very vertical and steep while from tower 19 to 20 the approximate 450 steps get too steep and most visitors find climbing these vertical steps quiet thrilling and exciting. The section between tower 4 and 19 is generally flat and suitable for visitors with less hiking capabilities and people with limited mobility abilities. For a much tough climb, hiking to tower 1 or Tower 23 is highly recommended. 

Entering from the northern entrance, visitors start hiking to tower 10, from the southern entrance the hike starts at tower 8 or 6. 

Scenery 

This section of the wall is particularly famous for its natural and breathtaking beauty offering very beautiful scenery as it is well restored and has unique views throughout the year. Woods dominate ninety six percent of the total area and flowers can be seen dotting the area in spring beautifully decorating the scene. Green grass dresses the hillside during summer. In autumn trees bear the sweetest fruits before they turn golden yellow and red. In winter, the area gets dressed up with white snow in the most magical way. The section between tower 14 and 23 bears the most stunning Great Wall views. Standing on tower 4 which is named Zheng Guan Terrace, a unique structure of the wall can be seen here with three watchtowers arranged on a terrace, two small towers standing on either side of one large tower. Beyond these towers, the wall is completely unrestored parts and is also not open to tourists but you can still see just how beautiful the wild Great Wall can get. 

Cable car and Chair lift

The cable car in Mutianyu Great Wall takes visitors straight to tower 14 while the chairlift goes to Tower 6. The section between Tower 14 and Tower 23 has the most stunning views of the Great Wall. The cable car and chairlifts offer safe and smooth rides compared to the toboggan and are highly recommended for senior tourists and also children.

Toboggan slide 

This long and thrilling ride is perfect for thrill seekers and is one of the most preferred ways of descending the wall. It is perfectly safe and its speed can be controlled with the availability of both single and double cars for parents who wish to ride together with their kids. 

Nearby Village

Back in nearby Mutianyu Village, there are rustic restaurants where you can enjoy the popular local specialty made with fresh trout, the perfect end to your Great Wall trip.