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 

Beijing Zoo is located on Xizhimenwai Street in downtown Beijing, Xicheng District. It was built in 1906 during the Qing Dynasty at a time when the zoo only occupied an area of only 10 hectares with just a few pavilions and was popularly known as wansheng garden meaning ten thousand animal garden but was renamed to Beijing Zoo in 1955. The zoo now occupies an area of 222 acres and is home to at least 600 animal species making a total of up to 5,000 animals. Over the years, the zoo has fostered a good relationship with other zoos in over fifty countries hence representing unique breeds. There are hippos, pandas, elephants, rhinos, golden monkeys, amphibians, giraffes and orangutans among many other animal species. 

To make it more inhabitable, there are man made zones such as hills for lions, Siberian and bengal tigers, monkeys, white and black bears, deers, pheasants, jaguars, panthers, clouded and amur leopards amongst other african and Australian animals. The zoo is made up of 16 different exhibition halls with the most popular one being the Panda Hall built in 1989 occupying an area of 2.5 acres. This space is big enough to house the cute yet humongous pandas in buildings resembling ancient Chinese buildings shaped in Tai Chi patterns in the most aesthetic form.

Then interaction of the Chinese government contributed to the immense growth and development of the zoo giving visitors from both home and abroad the chance to come face to face with exotic animals and their interaction with their habitat.

Things to do and see on a visit

Most tourists visit the Beijing Zoo with the soul purpose of seeing giant pandas but the zoo is also home to rare Chinese species like the Sichuan golden monkey, Indian elephant, Golden Monkey, yaks, Manchurian tigers, sea turtles, giraffes and zebras from Africa. 

Pandas in panda houses

The Panda House is located near the gate of the zoo. Pandas are the most visited animals in the zoo. They are housed in panda houses and there is the Asian Games Panda House and Beijing Olympic Games Panda House. In 1978, artificial insemination was used to breed pandas for the first time in the world at the zoo and in March 1955, it began to exhibit the huge pandas for the public to see. In 1992, the artificial breeding method was officially accepted to breed and raise giant panda cubs.

The Asian Games Panda House was constructed in 1990 during the 1990 Asian Games when the giant panda Pan Pan was the mascot of the 11th Asian Games that were held in Beijing. The giant panda Jing Jing was then selected to be one of the mascots of the 29th Olympic Games in 2008. These panda houses are very habitable because their architectural design resembles the natural habit of pandas like that of central China in Chengdu full of bamboo trees and lush greens. 

Beijing Aquarium

This aquarium was opened in 1999 and is the largest inland aquarium in the world measuring 35,000 square meters and in the park it is situated in the northeast side. The aquarium takes the shape of a gigantic ocean trumpet shell. It is divided into zones: the Hall of the Shark, the Ocean Theater, the Hall of Tropical Rain Forest and the Ocean Library and Reading Hall amongst many more.It features numerous aquatic species such as precious Chinese sturgeon, sea elephants and fierce sharks. 

At the aquarium, visitors get to mesmerize at dolphin shows, whales and sea lions in the aquarium ocean theatre. Furthermore they get a feeling of harmony with the sea through a dynamic visible ocean bottom that presents extensive sea life through close proximity as if they are deep at the bottom of the ocean.

Historical sites

The zoo is rich with historical sites and visitors can see sites like the Changguan Tower which is a two storey baroque style building made of wood and bricks. This tower was home to Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908) in the late 19th century, Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925); the founder of the Kuomintang and the ruler of the Qing court between 1861 and 1908.

In addition to this there is the Lemarck Hall which is now used as a Chinese Botanical Science Research Base but was initially built to commemorate the life of Lemarck (1744-1829) who was a renowned French historian. Also in the vicinity is the Song Jiaoren Memorial Tower set up to commemorate Song (1882-1913) who was one of the early leaders of the Kuomintang, but was assassinated soon after he was elected as China's premier in 1913.

Halls

Halls and exhibition in the zoo were articulately constructed to make it fit for the animals to have a cosy living environment and to display the history of the zoo of over 100 years. At the Gorilla Hall is a collection of artificial hillocks and wooden apparatus for the animals which sit against a backdrop of attractive gorilla murals. which was constructed in the early 1987. 

Facilities introduced for the gorillas include a medical room, a mating room and a specialist feeding room. The hall itself is decorated by a series of rockeries and pools. The Changguan Hall, built as Xanadu in 1908, is a two-storey building in the European style, yet it isn't open to the public. In addition to the animals, visitors can also appreciate the peonies in a peony garden.