The Forbidden City
The Forbidden City is located in the center of Beijing. It used to be the former Imperial Palace for the Ming and Qing emperors. It was first built in 1420 during Ming Dynasty，while the Qing Emperors also stayed here after entered Beijing.
Altogether there are 24 emperors who lived and conducted state affairs in the Forbidden City for a total of 491 years(1420-1911). 14 of them were Ming emperors and 10 were Qing emperors.
The Forbidden City is the best-preserved imperial palace in China and the largest ancient palatial structure in the world. It is the largest piece of ancient Chinese architecture still existence today and it shows the great Chinese civilization and priceless culture created in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
If this is the first time you visit Beijing, go to these places is a must! Please remember make appointment in advance for the Forbidden City! We highly recommend you enter from Meridian Gate (Wumen 午门) and get out from The Gate of Divine Prowess （Shenwumen）. Then go to JingShan Park, can enjoy the great view of the whole Forbidden City.
July and August are the summer holiday, it will open from 8:00.
Website: https://intl.dpm.org.cn/index.html
Wechat：
Beihai Park is located in the center of Beijing, to the west of the north gate of the Forbidden City. It was first built more than 1000 years ago during the Liao Dynasty (916-1125), the continually rebuilt and renovated during the Jin (1115-1234), Yuan(1279-1368), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing(1644-1911) Dynasties, eventually becoming the beautifully landscaped garden we see today.
As an imperial pleasure garden built with in Imperial City, it was built more magnificently than any other imperial complex outside the capital city.
Now, Beihai Park is the best-preserved imperial garden in China as well as the oldest imperial garden in the world.
Most of Beijing parks can be booking in Changyougongyuan 畅游公园-a Wechat official account or website
ChangYouGongYuan
https://www.bjgyol.com.cn/index.html
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The Summer Palace is located on the northwest outskirts of Beijing, about 20 kilometers away from the center of the city. It is the best-preserved imperial garden in the world and one of the largest of its kind still in existence in China today.
The Summer Palace is formed mainly of Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake. It occupies a total are of over 290 hectares (716 acres). Longevity Hill covers one quarter of the total area, which is about 70 hectares, while Kunming Lake covers the rest of three quarters, which is about 220 hectares.
The beautiful former imperial garden is set off by a multitude of highly decorative buildings, halls, pavilions, bridges, towers, islands and courtyards. These structures give the visitors to the Summer Palace a feeling of perfection, magnificence and harmony which is created by this splendid layout.
The Summer Palace is very famous in the world not only because it is an ingenious combination of manmade architecture with the scenic beauty of nature, but also it is an architectural masterpiece and treasure of the tradional art of Chinese gardening. The Summer Palace harmoniously combines artificial and natural attractions into a picturesque landscape.
The Temple of Heaven is situated in the southern part of Beijing. It was first built in 1420, in the Ming Dynasty, during the time when Forbidden City and some other important imperial structures were constructed.
It covers an area of 273 hectares in which the forest land covers 163 hectares; the lawn has more than 10 hectares with over 3600ancient tress, so the Temple of Heaven is covered up with 89% vegetation.
The Temple of Heaven is not only the largest group of the temple buildings in China, but also the largest heaven-worshipping architecture in the world.
In 1961, the Temple of Heaven was listed as one the the important historical monuments under special preservation by Chinese Government and in 1998 it was listed as a world cultural heritage site by UNESCO.
Gulou & Shichahai Area Hutong Hangouts
If you have spare time to hang around the Beijing hutongs are the best.
There are plenty intresting things happens there everyday. You can feel the “Old Beijinger”(老北京人)’s daily life.
Souvenir Shop
QIANKUNKONGJIAN乾坤空间
Qiankunkongjian is located in the same Hutong with Beijing Postcard. It is an art space with workshop and small exhibitions. Hope everyone can get your favorite souvenir.
