Beijing Travel Guide

The Temple of Heaven, in Dongcheng, Beijing, was the imperial altar where Ming and Qing emperors performed the annual rites of heaven-worship and prayer for harvest, begun in 1420 and inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998. Laid out on the 'round heaven, square earth' cosmology — circular north, square south — across 273 hectares, it is the world's largest and best-preserved ancient sacrificial complex. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, a triple-eaved blue-tiled circular roof, is an icon of Beijing; the Circular Mound Altar is a three-tier white-marble terrace for the winter-solstice rite; the Echo Wall and Triple Sound Stones show ancient acoustic ingenuity. Beyond architecture, the temple is a living stage of old Beijing — morning exercisers, opera and everyday life among ancient cypresses and stately halls.

Tiananmen Square lies at the heart of Beijing, China, one of the world's largest public squares. Bordered by the Tiananmen Gate to the north, Zhengyangmen to the south, the National Museum of China to the east and the Great Hall of the People to the west, it centers on the Monument to the People's Heroes and the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall. A symbol of the People's Republic, it hosts National Day parades and the flag-raising ceremony. The dawn flag-raising is solemn and draws crowds; the vast square carries deep history and national memory — a must-see Beijing landmark.

The Summer Palace sits in Haidian District, Beijing, China, the largest and best-preserved imperial garden surviving in the country. Originating as the Qianlong-era Qingyi Garden and rebuilt by Empress Dowager Cixi in 1888, it centers on Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake, blending northern grandeur with Jiangnan elegance. Painted Long Corridor, the hilltop Tower of Buddhist Incense, the Seventeen-Arch Bridge and the marble Marble Boat define its vistas. Boat on the lake, walk the corridor, climb for panoramas — experiencing the garden ideal 'made by man, yet seeming of nature,' a UNESCO site and emblem of historic Beijing.

The Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, stands at 4 Jingshan Front Street in Dongcheng District, Beijing. It served as the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties and is the largest and best-preserved complex of wooden palace architecture in the world. The layout is symmetrical along a north-south central axis and is divided into the outer court and the inner court. The outer court, centered on the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony and the Hall of Preserving Harmony, hosted grand state ceremonies, while the inner court, led by the Palace of Heavenly Purity, was the residence of emperors and empresses. The museum holds a vast collection of paintings, ceramics, clocks and jade objects. Visitors are advised to walk the central axis from the Meridian Gate in the south to the Gate of Divine Prowess in the north, then explore the side palaces and themed galleries to enjoy the architecture and history of the Chinese imperial court.