Beijing Travel Guide
Beijing Brief
Beijing, a city in northern China, is the capital of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It was formerly known in English as Peking or Peiking. Beijing is also one of the four municipalities of the PRC, which are equivalent to provinces in China's administrative structure. Beijing Municipality borders Hebei Province to the north, west, south, and for a small section in the east, and Tianjin Municipality to the southeast.
Beijing is China's second largest city in terms of population, after Shanghai. It is a major transportation hub, with dozens of railways, roads and expressways entering and leaving it in all directions. It is also the focal point of many international flights to China. Beijing is recognized as the political, educational, and cultural center of the People's Republic of China, while Shanghai and Hong Kong predominate in economic fields.
Beijing is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China. It will also host the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Beijing Guide
- Beijing History
- Beijing Climate
- Beijing Culture
- Beijing Transportation
- Beijing Development
- Beijing Opera
- Beijing Hutong
- Beijing Roast Duck
- Beijing Cloisonne
- Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
- Beijing Silk Street
- Beijing Acrobatics
- Beijing Map
Beijing Attraction Guide
- CCTS - Beijing 1 Day - 01
- CCTS - Beijing 1 Day - 02
- CCTS - Beijing 4 Days - 01
- CCTS - Beijing 6 Days - 01
- CCTS - Beijing 6 Days - 02
- CCTS - Beijing 6 Days - 03
- CCTS - Beijing 7 Days - 01
Beijing History
Local history begins some 500,000 years ago at a time when the north China plain'which encompasses Beijing'was covered in semi-tropical forest and dotted with lakes. Anthropologists digging at Zhououdian'a village near modern Beijing ' discovered in 1929 the area was inhabited by a previously unknown human ancestor soon dubbed Peking Man. This hominid'the famous dig revealed'had mastered fire and used stone tools.
Modern human beings to settle in the area around 3000BC' surviving on rudimen-history.During the Song Dynasty'a tribe from the Mongolian steppes called the Qidan swept down into north China and founded the Liao Dynasty' eventually making their capital' called Yanjing'at what is now Beijing.The name Yangjing survives today as a brand of a popular local beer...
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Beijing Climate
The region, Beijing located is between mountain and plain. Area of mountainis 60% of Beijing total area, the rest is plain. The plain was surrounded by mountain except south side.
Due to this landform, Beijing has four seasons Beijing 's climate is defined as "continental monsoon." The four seasons are distinctly recognizable.Spring and autumn is the best time to be in Beijing, particularly in the months of April, May, September and October. Autumn is considered to be the best time to visit Beijing as the skies are clear and the weather is very comfortable. The four seasons are very clear in Beijing with a temperate spring rainy summer clear autumn and a cold snowy winter. The average temperature throughout the year is 11.8 0. The coldest month is January with an average temperature of -4.6 0 and the hottest month is July at an average temperature of 26.1 0. Unfortunately, spring and autumn are shorter than summer and winter. Although winter is technically longer, that should not keep you from traveling to Beijing as indoor heating is widely available. Nevertheless, as the indoor outdoor temperature difference is rather large, travelers should be prepared with warm clothing and a thick coat is recommended for the colder months of the year in winter, off-season discounts are to be had as well...
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Beijing Culture
Beijing, capital of People's Republic of China, is the hub of the national political and cultural life. It is an old city full of vigor. It is also where different cultures meet and melt into one.
It is a well-known tourist destination in the world, taking an important position in the history of human civilization.
Beijing is a unique and charming city with its own features. Wherever you go, either walking in hundred years old imperial palaces and gardens, or strolling on the ancient roads and lanes made of gray wall and black tiles, or ever standing among modern high-rises and skyscrapers, you will find yourself keeping asking how a deep cultural tradition and strong modern breath could harmoniously co-exist in such an old and youthful city...
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Beijing Transportation
The city's subway and light rail cars are easier for foreigners to use since notices are translated into English and stations signs are written in pinyin.
At present, there are two subway lines: the first runs east to west along C hang'an jie, the second is a loop line that goes under the second ring road, the two lines connect at two stations. Beijing 's elevated light rail line goes from Xizhimen subway station to Dongzhimen subway station through the northern suburbs. Work on new lines, including a subway that will link the Olympic Park with the city center,is underway and should be completed before the opening ceremony in 2008.Subway and light rail tickets each cost RMB 3,and joint tickets that allow transfers between the light rail and subway cost RMB 5...
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Beijing Development
Great changes have taken place since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The city walls were demolished to facilitate transportation and allow for general expansion. By 2001, the population exceeded 12.5 million, and the total municipal area was increased to over 17,800 square kilometers.The city is presently divided into 16 districts: Dongcheng, Xicheng, Chongwen, Xuanwu, Chaoyang, Haidian, Shijingshan, Fengtai,Shunyi, Changping,Mentougou, Tongzhou,Fangshan, Daxing, Huairou and Pinggu. In addition to these urban districts, the municipality is comprised of two counties: Miyun and Yanqing.
Plans for future development retain the symmetrical layout of the old city on its north-south axis, extending out into the suburban districts.With Tian'anmen at the center, offices along 38-kilometer-long Chang'an Boulevard will concentrate on state, political and economic affairs. The areasaround the Palace Museum (Imperial Palace or Forbidden City) and city gates as wellas the lakes -- Zhongnanhai,Beihai and Housanhai -- have been designated landmarkdistricts. And with a look to the future, an increasing number of historical, culturaland revolutionary sites are being renovated and opened to the public...
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Beijing Opera
Beijing opera or Peking opera is a kind of Chinese opera which arose in the mid-19th century and was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court. It is widely regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China. Beijing and Tianjin are respected as the base cities of Peking opera in the north while Shanghai is the base in the south...
- Sheng (
, Male role) - Dan (
, Female role) - Jing (
, Painted face male role) - Chou (
,
Clown role)
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Beijing Hutong
Alleyways (hutong 
)and
courtyard homes (si he yuan 
)have been the signature features of
Beijing’s urban landscape since the Ming dynasty. The word hutong was
from Mongolian.Hutongs came into being in the Yuan Dynasty. The frame
work of hutongs was formed in recent seven hundred to eight hundred years
.The courtyards enclosed on four sidesby hutongs are called siheyuan,
traditional living quarters for local residents. These homes traditionally
comprised buildings built around an enclosed courtyard, but many have
been subdivided in modern times. The narrowness of the alleyways and
of many courtyard homes discourages heavy traffic and encourages residents
to live their lives on the street , fostering a strong sense of community
The pace of life in these neighborhoods is less hurried than on Beijing’s
broad modern avenues, the hutongs are like villages within the megalopolis
As you wander through them, you may feel as though You have stepped back
in time...
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Beijing Roast Duck
Beijing Roast Duck, a famous historied food of Beijing, is thought to be one of the most delicious dishes all over the world; most visitors coming to Beijing will never forget to have a taste.
After a kind of particular material being spread all over a duck, it will be hooked up in the oven over the flame coming directly from burning fruit-tree wood. About forty minutes later, it will be done...
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Beijing Cloisonne
Beijing is the cradle of cloisonne technique. The earliest and existing cloisonne is the product in Yuan dynasty, which we know it has nearly thousands-year history already. The original cloisonne were most of the archaized bronze ware, especially produced during the Xuande period of Ming dynasty is fine. During the course of Jingtai period of Ming that is between 1450 and 1456 craftsmen found a blue glaze in navy-blue color which is elegant and decent of the artworks. That is the cloisonne we are using now.From then on, it seemed no any great breakthrough instead of the rapid development of using the coppery material, which used a pure coppery with better extension. Thus, the cloisonne technique arrived the crest...
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Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
The XXIX Olympic Games will be held in Beijing During 8-24 August 2008.The open ceremony will be held at 8 o'clock first day.Some events, like beach volleyball, sailing, and swimming's new marathon 10km events, will be held in the coastal city of Qingdao.
Beijing was elected host city on July 13, 2001, during the 112th IOC Session in Moscow, beating out Toronto, Paris, Istanbul, and Osaka.
The Chinese government intends to invest in the renovation and construction of thirty-six gymnasiums and stadiums as well as fifty-nine training centers. Over 300,000 houses have been demolished and residents relocated thus far in Beijing due to construction in preparation for the 2008 Olympics. Police in Beijing placed many people under arrest for protesting the evictions.
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Beijing Silk Street
The Xiushui Market is not strange to both Beijing citizens and foreign sightseers.
The market is located at the Xiushui Dongjie, Chaoyang District in Beijing and close to the southeast of the Ritan ambassadorial area. There are 410 stalls in the market. It draws nearly 1,000 business people with its sale volume of more than 100 million yuan per year. The main commodities include garments, silk products and tourist souvenirs. Xuishui Market is a silk street famed both at home and abroad and is one of the products set up after China's reform and opening to the outside world (another is Yabaolu Garment Market, which was also demolished). It was situated at the east of the "first ambassadorial area'', close to the US Embassy in China in the north, the Qijiayuan diplomatic mansions in the west, bordering the Dongdaqiao residential area in the east. Xiushui Market is also known as "embassy area'' since it is close to many embassies nearby...
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Beijing Acrobatics
The Chinese acrobatics has a long history and rich national flavor. It is one of the art forms most popular among the Chinese people. In abroad sense, acrobatics is the collective name of various kinds of feats. In the primitive society, acrobatics was closely related with music and dance, and became dominant of cultures at that time.
In the Variety Show of the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) and performances in the imperial court of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), acrobatics was very prosperous just like music and dance. After the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties, acrobatics together with classical dances were looked down upon. However, some superb feats of the previous dynasties were still handed down to the later generations and got much improvement. Chinese acrobatic art spread to overseas and enjoyed a good reputation at the late years of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and the early years of the Republic of China (1912-1949)...
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Beijing Attraction Guide
The Great Wall
The great wall is well-known throughout the word. There is a saying that “He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man”. So it will be a pity for foreign travelers who visit china without climbing the great wall.
The Great Wall of China was built mainly to protect the Chinese Empire from the Mongolians and other invaders. Successive Chinese dynasties all had a hand in repairing, re-building, lengthening, modifying and preserving the Great Wall. The Great Wall of China extends from Gansu in the west to the Yellow Sea in the east. In 221 BC, after Emperor Qinshihuang defeated the other six states and unified China, he decided to link up all the separate high walls built by its rivals, especially the walls in the northern part of China built by the states of Qin, Zhao and Yan as a great defense project to ward off the harassment by the Huns. When it was finished, the total length of the Wall exceeds 5, 000 kilometers. And then it was known as the “Wan Li Chang Cheng”(Ten Thousand Li Long Wall)...
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Forbidden City
The location of the Forbidden City
Situated on the heart of Beijing, the Forbidden City was home to 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. And it is also the best preserved imperial palace in China and the largest ancient palatial structure in the world. Featured with the traditional culture and unique architecture, the Forbidden City is a symbol of imperial life of china.
Names of the Forbidden City
The Forbidden City was also known as the Palace Museum or Purple Forbidden City. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the emperor had supreme power and he believed he was the person just below heaven but above all the people, so his residence was certainly a forbidden place to the ordinary people. That’s the reason why it was named to be the Forbidden City. In ancient china, people believed that the Purple Star was located in the center of the universe. The palace on the Purple Star was believed to be the palace in which the God of Heaven to live. Since the emperor believed that he was the “son of Heaven”, he called his palace “Purple Forbidden City”. Now, we it was called to be “Palace Museum”, for here is no longer an imperial palace for the emperor, but a museum with lots of historical relics for people to visit.
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Summer Palace
The general information of the Summer Palace
The Summer Palace is located on the northwest of Beijing, about 20kilometers away from the center of the city. Occupying a total area of over 290 hectares (716acres), the Summer Palace is formed mainly of longevity Hill and Kunming Lake.
The Summer Palace has a history of over 800 years, which goes back to the Liao and Jin Dynasties. It was built at the beginning of the 12th century. Constructed in the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234), during the succeeding reign of feudal emperors; it was extended continuously. By the time of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), it had become a luxurious royal garden providing royal families with rest and entertainment. Originally called 'Qingyi Garden' (Garden of Clear Ripples), it was know as one of the famous 'three hills and five gardens' (Longevity Hill, Jade Spring Mountain, and Fragrant Hill; Garden of Clear Ripples, Garden of Everlasting Spring, Garden of Perfection and Brightness, Garden of Tranquility and Brightness, and Garden of Tranquility and Pleasure). Like most of the gardens of Beijing, it could not elude the rampages of the Anglo-French allied force and was destroyed by fire. In 1888, Empress Dowager Cixi embezzled navy funds to reconstruct it for her own benefit, changing its name to Summer Palace. She spent most of her later years there, dealing with state affairs and entertaining. In 1900, it suffered again, being ransacked by the Eight-Power Allied Force. After the success of the 1911 Revolution, it was opened to the public...
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Temple Of Heaven
The Temple of Heaven where the emperor came to worship the God of Heaven and Prayed for a good harvest, is situated in the southern part of Beijing .It occupies an area of 273 hectares (674acres), which is three times larger than the Forbidden City. As Chinese emperors called themselves 'The Son of Heaven', they dared not to build their own dwelling, 'Forbidden City' bigger than a dwelling for Heaven. The Temple of Heaven is not only the largest group of temple buildings in China, but also the largest heaven-worshipping architecture in the world.
As a site for worshipping Heaven, The Temple of Heaven is different from any other imperial structure. Architecturally speaking, the Temple of Heaven has two themes: heaven and earth. The Temple of Heaven is enclosed with a long wall. The northern part within the wall is semicircular symbolizing the heavens and the southern part is square symbolizing the earth. The northern part is higher than the southern part. This design shows that the heaven is high and the earth is low and the design reflected an ancient Chinese thought of 'The heaven is round and the earth is square' The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest is one of Beijing’s symbolic structure and also the most famous temple structure in the world. And it is the main building in the Temple of Heaven. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest is a big palace with round roof and three layers of eaves. Inside the Hall are 28 huge posts. The four posts along the inner circle represent four seasons-spring, summer, autumn and winter; the 12 posts along the middle circle represent the 12 months; and 12 posts along the outer circle represent 12 Shichen (Shichen is a means of counting time in ancient China. One Shichen in the past equaled two hours and a whole day was divided into 12 Shichens). The roof is covered with black, yellow and green colored glaze representing the heavens, the earth and everything on earth. The Hall has a base named Altar for Grain Prayers which is made of three layers of white marble and has a height of six meters. Another important building in Temple of Heaven is Imperial Vault of Heaven. If you look at it from far away, you will find that the Vault is like a blue umbrella with gold head. The structure of it is like that of Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, but smaller in size. The structure was made of bricks and timber. The Vault was used to place memorial tablets of Gods. White marble railings surround the vault...
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Ming Tombs
The Ming Tombs are located in Changping District, about 50kilometers to the northwest of Beijing. This imperial cemetery covers an area of 80square kilometers with 13Ming emperors, 23 empresses, many imperial concubines, princes and princesses buried here. These tombs are the best preserved of all Chinese imperial tombs. There are a total of 13Ming Emperors buried in this area, so it is called the “Thirteen Ming Tombs” in Chinese. In 1961, the Chinese Government listed the “Thirteen Ming Tombs” as one of the important historical monuments under special preservation, and in 2003 the ”thirteen Ming Tombs” were listed as a world cultural heritage site by UNESCO.
A scared Way is always found in an imperial cemetery. The Scared Way of the Ming Tombs is 7.3 kilometers long from the Memorial Stone Archway to the gate of Changling. The main structures along the Scared Way are: Marble Archway, Great Palace Gate, Tablet Tower, Stone Statues and Dragon and Phoenix Gate. The Scared Way originally built for Changling, Emperor Yongle’s Tomb, but since the other twelve tombs were also built in this area, either to the right or to the left of Changling, The Scared Way became the main road for all of the thirteen tombs...
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Beijing Tours
CCTS - Beijing 1 Day - 01
Tour Code: CCTS - Beijing
- 1 Day - 01
Departure Date: Daily
Destinations: Beijing
Major Scenery: Badaling Great
Wall, Ming
Tombs
Transportation: Luxury Air Conditional Coach
PDF: Download
PDF Itinerary 
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CCTS - Beijing 1 Day - 02
Tour Code: CCTS - Beijing
- 1 Day - 02
Departure Date: Daily
Destinations: Beijing
Major Scenery: Tian'anmen Square, Forbbiden
City, Summer
Palace
Transportation: Luxury Air Conditional Coach
PDF: Download
PDF Itinerary
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CCTS - Beijing 4 Days - 01
Tour Code: CCTS - Beijing - 4 Days - 01
Departure Date: Daily
Destinations: Beijing
Major Scenery: Great
Wall, Ming
Tombs, Tian'anmen Square, Forbbbiden
City, Temple
of Heaven
Transportation: Luxury Air Conditional Coach
PDF: Download
PDF Itinerary
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CCTS - Beijing 6 Days - 01
Tour Code: CCTS - Beijing
- 6 Days - 01
Departure Date: Daily
Destinations: Beijing
Major Scenery: Great
Wall, Ming
Tombs, Tian'anmen Square, Forbbbiden
City, Temple
of Heaven, Summer
Palace , Temple of Potaraka Doctrine Temple of Universal Peace
Transportation: Luxury Air Conditional Coach
PDF: Download
PDF Itinerary
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CCTS - Beijing 6 Days - 02
Tour Code: CCTS - Beijing
- 6 Days - 02
Departure Date: Daily
Destinations: Beijing , Taiyuan
Major Scenery: Great
Wall, Ming
Tombs, Tian'anmen Square, Forbbbiden
City, Temple
of Heaven, Wutai Mount, Pingyao
ancient town
Transportation: Train & Luxury Air Conditional
Coach
PDF: Download
PDF Itinerary
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CCTS - Beijing 6 Days - 03
Tour Code: CCTS - Beijing
- 6 Days - 03
Departure Date: Daily
Destinations: Beijing
Major Scenery: Great
Wall, Ming
Tombs, Tian'anmen
Square, Forbbbiden
City, Temple
of Heaven
Transportation: Luxury Air Conditional Coach
PDF: Download
PDF Itinerary
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CCTS - Beijing 7 Days - 01
Tour Code: CCTS - Beijing
- 7 Days - 01
Departure Date: Daily
Destinations: Beijing , Datong
Major Scenery: Great
Wall, Ming
Tombs, Tian'anmen Square, Forbbbiden
City, Temple
of Heaven, Hanging Temple, Wooden Pagoda, Yungang Grotto
Transportation: Train & Luxury Air Conditional
Coach
PDF: Download
PDF Itinerary
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- Beijing Travel Guide
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