1、Top 10 Must See Places in Beijing Written by Ruqin Li Beijing is unarguably one of the most visited places in the world. Every year finds millions of people come to Beijing to see the capital of China, a fast changing metropolitan city of old and new. Beijing is a sleepless city, so you can easily f
2、ind something for you at any time for whatever you like. There are in fact a great number of tourist attractions and historic sites in Beijing. Some of these interesting places are within walking distance, some are a bit further away. It takes quite some time to savvy everything that Beijing City ha
3、s to provide. But if you only have a short stay in Beijing, you should make sure to get around the top ten places in Beijing City. In this way, you can say that you have been to Beijing City!Top 10 Must See Places in BeijingHow to plan out the top 10 places based on your short stay in Beijing?How to
4、 get about the top 10 places in Beijing?Travelling tips for Beijing travellersA word on the Author Top 10 Must See Places in BeijingForbidden City Tiananmen Square Great Wall Summer Palace Temple of HeavenMing Tombs Hutong Tour Lama Temple Beihai Park Capital Museum1. Forbidden City ( the Imperial P
5、alace )Beijing is an old capital city developing at a fast pace. The Forbidden City is the ideal place for you to begin your exploration of Beijing by opening its mysterious face. With over 9,000 rooms and over 250 acres, this large palace building was built between 1406 and 1420. It burned down and
6、 was rebuilt, sacked and renovated for times, so most of the architecture you can see today dates back to the 18th century in the Qing Dynasty. Make sure to wear comfortable shoes as you have to walk a lot! There is a Starbucks in the palace in case you need some coffee to recharge you . I highly re
7、commend you to have a guide. It is quite helpful to have a guide escort you and tell the stories behind the palace . If you are a non-group tourist, I suggest you rent a multi lingual guide recorder either at Meridian Gate ( southern gate of Forbidden city ) or the Gate of Divine Prowess (Northern g
8、ate of Forbidden City) and return it when you finish your Forbidden City Tour.How to get there: Address: No.4 Jingshan Front Street, Dongcheng District Opening Hour: 8:30-17:00Ticket office hours: From 9: to 15:00 pmTravel Time: Two hoursEntrance Fee: RMB 60Buses to the Forbidden City: No. 1, 2, 4,
9、5, 10, 20, 52, 57, 22, 54, 120, 802, special bus No.1 and get off at Zhongshan Phongshan Park stop or Tian Am Men stop. Take subway.Check for more details: URL: top2. Tiananmen Square What is the most representative place in Beijing? The answers are various. But Tiananmen Square is unarguably on the
10、 top list. Lying in the heart of Beijing City, it is the place for massive parades and gathering. It boasts of the largest square of such kind in the world. This was the place when in 1949, from a rostrum on Tiananmen (the Gate of Heavenly Peace), Chairman Mao announced the establishment of the Peop
11、les Republic of China. Tiananmen Square is circled by Tiananmen (Gate of Heaven Peace) on its north; the Great Hall of the People on its west; on the east of Tiananmen Square lies the National Museum of China,; there are Monument to the Peoples Heroes and Chairman Maos Mausoleum on the south. At sun
12、rise and sunset the raising and lowering ceremony of the Chinese National Flag is well worth seeing. The young troops perform very well. Make sure to be there 30 minutes earlier to get a good standing point.How to get there:Buses to Tiananmen:Take No.1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 20, 52, 57, 22, 54, 120, 802, spe
13、cial bus No.1 and get off Zhongshan Park stop or Tian An Men stop. Take subway.Ticket fees and tour time:Tiananmen Square: FreeTiananmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace): RMB 15The Great Hall of the People: RMB 15Chairman Maos Mausoleum: FreeThe National Museum of China: RMB 15Opening Time (Tiananmen Square
14、): Whole DayTravelling time: 2-4 hours top3. Great Wall at Badaling, Juyongguan, Mutianyu, Simatai and JinshanlingClimbing the Great Wall is a must for you no matter how buy you are! In Beijing there are mainly eight sections of the Great Wall crossing the northern part of Beijing for 600 kms. The e
15、ight sections are Badaling, Juyongguan, Huanghuacheng, Jiankou, Mutianyu, Gubeikou, Jinshanling, and Simatai. Most of the sections of the Great Wall in Beijing are well-preserved and mainly the relics dating from the Ming Dynasty, the time for huge construction. For the Great Wall hiking, get ready
16、for strong footwear. For hot weather, please also prepare for sunblock, sunglasses and water. For cold days, get ready for your hat and heavy coat. Badaling Great Wall:Ticket Fees: RMB40 (Nov. 01 to Mar. 31); RMB 45 (Apr. 01 to Oct. 31) Open Hours: 06:40 to 18:30 HikeTime: 2.5 hours How to go there:
17、 Take Bus 919. Or take a tourist bus: No. 1 at Front Gate ( Qianmen );No. 2 at Beijing Railway Station;No. 3 at East Bridge; No. 4 at Xizhi Gate or Beijing Zoo; Juyongguan Great Wall: Ticket Fee: RMB 45 Open Hours: 07:30 to 17:30 Hike Time : 2.5 hours How to go there: Take tourist Bus Route as below
18、: Take No. 1 at Front Gate ( Qianmen ) Take No. 2 at Beijing Railway Station Take No. 3 at East Bridge Take No. 4 at Beijing Zoo or Xizhimen GateMutianyu Great Wall:Ticket Fee: RMB35 Open Hours: 07:30 to 17:30 Hike Time: 2.5 hours How to go there: Take Bus no 916 or take tourist Bus No. 6 at Xuanwum
19、en Gate Simatai Great Wall: Ticket Fee: RMB 35 Open Hours: 08:00 to 17:00 Hike Time: 2 hours How to go there: Take bus No.12 from Xuan Wu Gate directly to Simatai. Take the 970 bus out of Beijing to Miyun and hire a taxi from there.Jinshanling Great Wall: Entrance Fee: RMB 30 Opening Hours: 08:00 to
20、 16:50 Hiking time: 2 hoursHow to go thereTake the 970 bus out of Beijing to Miyun and hire a taxi from there. top4. Summer Palace ( Yiheyuan ) Regarded as the largest imperial garden in China, Beijings Summer Palace is in fact a park-styled royal retreat extending out over 10 square miles in northw
21、est suburban Beijing . Once a summer resort for emperors, this 290-acre partk-palace is still a retreat for visitors, who can take a rest here or wander around old pavilions, buildings, temples, bridges and the huge lake - Kunming Lake. Summer Palace is mainly comprised of Longevity Hill (Washoushan
22、) and Kunming Lake. Much of the park is covered by Kunming Lake. With masterly design and artistic architecture integrating the highlight of Chinese garden arts, the Summer Palace has earned a title of “Royal Garden Museum“. It is a royal garden most completely preserved with richest landscapes and
23、large compact buildings. The Summer Palace was listed as the world cultural heritage in1998.How to go there:Take busses No.726, 826, 718, 332, 331 or 737 and get of at Yiheyuan DongmenCheck for more details: www.summerpalace-Address: Yiheyuan (Summer Palace) Road, Haidian District 62881144-209Open T
24、ime: 6:30-20:30Ticket Fee: RMB 40 (low season) / RMB 50 (peak season)top5. Temple of Heaven ( Tiantan )Temple of Heaven is one of the real highlights of Beijing. It is situated in the southern Beijing City. It has been one of the most sacred sites for the whole country for the past five centuries. I
25、t worked as sacrificial compound buildings for the Ming and Qing emperors. It boasts of the largest sacrificial place in Beijing among a few imperial altars to Heaven, Earth, the Sun, the Moon super natures. Whats the intriguing by-production of the temple is that if you enter the Temple of Heaven i
26、n the early morning, you can find many people doing all types of kung fu and taiji and other morning exercises. Furthermore, many people happily play each other with music, songs or cards. You can also join them if you want. The most highliht part of the temple is the unique century-old trees - row
27、upon row of Chinese cypress, Chinese juniper and scholar trees etc. Some of the cypresses are over 600 years old! When once visiting the temple, Dr Henry Kissinger, said that the USA could rebuild the Temple of Heaven if it wanted, but it could not produce the trees!How to go there:Take 6, 20, 39 Bu
28、sesAddress: on the east of Tianqiao, Chongwen District 67018866Open Time: 6:00-21:00Tour Time: 1.5 hoursTicket Fee: RMB 35top6. Ming Tombs ( 13 tombs in Ming Dynasty )Located 50 kilometers northwest of the downtown Beijing, noted as the 13 Tombs , this is the burial area of 13 out of 17 emperors of
29、the Ming Dynasty, the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644. It was the final dynasty in China administered by ethnic Hans. At present there are only two tombs which have been dug and open to the public: Dingling Tomb and Changling Tomb. Changling Tomb is the first tomb to be excavated. It took
30、two years for the digging and restoration, and was opened in 1958. Dingling has been excavated so completely that people now have to go into the burial chamber itself. However, it is a very deep climb down and people with problems of their heart or kneels are not advised to visit the underground tom
31、b. Wheel-chair users or people with some difficulty of action, I advise them to visit the Changling Tomb instead.How to go there: Travel Time: 2 hoursTourist Bus Route: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Ticket Fees as below:Changling Tomb: RMB 30 (Nov.01 to Mar.31) / RMB 45 (Apr.01 to Oct.31)Dingling Tomb: RMB 40 (Nov.
32、1 to Mar.31) / RMB 60 (Apr.1 to Oct.31)Opening Time: Changling Tomb: 08:30 to 17:30 / Dingling Tomb: 08:30 to 18:00 top7. Hutong Pedicab Tour ( Shichahai Area )Do you want to experience a man-driving Pedicab? In todays well preserved old Beijing hutong areas, you can still find this kind of old tran
33、sportation tool now still kept for tourists as the typical traffic tool of travelling the hutong - Beijing featuring old city alleys. The neighbourhoods of narrow, twisting streets represent the real life of ordinary Beijingers, where passageways - small narrow ways link to courtyards of traditional
34、 connected homes. Rickshaw tours of the hutongs consist of the sites that normally include the Drum Tower, courtyard neighbourhoods and Prince Gongs Building. There are many small restaurants, bars and inns. Ascending the top of the Bell Tower you can have a birds eye view of the surrounding hutongs
35、. The most intriguing part of the hutong travel is wandering through “Pipe Tobacco Alley“ close to the Bell Tower. In the “Pipe Tobacco Alley“, you will feel you are back to the years of old Beijing. How to go there:Two Areas for Hutong Exploring:Shichahai Area: north of Beihai ParkDazhalan Area: so
36、uth of Tiananmen SquareRickshaw: RMB 50-100top8. Lama Temple (Yonghegong)Lama Temple is Beijings most frequented religious place. It is comprised of five main halls and many galleries. This temple was first the palace offered to a prince. When he gained the throne, he offered it to the Tibetan Buddh
37、ists as the religious sacred place. The Lama Temple is dedicated to the Yellow Sect of Buddhism. It is actually an active temple, with many faithful belivers with burning armloads of incense. The temple has a valuable relic: the biggest Buddha statue carved from a single tree. The statue is huge wit
38、h three stories up and about nine feet across. It is quite easy to get to the temple for it is the only temple in the downtown Beijing which has its own subway stop! It is a large place for sightseeing, not for something you only travel in only 20 minutes. How to go there:Address: No.13 Imperial Col
39、lege Stree, Dongcheng District, BeijingTake subway or No.62, 13, 116 and special 2 bus and get off at Lama TempleOpen Time: 09:00-16:30Travel Time: 1.5 hoursTicket Fee: RMB 20top9. Beihai Park ( Winter Palace )Beihai Park was once a winter palace for emperors in the past. It is located just to the n
40、orth-west of Forbidden City. Among many things to see, there are now two important things not to be missed here: the park itself and the round city. The round city has a jar, which is believed to be the only thing left from the great Khan that reigned China in Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368 A.D). You can h
41、ire a rowboat and row the boat on the water. The interesting attractions in Beihai Park are Round City, White Pagoda, Jade Flower Island, Nine-Dragon Wall, Wanfo Lou Tower, Iron Screen etc. The lake is Beijings biggest and prettiest public lake.How to go there:1 Wen Jin Street(northwest of the Forbi
42、dden City) Open Time: 09:00-16:30Travel Time: 2 hoursFrom the South Gate: 101、103 、109 、812 、814 、846From the North Gate: 107、111 、118 、701 、823From the East Gate: 5top10. Beijing Capital Museum A trip to Beijing City is not complete without visiting its museums. There are a great number of museums
43、dotting around the city. If you dont have much time available in Beijing, you can focus your museum tour to Beijing Capital Museum. Beijings new Capital Museum is now open to the public, located on Fuxingmenwai Dajie, the western part of Beijings Changan Jie. The museum is a five-storey mansion, cat
44、ering for a maximum of 13 concurrent exhibitions, which can be seen in about 5 hours at the cost of 30 yuan per visitor. How to go there:URL:Tel:010-63370491/92Open Time: 09:00-16:30Travel Time: 1.5 hoursBlack out date: MondayADD: Fuxingmenwai Dajie, Chang An Avenue topHow to plan out the top 10 pla
45、ces based on your short stay in Beijing? Below is my scheduled time-table for the top 10 for your reference:1) One day trip in Beijing:Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City and the Great Wall 2) 2-Day Trip in Beijing:Day 01: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and Summer PalaceDay 02: Ming
46、 Tomb and the Great Wall3) 3-Day Trip in Beijing:Day 01: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and Summer PalaceDay 02: Ming Tomb and the Great WallDay 03: Hutong Tour4) 4-Day Trip in Beijing:Day 01: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and Summer PalaceDay 02: Ming Tomb a
47、nd the Great WallDay 03: Hutong travelDay 04: Beijing Capital Museum, Beihai Park and Lama Templetop How to get around the top 10 places in Beijing?Tourists normally have three ways to get around the top 10 or more places in Beijing. 1. Take advantage of relatives, friends or business relationship i
48、n Beijing to arrange their tours in Beijing.2. Plan your Beijing tour mainly on your own by searching internet and travel books and take local public buses, subway, or taxi to get around the city. 3. Locate an authentic local tour operator in Beijing to take worry-free and resourseful Beijing tours.
49、 Local tour operators in Beijing normally provide two kinds of tours: 1) Beijing seat-in bus tours ( or also called Beijing coach tours, or Beijing join-in group tours )For Beijing bus tours, you will be put in a small group (around 10 travellers) with other travellers from different parts of the world on the same tour coach. You will be escorted by our knowlegeable and helpful English speaking tour guides to complete your unforgetable Beijing tour. Join-in Group Bus Tour strong points: economical, meet new friends by encountering t
