Saturday, July 12, 2008

The Great Wall




The Great Wall, (Wanli Changcheng) literally means the Ten Thousand Mile Wall, is a great fortification in ancient China. The section at Badaling is the most famous of all due to its proximity to Beijing City and condition of restoration. The imposing Badaling Great Wall climbs up and down, twists and turns along the high mountain ridges. It fully shows the lofty quality of ancient Chinese labor people.
Badaling Great Wall, with more than 1000 meters above sea level, occupies a commanding and strategic position. It is a defensive outpost of the Great Wall. It is called "Bada" as it stretches in all directions.
Badaling Great wall was built in the 18th year of the Ming Hong Zhi reign (1505). The wall, built with high stone slabs on the outside, is 7.8 meters high on the average, some even reaches 8.4meters. The base of the wall was built with more than 2000 large rectangular slab of granite stones. It is about 6.5 meters wide on the average at its base and 5.7 meters wide on the average on the ramparts. The wall is wide enough for five horses to gallop abreast and ten people to advance shoulder to shoulder. The outside of the wall is called rampart wall. The rampart wall was built with bricks 1.7 meters high. Built for the purpose of defense, there are holes on the tip of the wall called watch-hole, and peepholes under the wall called embrasures. Inside of the wall, there are low walls with one meter high called parapets, which can be used as railings. There is a scroll door not far from the inside wall, with is a stone ladder for climbing up and down.
The wall is narrow on the top and broad on the bottom forming an adder-shape structure. This made the wall stands firmly on the rise and fall ridges. The wall was built with 10-14 rectangular slab of stones surrounding its outside, filled with soils and stones in the middle, and paved with square bricks on the top between the bricks were stuck with lime stones. This makes the wall tidy, beautiful, and firm. There are gutters with gargoyles to drain rain-water off the parapet wall.
The landscape of Badaling Great Wall changes every season, with numerous scenery to catch your attention. A sunlit and enchanting scene of spring, with the valley covered with greens. When the rain from mountain comes, the vista will look vast and hazy. The sky in autumn is high with unsoiled stratosphere, while the maple forest is dyed in golden colour. White snow covers the whole scene in winter.

About Beijing

About Beijing

As the proud capital of modern China, Beijing is fast becoming a popular and fashionable tourist destination. And for good reason too. Beijing is not only the modern political, cultural and educational center of China, but holds the biggest collection of ancient sites and relics in the nation. Beijing has been at the center of China and the heart and soul of politics and society for over 5000 years. If the pace of change in the city today is anything to judge by, Beijing is determined to stay at the forefront of Chinese civilization.

As you fly into the city, the most famous site in all of China, the Great Wall, rises up beneath, slithering its way like a dragon along the tops of the surrounding mountains. Seen from above, other city sites gradually appear, well ordered and arranged in a grid, in keeping with the principles of Feng Shui.

The sheer size of the city is reflected at almost every level. The magnificent Forbidden City and the vast Tiananmen Square all add to the feeling and atmosphere that Beijing is, and always has been, a city that means business. Home to over 1000 years of imperial rule, and now the hub of modern China's political system, Beijing is a city with a lot to offer.

Any visit to this modern capital must include a trip to the major historical sites. But it's certainly worth getting to know Beijing a little deeper than this. Take some time and make the effort to explore the sites that are less well known. The Hutongs, the small windy alleyways between the city's main boulevards are delightful. Taking a stroll here, you'll experience the more authentic parts of the city and really get to grips with the old Beijing. The city is ideally located too, for trips outside Beijing itself. Follow the trend set by the emperors and take a retreat away from hectic city life to the Summer Palace.

Beijing Weather (C)

Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Avg Highs
1
3
10
19
26
30
30
29
25
19
9
2
Avg Lows
-10
-8
-6
2
12
17
21
20
13
6
-2
-8

Beijing Map

Beijing Subway

beijing map,beijing picture beijing subway,beijing transportation


Beijing Key Attractions

The Great Wall,Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Summer Palace, The Temple of Heaven, Beihai Park, Jingshan Park, Yonghegong,Peking Opera of China,Lama Temple,Beijing Hutong,The Temple of Heaven, Xiushui Market.



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Beijing Climate

The best times to visit Beijing are spring (April and May are nicest) and fall (September and October can be beautiful). Beijing experiences cold, dry and windy winters, with average low January temperatures falling to -8ºC (17ºF). By July, the city's average highs reach a steamy 30ºC (86ºF) as Southeast Asia's monsoon system pushes hot and humid air northward, bringing with it regular rains. Spring and summer also see occasional sandstorms as sand and dust from the Gobi Desert blow into the city. Air pollution often combines with humidity and dust to create a thick smog that blankets the city. However, the city's cleanup efforts in advance of the Olympics will, hopefully, lead to cleaner air in the future.

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Beijing History

Though it lies north of the traditional Han Chinese heartland, Beijing has been at the center of China's cultural and political life for the better part of seven centuries. The city gained its prominence in the 13th century AD when it was established by Mongol ruler Kublai Khan as capital of the Yuan Dynasty under the names Khanbaliq (Mongolian for "grand home of the Khan") and Dadu ("great capital"). It was this metropolis that impressed Marco Polo, whose tales of his time in the court of the Khan inspired generations of European explorers to seek better trade routes to the East.

The archeological record shows human settlement in the Beijing area long before Kublai Khan―as early as the 11th century BC. By the 8th century AD, the Yan Kingdom established its capital of Yanjing in the area, giving way after the Warring States Period to the Qin Dynasty, which united China in 221 BC. The Qin, whose capital was Xiangyang near today's Xian, demoted the Yan capital to a regional seat of government. For centuries after, the city, then known as Jicheng, remained a center of trade and governance and a military outpost defending China from aggressive northern tribes. In 938 AD the northern Liao Dynasty established a second capital in Beijing, which they called Nanjing (Southern Capital). The Liao built the first city walls, which were expanded by the Jurchen Jin Dynasty, who made it their capital in 1153, calling it Zhongdu (Middle Capital).

After Genghis Khan's Mongols destroyed the Jin, razing their capital, his son, Kublai, established Dadu, whose basic layout remains in present-day Beijing. From his capital Kublai ruled the largest empire the world has ever seen. However, it wasn't until Ming Dynasty ruler Yongle (1403-1425) showed up that the prominent landmarks of today's Beijing made the scene. Yongle, an ethnic Han Chinese, leveled all Yuan Dynasty buildings, determined to erase all traces of Mongol rule over China, and initiated construction of the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven. Yongle also gave the city a new name: Beijing (Northern Capital).

As the capital of imperial China for the next 586 years, Beijing witnessed wars, corrupt Emperors and Empresses, foreign attacks (the British and French in 1860) and rebellions (the Boxers in 1900, for one). It also presided over prosperous times and the cultivation of arts, scholarship, philosophy and religion. As the Qing (1644-1911) decayed at the end of the nineteenth century and early twentieth, ceding territory to Western colonial powers and Japan, Beijing became a center of political agitation as nationalist students demonstrated against Qing corruption and in favor of modernizing China. The city fell into turmoil after the fall of the Qing, changing hands repeatedly during 1911 and 1912.

From 1912 to 1927, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Hankou alternated as centers of government. Students and other reform-minded nationalist Chinese continued to work for a modernized China, with the May Fourth Movement emerging from 1919 protests against the transference of Germany's Chinese concessions to the Japanese in the wake of World War I. This dissent would continue, feeding into the Communist movement and, eventually, the establishment of the People's Republic of China.

The end of World War II brought the abolition of all foreign concessions in the city and the the end of the Japanese occupation that began in 1937, and Beijing was restored to Chinese sovereignty. After four more years of civil war the Communists emerged victorious, and on October 1, 1949 in Tian'anmen Square Mao Zedong proclaimed Beijing the capital of the People's Republic of China. As previous rulers had often done, Mao made a symbolic break with the previous order by reinventing the capital. Between 1965 and 1969, the old city wall was torn down. Hundreds of temples and monuments were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), and old neighborhoods were leveled to broaden boulevards and enlarge Tian'anmen Square.

The upheaval of the Cultural Revolution ended with Mao's death in 1976, and in the transitional years that followed, China began opening its economy under Deng Xiaoping. Along with economic changes, many Chinese began to look for increased freedom of expression and broader political reform. Beijing students took the lead, challenging the status quo with the Democracy Wall in 1978-1979 and a decade later with the protests that culminated in the tragic 1989 Tian'anmen Square face-off between the People's Liberation Army and demonstrators. Deng's economic reforms have continued under subsequent leadership, fueling China's epic economic boom.

Beijing Introduction

Beijing Introduction

The Forbidden City's red walls and golden roof tiles, labyrinthine lanes running through low-slung grey brick hutong neighborhoods, futuristic skyscrapers punctuating the horizon in all directions, broad avenues and the expanse of Tian'anmen Square, traffic jams and dust storms, ancient imperial gardens, bustling markets.... Beijing holds astonishing sights and countless adventures for the curious.

photos of beijing
 
photos of beijing
 
Steeped in the past even as it focuses with all its might on the future, today's Beijing steps confidently onto the global stage, marking China's emergence as a world power as host of the 2008 Olympic Games. It's a fascinating time to visit. Vast areas of the city are being transformed overnight as new high-rise complexes displace old hutong warrens, yet Old Beijing holds fast in surprising ways and places.
 
photos of beijing
 
Our guide to Beijing gives you the latest information on what to do and see in this amazing city. Help us improve the guide by sharing your thoughts in our comments section, sharing your Beijing tips and stories in the China Travel Forum or adding reviews of Beijing attractions, hotels and restaurants.
 
photos of beijing

Shanghai Museum Nanjing Road eg.

The Shaanxi Provincial Museum
Opened in 1991, the largest comprehensive museum in the province, the museum exhibits over 3,000 unearthed historical relics, a small fraction of their collection, most of the exhibited items are rare treasures, showing you the splendid Chinese culture.
Xi'an Ancient City Walls
Built during the 14th century on Tang dynasty foundations, date to the Ming dynasty, the walls are the largest and best-preserved ancient fortress in the world. There is a gate in each of the four sides, the gate towers built over each gate look lofty and magnificent and form a tight defence engineering system.
Shanghai Museum
Often ranked as China's best museum, it is the biggest museum in China with a fine collection of over 120,000 pieces of Chinese artifacts.
The Bund
The word "Bund" was derived from Anglo-Indian word meaning quay. That's where the great trading houses and banks had their headquarters in 1920s and 1930s, about a mile long, it is the city's fulcrum.
Nanjing Road
Known as "China's No.1 Shopping Street" with a huge of merchandise on sale.
Yu Garden
Located in the Old Town of Shanghai and laid out in 1559 AD by a powerful Ming official, Yu Garden recreates a beautiful landscape of pagodas, pavilions, rockeries, fountains, ancient trees and precious flowers.
Yuyuan Market
Outside the Yu Garden, a bustling market with different snacks and trinkets.

Bell Tower

Bell Tower
Standing in the center of the city and built in 1582, the Bell Tower is a three-story wooden structure with traditional Chinese architectural features, it is so called because an iron bell is hung in the tower to give the correct time.

Big Wild Goose Pagoda

Big Wild Goose Pagoda
Regarded by many as a symbol of the city, the pagoda was built in 652 A.D in Tang Dynasty to house the sutras brought back from India by the famous monk Xuan-zang.

Terracotta Warriors and Horses

Terracotta Warriors and Horses
Discovered in 1974 by local farmers digging a well, one of the most significant archeological finds of the 20th century. These 6,000 life-size painted terracotta warriors and horses, individually sculpted from real-life models and arranged in battle formation, have been protecting the mausoleum of the first emperor in Chinese history - Emperor QinShihuang - 2,200 years ago.

The Temple of Heaven

The Temple of Heaven
The place which was visited yearly by the emperors who performed intricate rituals to insure a good harvest for the whole nation at ancient times.

The Sacred Road

The Sacred Road
The path lined with stone statues of animals, mystical beasts and officials who serve the emperor in his afterlife, through which the sitting emperors would go to perform memorial rituals for the ancestors once a year.

The Ming Tomb

The Ming Tomb
The burial site of Wanli emperor, the 13th emperor of the Ming Dynasty who ruled for 48 years until his death in 1620, it is the only underground tomb of the thirteen tombs of the emperors.

The Great Wall

The Great Wall
The most famous symbol of China and one of the world's most remarkable architectural wonders, it was built over 2,000 years ago and stretching about 6,700km.

The Peking Opera

The Peking Opera
A kind of singing drama which is an ingenious and colorful combination of elements from many sources: traditional music, poetry, singing, recitation, dancing, acrobatics, and martial arts.

The Summer Palace

The Summer Palace
Located on the northwestern outskirts of the city, it was an imperial summer resort of the Qing Dynasty. With its perfect layout, magnificent buildings and enchanting landscape, it is the most splendid classical garden in China.

The Forbidden City

The Forbidden City
Located in the center of Beijing, used to be the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties with a history of around 600 years, it is the grandest integral palace complex still remaining in China.

The Tian'anmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace) Square

The Tian'anmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace) Square
The largest city square in the world and the spiritual heart of China, where the national flag is raised exactly at sunrise everyday

8 Day Golden China Tour

 
8 Day Golden China Tour
One of the classic China Tour : Beijing / Xi'an / Shanghai.
Includes visit of the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, Xi'an Terracotta warriors, and many more...
 
Day by Day Itinerary
B : Breakfast - L : Lunch - D : Dinner
Day1: Arrive Beijing. Upon your arrival at Beijing airport, our local guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel. The rest of the day is free at your own leisure.
Day 2: Beijing. Morning : visit of the historic Tiananmen Square, and then the magnificent Forbidden City. Afternoon : marvel at the exquisite Summer Palace. Evening : enjoy the Peking Opera Show.
Day 3: Beijing. Today's full-day excursion will take you to the majestic Great Wall, Ming Tomb and Sacred road.
Day 4: Beijing / Xi'an. Morning : visit of Beijing's splendid Temple of Heaven. Afternoon : flight to Xi'an. Upon your arrival, our local guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel.
The rest of the day is free at your own leisure.
Day 5: Xi'an. Morning : to the incredible life-size Terracotta Warriors and Horses. Afternoon : visit of Xi'an's Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the Bell Tower.
Day 6: Xi'an / Shanghai. Morning : City tour, visit of the Shaanxi Provincial Museum and the Ancient City Walls. Afternoon : flight to Shanghai. Our local guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel. The rest of the day is free at your own leisure.
Day 7: Shanghai. Day : Excursion of incredible Shanghai wich includes: Shanghai Museum, the Bund and Nanjing Road, Yu Garden and Yuyuan Market. Evening : Shanghai famous acrobatic show.
Day 8: Shanghai / End. Day free until our local guide escorts you to the airport.

National Stadium Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

Facts

  • Venue: National Stadium;
  • Location: Olympic Green;
  • Total land surface (10,000 sq. m.): 25.8;
  • Seats: 91,000;
  • Functions during the Games: Athletics, Football;
  • Post-Games use: The Stadium is to stage sports events at national and international levels, as well as cultural and entertaining activities;
  • Groundbreaking date: Dec. 2003;
  • Designer: Herzog & DeMeuron (Swiss) and China Architecture Design Institute;

Photos

Beijing 2008 Olympic National Stadium

Beijing 2008 Olympic National Stadium

Beijing 2008 Olympic National Stadium

Beijing 2008 Olympic National Stadium

Beijing 2008 Olympic National Stadium

Beijing 2008 Olympic National Stadium

Beijing 2008 Olympic National Stadium

china olympictrip Beijing, The Forbidden City

Beijing
Beijing, The Forbidden City
The Great Wall
Beijing, The Forbidden City
Beijing Summer Palace
Beijing Summer Palace
Beijing Summer Palace
Beijing, Jing for short, is the nation's political, economic, cultural and educational center as well as China's most important center for international trade and communications. Together with Xian, Luoyang, Kaifeng, Nanjing and Hangzhou, Beijing is one of the six ancient cities in China. It has been the heart and soul of politics and society throughout its long history and consequently there is an unparalleled wealth of discovery to delight and intrigue travelers as they explore Beijing's ancient past and enjoy its exciting modern development.

As the capital of the People's Republic of China, Beijing is located in northern China, close to Tianjin Municipality and partially surrounded by Hebei Province. The city covers an area of more than 16,410 square kilometers (6336 square miles) and has a population of 14.93 million people.

Beijing is a city with four distinct seasons. Its best is late spring and autumn. But autumn is taken as the golden tourist season of the year since there is sometimes in the spring of recent years, a yellow wind. We suggest tourists visit Beijing during the months of May, September, and October when people can enjoy bright sunshine and blue skies. An abundance of international class performances are presented in May. If you like winter, you will have other chances to appreciate another landscape of Beijing. After skiing in Beihai and viewing the snowy sights on West Hill, enjoying the steaming hotpot is the best choice, which is really the fun of tour in Beijing. Please keep warm and remember to bring your down garments and sweaters when you visit Beijing in the winter.

TiananmenHow can one city boast so many phenomenal places? Beijing's long and illustrious history started some 500,000 years ago. It is here that the ancestors of modern Homo sapiens, Peking men, lived in caves. Records show that Beijing has been an inhabited city for more than three thousand years and has endured invasions by warlords and foreign powers, devastating fires, the rise and fall of powerful imperial dynasties and has emerged each time as a strong and vibrant city. For more than 800 years, Beijing was a capital city - from the Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368) to the Ming (1368 - 1644) and Qing (1644 - 1911) dynasties. Thirty-four emperors have lived and ruled the nation in Beijing and it has been an important trading city from its earliest days.

Although now Beijing is a modern and fashionable city complete with a full 21st Century vitality, you can experience authentic Beijing life and become acquainted with 'old Beijing' by exploring its many teahouses, temple fairs, Beijing's Hutong and Courtyard and enjoy the Peking Opera. Add any or all of these to your Beijing tour and you will leave with a feeling of special appreciation in your heart for this ancient city that has truly seen it all and tells its story with matchless grace, charm and vigor.

With the biggest central square in the world - Tian'anmen Square, the Forbidden City that is the largest and best-preserved imperial palace complex, a superbly preserved section of the Great Wall,as well as the largest sacrificial complex in the world - the Temple of Heaven, Beijing attracts both domestic and foreign visitors who all come to wonder at its century-old history and unique cultural relics.

Dwelling too much on the historical past of Beijing may give tourists the false impression that it is little more than an ancient city in style but this is definitely not so! Strolling around Beijing, you'll find it has much in common with any other great metropolis elsewhere in today's world. There are towering skyscrapers; busy shopping malls and an endless stream of traffic that makes the city much the same as others. The most famous and popular commercial circles and commercial pedestrian streets are predominantly located near the Yansha Shopping Mall, Tiananmen and Wangfujing Street, Guomao Shopping Mall, Qianmen Street and Xidan Street, etc. However, although you will find multinational chains with their own brands to offer, nowhere else on earth will you find such a variety of gourmet Chinese restaurants offering the very best of the eight different styles of Chinese cuisine as well as western style dishes. Modern hotels abound, each offering the highest standards of service and convenience.

Summer PalaceAfter a day's Beijing tours, nighttime can hold other surprises for you. These can vary from traditional performances such as the Beijing Opera, acrobatics and martial arts to modern ones including concerts, ballroom dancing, pubs and clubs. Each and every one has its individual enchantment for the tourist. No description of our capital city is complete without mention of the friendly people who throng the streets. Everywhere you will encounter smiling faces and a warm welcome, especially from the children who love to say 'Hello!' All these things add up to truly make your visit a cultural experience of a lifetime.