Tourist Resorts
Beijing, alternatively romanized as Peking, is the capital of the People's Republic of China, the world's third most populous city proper, and most populous capital city. The city, located in northern China, is governed as a municipality under the direct administration of the central government with 16 urban, suburban, and rural districts. Beijing Municipality is surrounded by Hebei Province with the exception of neighboring Tianjin Municipality to the southeast; together, the three divisions form the Jingjinji metropolitan region and the national capital region of China.
Forbidden City is an approximation of the Chinese 紫禁城 (Zǐjìn Chéng), a poetic moniker that also references the colour purple and the cosmically significant North Star, the ‘celestial seat’ of the emperor. But officially, it's called the Palace Museum (故宫博物馆; Gùgōng Bówùguǎn), a public institution established in 1925 after Puyi, the last emperor, was evicted from the Inner Court.
The Great Wall of China is an ancient series of walls and fortifications, totaling more than 13,000 miles in length, located in northern China. Perhaps the most recognizable symbol of China and its long and vivid history, the Great Wall was originally conceived by Emperor Qin Shi Huang in the third century B.C. as a means of preventing incursions from barbarian nomads. The best-known and best-preserved section of the Great Wall was built in the 14th through 17th centuries A.D., during the Ming dynasty.
Summer Palace was the playground for emperors fleeing the suffocating summer torpor of the old imperial city. A marvel of design, the palace – with its huge lake and hilltop views – offers a pastoral escape into the landscapes of traditional Chinese painting. It merits an entire day’s exploration, although a (high-paced) morning or afternoon exploring the temples, gardens, pavilions, bridges and corridors may suffice.
The Old Summer Palace, known in Chinese as Yuanming Yuan, and originally called the Imperial Gardens, was a complex of palaces and gardens in present-day Haidian District, Beijing, China. Constructed throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries, the Old Summer Palace was the main imperial residence of Qianlong Emperor of the Qing dynasty and his successors, and where they handled state affairs; the Forbidden City was used for formal ceremonies. Widely perceived as the pinnacle work of Chinese imperial garden and palace design, the Old Summer Palace was known for its extensive collection of gardens, its building architecture and numerous art and historical treasures. It was reputed as the "Garden of Gardens" in its heyday.
The National Museum of China flanks the eastern side of Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. The museum's mission is to educate about the arts and history of China. It is directed by the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the largest museums in the world, and with 8.6 million visitors in 2018, the National Museum of China was the second-most visited museum in the world, just after the Louvre.