Beijing World Heritage Sites

The Great Wall is a symbol of ancient Chinese civilization and a world-renowned fortification. Stretching 6,350 kilometers on the mountains in Northern China, the Great Wall was first built in the 7th century B.C. and completed during the reign of the first Emperor of Qin. It was extended during the Ming Dynasty. Being one of the "seven wonders of the world", it has been listed as a world cultural heritage. The most famous section of the Great Wall is at Badaling in Yanqing County in the ...

Forbidden City Beijing, also called Imperial Palace Museum, is located in the very heart of Beijing. It remained the residence of the emperors for nearly five hundred years, from the 15th century to the early 20th century, and was the actual and symbolic seat of imperial power. Popularly known as the Forbidden City, it was built in the Ming Dynasty between the 4th and the 18th years of the Yongle period (1406 - 1420 AD). Many of the buildings of the Palace have been repaired and rebuilt, but their ...

Mutianyu Great Wall was first built in the mid-6th century during the Northern Qi, making it older than the Badaling section. In 1569, the Mutianyu Great Wall was rebuilt and till today most parts of it are well preserved. The Mutianyu Great Wall has the largest construction scale and best quality among all sections of Great Wall.   It is connected with Jiankou in the west and Lianhuachi and Jinshanling in the east. In 1569, the Mutianyu Great Wall was rebuilt, mainly with granite and is ...

 Located at Chongwen District, the Temple of Heaven was the venue for the Ming and Qing emperors to offer sacrifices to the Heaven and pray for harvest. This temple was built in the 18th year during the reign of the Ming Emperor Yongle in 1420. Covering 2.7 million square meters, Temple of Heaven is the existing largest temple in China. Its main structure comprises Circular Vault of Heaven, Circular Mound Alter, Hall of Prayers for Good Harvest and Palace of Fast. It is famous for its precise ...

Covering 40 square kilometers in the Changping District, the 13 Ming Tombs are the cemeteries of the 13 Ming emperors, 23 empresses, and many imperial concubines, crown princes and princesses after the Ming Dynasty moved its capital city to Beijing. Among these tombs, the largest one is Changling Tomb, which was built in 1413 and is the burial place of Zhu Di, the third Ming emperor. At the Dingling Tomb, the burial place of the 13th Ming emperor, an underground palace was excavated. Visitors are ...

Summer Palace Located in the northwestern suburbs of Beijing city and built in 1750, the Summer Palace is the existing largest, best-preserved imperial garden in China and a fine example of imperial gardening art. It was constructed in the Qing Dynasty, and in 1998, the site was inscribed into the UNESCO's World Heritage List. The Summer Palace mainly comprises Wanshou Hill that means longevity in Chinese, and Kunming Lake. While the hill accounts for a quarter of the park's total area and the ...

Juyongguan Great Wall had already ranked as one of the eight splendid sceneries in Beijing 800 years ago. In Chinese, “guan” means mountain pass, so Juyongguan Section is a part lying through mountains as a wall to prevent the enemies. Enlisted in the World Heritage Directory in 1987, Juyongguan Great Wall is a national cultural protection unit. And Juyongguan Pass is one of the three greatest passes of the Great Wall of China. The other two are Jiayuguan Pass and Shanhaiguan Pass.   As ...

Jinshanling Great Wall is one of the best preserved parts of the Great Wall which may shows its charms to the hiking fans at all times. With a distance about 140 kilometers (87 miles) northeast of Beijing city, Jinshanling Section connects to the Simatai Section of the wall in the east and Gubeikou section in the west. It is the most representative part of the Chinese brick-made dragon.   The dangerous geography and the vast view from the higher place make Jinshanling Section become the highlight ...

Gubeikou section is the most complete part of the Great Wall since it had been built up. Located along the Yanshan Mountain range in the northeast of Miyun County, Gubeikou Great Wall welcomes people who are fond of adventures.   This section played a key role in the ancient battle policies. The geographical characters made Gubeikou section as a battle field for hundreds of years. To the west of the pass are the Chaohe River and the Wohu Mountain, and to the east is the Panlong Mountain. ...

For adventurers and hiking fans, Simatai section of the Great Wall is more attractive than the other two sections Badaling and Mutianyu. Simatai Great Wall is situated in the Gubeikou Town in the northeast of Miyun County, Beijing. This well-preserved and undeveloped site possesses the most charming scene of the Great Wall. With the breath-taking landscape surrounding the glorious Great Wall, Simatai is the best choice for adventurers and photographers.   Originally built during the Northern ...

One kilometer north of the arch is the main gate of the mausoleum area - the main gate of the palace called the Great Red Gate. There are two tablets used to be placed on both sides of the gate which said: "Dignitaries, officials and other persons arriving here must dismount from their horses.”   The central entrance was reserved for the body of the dead emperor; the living emperor had to use the left entrance when he came to pay homage to his ancestors. One more kilometer north ...