Highlights
Highlights
Li River
Elephant Trunk Hill
Wave Subduing Hill
Reed Flute Cave
Seven Star Park
Yangshuo
Solitary Beauty Peak and Jingjiang Princes City
Solitary Beauty Peak, also known as Purple Hill, is located in the Jingjiang Princes City with reputation of “Southern Heaven Pillar”. At the foot of Solitary Beauty Peak, there is a Longevity Palace first built in Tang Dynasty, while a Solitary Beauty Pavilion is standing at the top. You can have a bird’s view of beautiful Guilin when you climb up 396 stone steps to the top. Dushu Rock, Taiping Rock and Crescent-shape Pond are at the foot of Solitary Beauty Peak while many ancient inscriptions are on the eastern side of the peak, for example “East or west, Guilin scenery is the best”. Other famous attractions include Snow Cave and Zhongshan Monument.
Jingjiang Prices City, praised as a “city in a city”, was built in Ming Dynasty with a history of more than 630 years. During the 257 years from its completion to the collapse of Ming Dynasty, 14 seigniors had lived here. Jingjiang Princes City became the Examination Compound in the Qing Dynasty. Covering an area of 19.78 hectares, Jingjiang Princes City composes of Chengyun Gate, Chengyun Palace, Palace Harem and Imperial Garden with other 40 rooms, pavilions and chambers. Listed as “the key cultural relics of national level”, Jingjiang Princes City is an irreplaceable scenic spot in Guilin.
If you want to enjoy picturesque mountains and crystal clear waters, Solitary Beauty Peak, famous royal treasure hill is your best choice. If you want to read the history of Guilin, Jingjiang Princes City will meet your need.
Tips:
1. Opening Hours: 9:30am—5:30pm
2. How to Get Here: No.1, 10, 11, 14, 100 Buses.
Folded Brocade Hill
Folded Brocade Hill, with an elevation of 73m, locates to the northeast of Guilin, facing beautiful Li River. As a beautiful and well-known hill, Folded Brocade Hill consists of Mingyue Peak, Crane Peak, Siwang Hill and Yuyue Hill, covering an area of 2km². Many amazing attractions such as Folded Brocade Pavilion, Yuyue Pavilion, Wind Cave and Wangjiang Pavilion etc. are on the hill. Besides, inscriptions on precipices carved by celebrities of all the precious dynasties are the essence of all relics.
Folded Brocade Pavilion, with a height of 5m, length of 7.5m and width of 8.5m, is architecture with single story, 4 angles, flat rooftop, red pillars and green tiles. With Yuyue Hill to the east, Siwang Hill to the west and Bright Moon Peak to the north, Folded Brocade Pavilion is harmonious with the surroundings. Stone benches standing from east to west, the northern side is the best place to appreciate the fantastic “folded brocade” and is an ideal place for rest. To the west of the pavilion, an inscription by Yu Qing of Ming Dynasty is also worth of visiting.
Wangjiang Pavilion is halfway up the hill and built during the reign of Emperor Zhengde (1506-1521) of the Ming Dynasty. Rebuilt in the years of 1954 and 1990, Wangjiang Pavilion is a pavilion with ancient style, 6m in height and dihedral angles. On the wall, a cliff inscription was carved as “a place for seeking adventures”.
Highlights
Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding and Research Base
Speaking of the panda, the phrase “National Treasure of China” will hit our minds. Panda is a kind of precious wild animal species that requires a demanding living environment. Therefore, China set up many Breeding and Research Bases to provide an ideal and most suitable natural living circumstance for the Chinese Giant Panda, the base in Sichuan Province is included.
Leshan Giant Buddha
As the largest stone sculpture of Buddha in the world, the Leshan Giant Buddha, sitting at the confluence of the Minjiang, Dadu and Qingyi rivers, costs 90 years to complete. The idea of the creation of the giant Buddha sculpture is out of the popularity of the Buddhist in Tang Dynasty.
Du Fu’s Thatched Cottage
Du Fu, a celebrated poet in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), has left behind over 200 masterpieces of peoms for the later generations. Du Fu is known for the patriotism and his brilliant in poem. The most important factor of all about his work is compassion, which was especially inspirational for his fans.
As its name implies, the Thatched Cottage of Du Fu was Du Fu’s home a thousand years ago, while it is not so much a cottage as a museum that attracts numerous visitors. The exhibits here include a brief account of Du Fu's life and some of his original calligraphy and poems. The complex also contains three imposing statues of some of China's greatest poets; Du Fu, Li You and Huang Tingjian (the latter two were Song dynasty poets). Today, this is a pleasant site to visit, with nice buildings dotted about, teahouses and pleasant bamboo gardens to wander and explore. This site is also home to the Chengdu Du Fu society. The Thatched Cottage of Du Fu stretches out its arms to welcome visitors from all over the world.
A garden-like museum full of cultural breath is for showing people how brilliant and celebrated Du Fu is and for making your amazing expedition meaningful.
Opening Hours:
8:00 -- 18:00 (in winter)
7:30 -- 19:00 (in summer)
Ticket Price:
60 CNY for adults
30 CNY for students
Free for the people holding the local Older Card and the non-local people older than 70
Location: No. 38, Tsinghua Road, Chengdu City
Transportation: Bus No. 17, 35, 82, 84 and 301 will bring you here directly.
Dujiangyan Irrigation System
The Dujiangyan Irrigation System, constructed in Qin Dynasty around 2,200 years ago, is a shinning pearl in the irrigation development of China, which is also praised as the “Originator of the Culture in Irrigation Work”. As the earliest irrigation work without dam in the ancient China, Dujiangyan has been making the greatest contribution to the development of the economy in Chengdu--the land of abundance.
Having witnessed centuries’ changes, the gorgeous Dujiangyan likes a record of the history attracting a growing number of tourists with the picturesque and splendid landscape. On November 29, 2000, Dujiangyan was listed as the world cultural heritage by UNESCO. Nowadays, Dujiangyan is not only the irrigation work, but also a popular scenic spot with many charming sceneries around--just like many stars twinkling around the moon.
The characterized members of the stars are the fish-mouth-like dyke--can solve the problem of irrigation in drought seasons, the bottle-neck-like sluice gate--can control the volume of inflowing water, the vent-like Feishayan--can release flood and silt from waterway to outer river, the 500-meter-long Anlan Suspension Bridge (called Couple’s Bridge)--has experienced hundreds years’ history since Song dynasty (960-1234), the garden-like Erwang-Temple with peaceful environment, and the 1800-year-old Dragon-Taming Temple.
Opening Hours: 09:00 -- 17:50
Ticket Price:
90 CNY for adults
45 CNY for kids between 1.1-1.4 meter, people between 60-69 years, the disabled and the students
Location: West Dujiangyan City, Sichuan
Transportation: Shuttle buses, subway and bus No. 1 to No. 17, 101, 102, 103, 201 and 202 will bring you here directly.
Wangjiang Pavilion
Wangjiang Pavilion with a height of 39 meters is the most shinning architecture in the Wangjiang Park that covered by green bamboo woods. Wangjiang Pavilion, built in Qing Dynasty (1644-1912), was designed as an octagonal shape with the overhanging eaves, sharp golden roof, and various exquisite figure carvings and clay sculptures of animals decorating each floor. Located on the bank of Jinjiang River, Wangjiang Pavilion provides an ideal angle for river viewing, from which it derived the present name “Wangjiang Lou”.
This splendid pavilion was built in memory of Xue Tao, a brilliant female poet in Tang Dynasty who has left behind many great poems. There are more than 100 kinds of bamboo around the Wangjiang Pavilion for Xue Tao has a passion for bamboo in her life. Around the Wangjiang Pivilion, out lay a group of memorial buildings including Wuyunxiang Hall, Quanxiang chamber, Pipa pavilion among which there are house a large amount of steles, paintings, calligraphy, inscribed couplets and poems.
Opening Hours: 8:00 -- 17:00
Ticket Price: 20 CNY
Location: Wangjiang Road, Chengdu City
Transportation: Bus No. 3, 18, 19, 31 and 35 will bring you here directly.
Wuhou Memorial Temple
Covering 37,000 square meters, Wuhou Memorial Temple was built in the year of 233 in memory of Zhuge Liang, the most brilliant military counselor in the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280). Inside the temple, the magnificent and exquisitely designed buildings are hiding in the flourishingly towering pine trees, creating a historic environment with a strong breath of history.
In the exhibition zone, there are a lot of valuable historic relics, including the well-known couplets created by Du Fu, exquisite carvings and sophisticated stone inscriptions, the precious works of calligraphy and painting, the statuses of the celebrities in Three Kingdoms Period as well as the room with the original appearance in which Zhuge Liang lived. The exhibitions may cause an amazing feeling likes being back to the Three Kingdoms Period.
The temple displays the suppleness of the Chinese garden. There are numerous historical relics like horizontal cribbed boards, couplets, inscribed tablets, penmanship, furnaces, Chinese tripods, etc. The SanZui (Three-Best) horizontal inscribed board, Zhuge Liang's Lung Gun couplets, Chu Si Biao and the tomb of LiuBei are the most famous one. Today the Wuhou Temple is the most famous tourist attraction of Chengdu city. It is not only a site for people to commemorate Zhuge Liang, but also serves as a museum to the history of the Three Kingdoms Period.
Opening Hours: 8:00 -- 18:00
Ticket Price: 60 CNY
Location: No. 231, Wuhouci Street, Chengdu City
Transportation:
Bus No.1, 10, 57, 82, 301, 334, 335, 503, 521, 901 and 904 will bring you here directly.
Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area
With two clean rivers running through and two green hills decorating, Huanglong (Yellow Dragon) Historic Interest Area, an ancient town full of ancient cultural architectures and custom, appeals to an increasing number of tourists from near and far. Huanglong Historic Interest Area consists of three charming parts that are free for visiting, namely the Custom Street, the Dragon Street and the core zone.
Along the Custom Street, various magnificent architectures built in different times will be a sumptuous art feast for the eyes, and the beautiful and yummy local snacks will increase your appetite greatly and make you reluctant to leave. Having traveled around the Custom Street, you will be attracted by the next station--Dragon Street, where there is a clean stream zigzagging through just like a water dragon. Along the both banks of the dragon stream, teahouses, local restaurants and specialties stores rank orderly like a comb.
Crossing the stone bridge, you will reach the core zone where the most shinning cultural heritages are waiting for you. The fish-skeleton-like lanes, the centuries-old dock and the ancient temples with old banyans around and street full of ancient local customs will be a memorable experience in your expedition. If you come here on the local festivals, the lovely local celebrations will amaze you a lot.
Opening Hours: 9:00 -- 16:30
Ticket Price: free
Location: 40 km (25 miles) away from the city center of Chengdu
Transportation:
Shuttle bus from New South Gate (xin nan men) Station will bring you here directly (10 CNY).
Emei Mountain
Consisting of four mountains with the peak of 3099 meters and covering 154 square km, E-mei Mountain is praised as the finest mountain under heaven for the rarely seen picturesque landscapes in the precipitous topography. With two rivers circling, E-mei possesses marvelous scenes--the long peaceful valley, the curtain-like rushing waterfalls, the flourishing trees and blooming flowers—together with which the Buddhist temples form a beautiful picture.
Highlights
Shuzheng Valley Tour Route
The distribution of the scenic spots in Jiuzhaigou is like the letter “Y”, in which the beneath branch is the Shuzheng Valley, while the right is the Rize Valley and the left is the Zechawa Vallay.
Rize Valley Tour Route
Zechawa Valley Tour Route
The distribution of the scenic spots in Jiuzhaigou is like the letter “Y”, in which the left branch is the Zachawa Vallay while the right is the Rize Valley and the beneath is the Shuzheng Valley.
Zharu Valley Tour Route
Zharu Valley is a valley that far away from pollution and with well-preserved Tibetan traditional culture, where you can enjoy the purely natural sceneries and experience the traditional customs. The white clouds overhead, the charming mountains, the running streams, the flourishing trees, the colorful wild fruits and blossoming flowers all are of the beauty of the original.
The Magic Mirror Cliff erects there, seen in the distance it is like a huge screen, while it is like a smooth mirror when seen closer. It is said that all the wishes people made in front of this magic mirror cliff can come true, which is a reflection of how the Tibetans hold their faith.
The 3 km long Zharu Horse Trail is the best place for picturesque sightseeing on the horse and the road where the local Tibetans should go through to worship on every 15 of the lunar month. Therefore, it is a lovely place where you can experience the real local customs. The Zharu Bridge, crossing on the Jade River and linking two huge mountains, is built in a typical Tibetan wooden bridge style.
Surrounded by towering old trees, the Zharu Monastery is like a pearl in the center of a green lake. Inside the monastery, the religious banners are waving in the winds and people come from far and near are praying. Facing the Magic Mirror Cliff, Zharu Monastery seems more gorgeous and wonderful.
Location: Jiuzhaigou County, Sichuan Province
Highlights
Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum
Be discovered as the World’s Eighth Wonder, the Terra-cotta Warriors built in the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC) is known for its large and splendid scale and the sophisticated art technology. It is the Terra-cotta Warriors that make the Xian City a popular resort where has appealed to an amazingly great number of visitors from home and overseas which is up to 40 millions in total.
Upon ascending the throne at the age of 13 (in 246 BC), Qin Shi Huang, later the first Emperor of all China, had work begun on his mausoleum. It took 11 years to finish. It is speculated that many buried treasures and sacrificial objects had accompanied the emperor in his after life. A group of peasants uncovered some pottery figures fragments while digging for a well nearby the royal tomb in 1974. It caught the attention of archeologists immediately. They came to Xi'an in droves to study and to extend the digs. They had established beyond doubt that these artifacts were associated with the Qin Dynasty.
The museum covers an area of 16,300 square meters, divided into three sections: No. 1 Pit, No. 2 Pit and No. 3 Pit respectively. They were tagged in the order of their discoveries.
No. 1 Pit is the largest, first opened to the public on China's National Day, 1979. There are columns of soldiers at the front; followed by war chariots at the back. It is 230 meters from east to west, 62 meters from south to north, and five meters deep. The pit houses 6,000 life-size painted terracotta warriors and horses. The warriors, arranged in battle formation, wear helmets and armor and carry weapons. They are dignified, and each has a different manner and facial expression.
No. 2 Pit, found in 1976, is 20 meters northeast of No. 1 Pit. It contained over a thousand warriors and 90 chariots of wood. It was unveiled to the public in 1994.
Archeologists came upon No. 3 Pit also in 1976, 25 meters northwest of No. 1 Pit. It looked like to be the command center of the armed forces. It went on display in 1989, with 68 warriors, a war chariot and 4 horses.
All together over 7,000 pottery soldiers, horses, chariots, and even weapons have been unearthed from these pits. Most of them have been restored to their former grandeur. The Terracotta Warriors and Horses is a sensational archeological find of all times. It was listed by UNESCO in 1987 as one of the world cultural heritages.
It is one of the most marvelous feats and the most valuable historic relics of China. When take a closer view of the Terra-cotta Warriors, you will be surprised by the lifelike expressions and customs they are in as well as the life-size-big warriors. Let alone the various gestures and different looks, the hairstyles of them will make you amazed. Owing to the exquisite handicrafts, all the warriors can be told apart from one position to another, officer or soldier, infantry or cavalry.
Opening Hours: 9:00 -- 18:00
Ticket Price:
110 CNY from March 1 to November 30
70 CNY in January, February and December
35 CNY for the disabled, the kids below 1.2 m, the aged over 70 years, the students and the soldiers
Location: Qinling Road, Lintong Zone, Xian City
Transportation: Tour bus and public bus 306 and 307 will bring you here.
Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor
Together with the pyramids in Egypt, the Mausoleum of First Emperor of Qin shares the reputation of the world’s largest imperial tomb. The differences between them are the former is built above ground, while the latter under ground. It is a more splendid but luxurious mausoleum than any other mausoleum before, which takes a time as long as 38 years to complete. On entering in it, you will be shocked by the amazingly magnificent vision and the unprecedented huge scale.
Lies peacefully in the cuddle of the steaming mountains and roaring Weishui River, this giant imperial tomb embraces a great number of valuable art works. To be exact, the mausoleum, with a double-wall as defense, covers 56.25 square kilometers, which is 78 times large as the Imperial Palace in Beijing. When take a closer view of the Terra-cotta Warriors, you will be surprised by the lifelike expressions and customs they are in as well as the life-size-big warriors. Let alone the various gestures and different looks, the hairstyles of them will make you amazed. Owing to the exquisite handicrafts, all the warriors can be told apart from one position to another, officer or soldier, infantry or cavalry.
While the Terracotta Warriors forms only part of the tomb. Greater things are yet to come.
Thanks to Ssu-ma Ch'ien, a great historian in early Han dynasty, archeologists can learn from his works about the great insight on the mausoleum’s construction, such as the coffin was cast in bronze and the underground Palace was gem-studded replica of imperial housing above ground. Moreover, booby traps with automatic-shooting arrows were installed to deter would-be tomb robbers. Heaven and earth were represented in the central chamber of the tomb. Ceiling shaped into sun, moon and stars by inlaying pearls and gems symbolizes the sky and the ground was an accumulation point of rivers, lakes and seas, like Yellow River and Yangtze River, which stands for the earth.
The discovery of the marvelous terracotta warriors has indeed thrown the whole world into shock, but what is worth to be studied is the materials unexcavated. Qin bricks and tiles, engraved with decorative patterns, are strew everywhere around the tomb. There are many satellite tombs built as accompanying decorations of Qin Shihuang. Ministers, princesses and princes, the famous and the not were inhumed there. The burial pits for horses, rare birds and pottery figures were regarded as the sacrificial objects to the Emperor. Hence, the remains from these tombs and pits are beneficial for archaeologists to make further research.
Finally, let see who is living inside this splendid mausoleum. Qin Shi Huangdi (259-210 BC), the first emperor of China, ascended the throne at the age of 13, when the construction of his tomb began. On completion of his many conquests, he ordered 720,000 conscript laborers to hurry up on building his royal tomb. It was finished just-in-time in 210 BC for his use.
Opening Hours: 8:00 -- 17:30
Ticket Price:
40 CNY from March 16 to November 14
20 CNY from November 15 to March 15
Location: Lintong County, Xian City
Transportation: Tour bus and public bus 306 and 307 will bring you here.
Huaqing Hot Springs
For centuries, the Huaqing Hot Spring (huaqingchi) has been enjoying the reputation as the most wonderful spring for it has appealed to the emperors of the ancient China with its amazing pureness and miraculous healing promotion effect on the rheumatism and arthritis. The Huaqing Hot Spring is known as the Orient Sacred Spring, which means it is as famous as the Thermae of Caracalla in Ancient Rome and the Bath Spring in Britian.
During the Western Zhou, Li Palace was originally established a resort here. Later the First Emperor Qin built a stone pool and gave the name "Lishan Hot Springs," and it was extended by the Han Wudi, Martial Emperor. However, the strongest associations are with the Tang Dynasty, and most of the present buildings have a Tang style.
Later in the ancient China, Emperor Taizong built the Hot Springs Palace and Emperor Xuanzong added a walled palace in 747 A.D. Unfortunately it was damaged during the An Lushan Rebellion in the middle Tang period. The present site was rebuilt on the site of the Qing Dynasty structure
There are picturesque sceneries around the spring. Behind the west gate, Nine-Dragon Pool, the Lotus Flower Pool and the Frost Drifting Hall of the Tang architectural style are waiting for you. Emperor Xuanzong used to spend winter in the company of Yang Guifei (Lady Yang) - his favorite concubine in the Hall of Fluttering Frost. The hall gains its name due to the slightly milky mist and vapor over the pool year around. In winter, the snowflakes soon thaw immediately in front of the Hall because of the lukewarm vapor rising out of the hot spring.
Here is a combination of a miraculous hot spring, the beautiful landscapes and the marvelous historic relics, where will feast your eyes in your leisure time.
Opening Hours: 8:00 -- 16:00
Ticket Price:
40 CNY from March 1 to November 31
70 CNY from December 1 to February 28
Half fare for the student, the soldier, the disabled and the aged over 70
Location: No. 38 Huaqing Road, Lintong Zone, Xian City, Shanxi Province
Transportation: Bus No. 306, 914 and 915 and tour bus No. 5 will bring you here.
Big Wild Goose Pagoda
Dayan Pagoda was built in the year of 652 with a purpose of storing the precious Buddhist scriptures, figures of Buddha and Buddhist relics brought from India by a celebrated monk Xuan Zhang, which later became the symbolic architecture of Xian, the ancient capital of China. For centuries, the 64.5-meter-tall pagoda has appealed to a great number of visitors, among which a large part is the celebrities who left behind their inscriptions that make the pagoda more charming and holy.
During the early days, the pagoda boasted a brick structure of 5 storeys and about 60 meters (197 feet) high. Between AD 701 and AD 704, at the end of the reign of Empress Wu Zetian, 2 more storeys were added to the original pagoda. Damage by the war reduced it to seven storeys, to what it is today. With a height of 64 meters (210 miles), the pagoda occupies a base 25 meters by 25 meters (82 feet) square. The Big Goose Pagoda is brick-tower architecture, simple but sturdy. Walls and doors are carved with vivid and exquisite figures of Buddha, reflecting the profundity in the paintings f the Tang Dynasty.
Why people name it Dayan Pagoda? In the ancient time, monks in China were permitted to have the meat of the wild geese, deer and calf. One day, when a monk in the Da Ci'en Temple saw a flock of geese flew in the sky, he was so eager for the geese that he talked to the other monk: “We have not had geese today, why does not the Buddha grant us some?” Then suddenly a goose dropped on the ground front of them died. The monks were all surprised and thought that was a holy hint given by the Buddha, which required them to stop eating the geese. A pagoda was built here and wins its present name.
Opening Hours: 9:00 -- 17:00
Ticket Price:
50 CNY for the entrance of the Da Ci'en Temple
30 CNY for the students to enter into the Temple
30 CNY for ascending to the top of Dayan Pagoda
Free for the disabled, the soldiers and the aged over 70 years
Location: South Yanta Road, Xian City
Transportation: Bus No. 5, 21, 23, 27, 30, 41, 224, 320, 401, 500, 501, 527, 601, 606, 609 and 715 will bring you here.
City Wall of Xi’an
This is a huge impregnable wall, which has experienced 600 years of history, now lying peacefully like a giant in the city center of Xian. With a tallness of 12 meters and thickness of 15 meters, this giant looks as strong as iron. You may come into the ancient town surrounded by a 11.9-kilometer-long wall from the distinct gates.
When Zhu Yuanzhang, the first Emperor of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), occupied the city of Huizhou, he took advice to fortify the city and unify the other states by turning the wall built initially during the old Tang dynasty (618 -907) into the present Xi'an City Wall.
Surprisingly, every 120 meters, there is a rampart extending out from the main wall, therefore totally 98 ramparts are set on the wall, which were built to defend against the enemy climbing up the wall. Besides, the distance between every two ramparts is just within the range of an arrow shot from either side, so that they could shoot the enemy, who wanted to attack the city, from the side. On the outer side of the city wall, there are 5948 crenellations, namely battlements. The soldiers can outlook and shoot at the enemy. On the inner side, parapets were built to protect the soldiers from falling off.
In the ancient China, the side who was able to occupy the city of the other won the battle. However, there was no efficient way to enter into the city that protected by the impregnable wall. Therefore, from the defensive side the feasible way is to keep the gate. This is why complicated gate structures were built within the wall. In Xian, there are four gates set along the giant wall, which respectively named as Changle (meaning eternal joy) in the east, Anding (harmony peace) in the west, Yongning (eternal peace) in the south and Anyuan (forever harmony) in the north. The south gate, Yongning, is the most beautifully decorated one.
Among all the greatest ancient city walls in China, it was the most well-preserved and intact one, from which you can learn a lot about how the wars were going in the ancient China and how and for what the cities were built.
Opening Hours: 9:00 -- 20:00
Ticket Price:
40 CNY
20 CNY for the kids between 1.1m and 1.4 m and the students
Location: in the city center of Xian
Transportation: 5, 18, 215, 603 and 611 will bring you here directly.
Shaanxi Provincial History Museum
Having been as the capital of 13 dynasties for centuries, Xian is full of the breath of history. Therefore, there are numerous precious historic relics spreading around this mysterious historic site, which accounts for the reason why the Shaanxi History Museum is thought highly as the Treasure House of China.
The museum was designed as the magnificent and elegant as the architectures in Tang Dynasty (618-907). It is also a combination of the ancient style and the modern flavor, where there are more than 3,700,000 historic items displayed, among which there are 3900 rarely seen Bronze Ware from Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC), 400 precious Mural from Tang Dynasty, 5000 invaluable potteries from prehistory period and many other amazingly marvelous historic relics.
The main complex is a mixture of ancient palaces and courtyard buildings, harmonious and graceful in hue, in simple and elegant style. The exhibits on the ground and first floors are arranged in roughly three parts: Basic Exhibition Hall, the Theme Exhibition Hall and East Exhibition Hall. As well as the chronological dynastic exhibits including the Han, Wei, Jin, North and South, Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, the pre-historical and bronze period exhibits, together with terra cotta figures and murals from tombs of the Tang Dynasty, are highly recommended.
Here you can have a close look at the amazingly cultural relics and remains from the dynasties of the Zhou, the Qin, the Han and the Tang, which is divided into the Preface Hall, the Shaanxi local history exhibition hall, and the central hall, where is the home to the temporary exhibitions from home and abroad. Can you image how great it is when surrounded by thousands of amazing items from such a far age?
Opening Hours: 8:30 -- 18:00 (except Monday)
Ticket Price: free
Location: East Xiaozhai Road, Yanta Zone, Xian City
Transportation: Bus No. 5, 19, 24, 26, 27, 30, 34, 401, 521, 527 and 610 and tour bus No. 701 and 710 will bring you here
Museum of Stone Steles Forest
Here is the largest museum with the most exhibitions of the stone tablets passed down from the ancient China. Since the completion of the construction in North Song Dynasty the year of 1087, this greatest treasure store has appealed to a great number of visitors for having a close look at the marvelous forest of stone tablets.
With 900 years of history, this treasure house holds a large collection of the earliest stone steles of different periods, from the Han Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. All together, there are 3,000 steles and the museum is divided into seven exhibitions halls, which mainly display the works of calligraphy, painting and historical records. All of these record some achievements in the development of the Chinese culture and reflect the historical facts of the cultural exchanges between China and other countries.
It is a good place to admire all the authentic work of calligraphy of the celebrities who were well known in the Chinese history, to read the Chinese grand classics inscribed on the stone, and to learning about the world’s history from the most convinced proofs of the history.
Opening Hours: 8:00 -- 18:00
Ticket Price: 45 CNY
22 CNY for the student, the soldier, the disabled and the aged over 70
Location: No. 15, Sanxue Street, Xian City
Transportation: Bus No. 14, 402, 512, 223, 208 and 704 and tour bus No. 5 will bring you here.
Great Mosque
The Great Mosque is a typical architecture of the Islamism, which was designed with the antique style of Ming Dynasty (1364-1644). As one of the four famous Islamic Mosques in China, it covers a large area of 12,000 m2, half of which is with architectures standing on. In this magnificent mosque, architectures of various designs will be a feast of your eyes.
Towers, pavilions, platforms and halls are well distributed around the mosque, all of which together with the exquisite stone carvings, the precious inscriptions and other rarely seen decorations in which are the essence part of the mosque. It is the reason why a great number of visitors have been attracted here and reluctant to leave.
The first courtyard contains an elaborate wooden arch nine meters high covered with glazed tiles that dates back to the 17th century. In the center of the second courtyard, a stone arch stands with two steles on both sides. On one stele is the script of a famous calligrapher named Mi Fu of the Song Dynasty; the other is from Dong Qichang, a calligrapher of the Ming Dynasty. Their calligraphy because of such elegant yet powerful characters is considered to be a great treasure in the art of handwriting.
At the entrance to the third courtyard is a hall that contains many steles from ancient times. As visitors enter this courtyard, they will see the Xingxin Tower, a place where Muslims come to attend prayer services. A “Phoenix" placed in the fourth courtyard, the principal pavilion of this great mosque complex, contains the Prayer Hall, the surrounding walls of which are covered with colored designs. This Hall can easily hold 1,000 people at a time and according to traditional custom, prayer services are held five times everyday respectively at dawn, noon, afternoon, dusk and night.
Opening Hours: 8:00 -- 19:00
Ticket Price: 12 CNY
Location: Huajue Lane, Lianhu Zone, Xian City
Transportation: Taxi and chartered bus will bring you here.
Highlights
The Bund
The Bund got its name from a desolate beach outside the old Shanghai City. If you have never been to the Bund, then you have never been to Shanghai. The Bund symbolizes Shanghai and Bund is an epitome of Shanghai's history.
The east side of the Bund is right next to the Huangpu River. To the west of the Bund, there are group of 52 buildings standing in various styles, Gothic, Baroque, Rome, Renaissance, Classic and the combination of Eastern and Western style. Although these buildings were completed at different time and were in different styles, the main elements of these buildings were fairly unified and the overall outline is well coordinated.
Walking on the Zhongshan East Road, you will experience a kind of vigorous, forceful and solemn momentum. Some say actually that the Bund is like "an exhibition of buildings".
If the building zone on the Bund were a gallery, the rest of the Bund would be a showroom. When the sun rises in the east, the Bund is a place where people do exercises. In daytime, this building complex, blended with the beautiful scenery of the Huangpu River and the Pudong area, this scenic spot is tourists' favorate. When evening comes, city lights coats the Bund with brilliant colors, which makes the Bund particularly beautiful. Old buildings by the river echo with the new scenic spots the Oriental Pearl TV Tower and the Jinmao mansion, that this spectacular scenery often amazes many tourists.
The No. 12 of the Bund is also No. 12 of the Zhongshan Road East. The former famous Huifeng Bank was located here. Constructed in 1923, this square-shaped five-storage building, come with a round roof, in the style of ancient Greek, and a hemisphere-shaped top. The steel-framed building were exquisitely decorated. The building were equipped with the specially decorated reception halls. The British builder took great pride in this marvelous building. They rated this structure as "from east of the Suez Canal to Baling Strait in the west, this is the most exquisite building".
Huangpu River
As the most important shipping artery of Shanghai, Huangpu River winds it way like an undulating muddy dragon from the mouth of the Yangtze River in Wusong to the East China Sea. It is 114 kilometers (71 miles) in length, 400 meters in width and 9 meters (30 feet) in depth. The yellow Huangpu River is ice-free. The cruise boat sails eastward along the river to the attractive "three-layer waters" at the Wusong Mouth, confluence of the three and half hours over a distance of 60lilometers, with beautiful view emerging one after another.
Huangpu River connects 29 kilometers (18 miles) north of downtown Shanghai and divides Shanghai into two parts, east and west. Cruising on the Huangpu River, You can appreciate the magnificent skyscrapers, the Monument Tower to the People's Heroes, the well-known Waibaidu Bridge and Huangpu Park on one bank, and the Orient Pearl TV Tower, International Convertion Center, Jin Mao Building and the newly rising Pudong New Area on the other.
Yu Yuan Garden
Jade Buddha Temple
Built between 1911 and 1918, situated in the city of Shanghai, Jade Buddha Temple is one of the famous Buddhist temples in the city. It belongs to the Chan sect, with a history of over one hundred years. There are also some impressive images of the Heavenly Kings in the temple. Everyday there are many people coming to worship and burn incense at this very holy and active shrine.
In 1882, Huigen, a monk, brought back two jade Buddha statues from Burma, and built an old temple to keep them. But the temple was destroyed during the revolutionary period of overthrowing the Qing Dynasty. Fortunately, the jade Buddha statues survived from the destruction. And later in 1928, a new temple was constructed on the present site, named the Jade Buddha Temple. Though it is with a short history, the Jade Buddha Temple is unique and inimitable in this modern city because of its old-time and classical architectural style. In the different halls of the temple distribute many other ancient paintings and Buddhist scriptures. 1.9 meters in height and carved out of a single piece of jade stone, the seated jade statue is one of the most precious relics in the Temple. It has the image of a solemn Buddha and is renowned as a gem of Buddhist art works.
Shanghai Museum
Jin Mao Building
The Oriental Pearl TV Tower
Children’s Palace
Highlights
Mountain Huangshan Scenic Spot
Four wonders of Mt. Huangshan
Four seasons in Mt. Huangshan
Scenic Areas of Yellow Mountain
The Scenic Spots Areas of Yellow Mountain are the reason why the Huangshan City is so popular with the visitors near and far. Yellow Mountain is praised as the most fantastic mountain in China for the Four Wonders it embraces, namely the odd-shaped pines, spectacular rocks, pleasant hot springs and varied seas of clouds.
In the past centuries, numerous celebrities have visitor and left behind their masterpieces made for praising those beautiful sceneries around.
Hot Spring Scenic Area
It is a thousand years old hot spring with an average temperature of 40℃ that has been enjoying a high reputation near and far, and never run dry during the most severe droughts nor over-flown in rainy season. It is hailed as scared spring for its therapeutic effects for metabolic disorder, cardiovascular disease, malfunctions of digestive and nervous systems.
With marvelous sceneries around, the hot spring scenic area will come to live when the tourism season falls. The most amazing one is the waterfalls rushing down from the 50 meters high cliff, which, because of being split into two branches, looks from a distance like a Chinese character “人”.
Jade Screen Scenic Area
The sceneries around the Jade Screen Pavilion include the three picturesque Islands, the steep Aerial-ladder-like Stone Stairs and the mysterious Big Turtle Cave. On the peak of the mountains, bizarre pines and lifelike Buddha statues make this area more attractive.
With the height of 1,864 meters, the Lotus Mountain, the peak of the Mountain Huang, has appealed to numerous celebrities, like Chairman Mao, General Zhu De and General Liu Bocheng.
Beihai Scenic Area (North Sea Scenic Area)
Splendid mountains make up this special scenic spot, where will provide you different angles for those fantastic landscapes around Mountain Huang. Among those steaming mountains, the odd-shaped pines, spectacular rocks and varied seas of clouds will catch your eyes, therefore here is praised as the window of the Mountain Huang.
There is a platform at the top of Lion Mountain named Qingliangtai where is the best place for you to enjoy the sunrise and the seas of the clouds.
White Cloud Scenic Area (Baiyun Scenic Area)
A fantastic landscape of odd-shaped pines, bizarre rocks, roaring waterfalls and chirping steams is really a sumptuous feast of eyes.
The West Sea, long known as the Mystery Valley for the many clusters of peaks and the fathomless depth of the valley has been opened up as the White Cloud Stream Scenic Area. As the highest falls in the Yellow Mountains, Qianxun waterfall has a drop of 140 meters, and is ice-free all the year round. The falls thunder can be heard at Swan Rock near the brook and one can also have a near look on the Immortal Walking on Stilts.
Songgu Scenic Area (Pine Valley Scenic Area)
After the completion of the mission of climbing up the stone stairs over 6,500 steps leading to the peak of the Furong Mountain, beautiful landscapes made up by steaming forests, flying waterfalls, chirping steams, peaceful ponds, mysterious temple and exotic plants are waiting for you.
Here peaks are green and water is clear around the year. Beautiful scenic attractions include Old Dragon Pool (Laolong Tan), Green Dragon Pool (Qinglong Tan), Black Dragon Pool (Wulong Tan), White Dragon Pool (Bailong Tan) and Emerald Pond.
Yungu Scenic Area (Cloud Valley Scenic Area)
Situated between Arhat Peak and Incense Burner Peak, the 890 meters high Cloud Valley Temple is half way between the North Sea and the Hot Spring along the mountain as well as the departure station of the cable car route to the North Sea. This area does not lose out to other scenic areas for beauty. The major sights of this area are the Cloud Valley Villa, oddly shaped rocks, old trees and the Nine-Dragon Waterfall and the Baizhang Spring.
Descending the mountain path to the left of the Cloud Valley Temple and going through the bamboo grove, tourists can watch the Nine Dragon Falls four kilometers away. The Nine-Dragon Waterfall plunges all of 300 meters from the cliff top between the Incense Burner Peak and the Arhat Peak. The waterfall has nine leaps, each leap forms a waterfall and each fall feeds a pool.
Opening Hours: the whole day
Ticket Price:
230 CNY from March 1 to November 31
150 CNY from December 1 to February 28
Half fare for the student, soldiers, teachers, retired and the people over 60 years
Location: Nanshan City, Anhui Province
Transportation: Tour bus available every 15 minutes from Tourism Transportation Center in Tangkou Town, Huangshan City will bring you here (13 CNY)
Guide to the Cableways
Looking down from the cableway, you will see some different and amazing landscapes.
Cloud Valley Cableway (Cableway 1)
Cloud Valley Cableway with a length of 2,666 meters has been put into operation since the year 2007. It is supported by the world’s most sophisticated to ensure the safety and comfortableness. With a high difference of 775 meters, this cableway can provide you a different but splendid view of many landscapes with a bird’s view. A speed of 6 meters each second makes it takes only 8 minutes to get to the peak.
Opening Hours:
At weekend: 6:30 -- 16:30
Monday to Friday: 7:00 -- 16:30
Ticket Price:
80 CNY
Free for the kids below 1.2 m
Half Fare for the kids between 1.2 and 1.4
Taiping Cableway (Cableway 2)
Spanning 3,709 meters, Taiping cableway is the longest cableway in Asia. With a high difference of 1,014.5 meter, it can provide you an amazing bird’s view of such fantastic sceneries as Songgu Temple, Jade Pond and Moya Inscription, which seems like a 3D picture.
Opening Hours:
At weekend: 6:30 -- 16:30
Monday to Friday: 7:00 -- 16:30
Ticket Price:
65 CNY
80 CNY on Chinese public holidays
Free for the kids below 1.1 meter tall
Half fare for the kids between 1.1 and 1.3 m
Jade Screen Cableway (Cableway 3)
Spanning 2,176 meters, Jade Screen cableway with a high difference of 1,014.5 meters can take you go through the seas of clouds, provide you an amazing bird’s view of such fantastic sceneries as white-ribbon-like streams and take you to the wonderful and magical landscapes.
Opening Hours:
At weekend: 6:30 -- 16:30
Monday to Friday: 7:00 -- 16:30
Ticket Price:
65 CNY
80 CNY on Chinese public holidays
Free for the kids below 1.1 meter tall
Half fare for the kids between 1.1 and 1.3 m
Wildlife in Yellow Mountain
Deep inside this flourishing and peaceful mountain, wildlife of various kinds have been leading a harmonious life, making the mountain full of vigor. Owing to the mild climate, wildlife here enjoys a pleasant living environment.
Plants
Huang Mountain is a mini eco-system with wild plants and animals of various kinds living a harmonious life here. According to the Directories of Plants in Huangshan, Huangshan scenic spots have about 1446 species of protophyte in 155 orders, 193 species of hemerophyte in 51 orders. The protophyte include 187 species of bryophyte in 114 genera and 127 species of pteridophyte in 57 genera. These rare and ancient plants are of great viewing value and of scientific research significance. They can serve as important materials and experiment sites for probing into origins and history.
Various plants of different colors will address the Huang Mountain in different covers, making here a wonderful resort all year round.
Animals
The flourishing forests and the pleasant weather are the ideal environment for the precious wild animals of more than 300 species. Among them, there are 176 kinds of birds in 17 orders and 40 families, 48 kinds of reptiles, 21 kinds of amphibious animals, 24 kinds of fishes and 54 kinds of beasts. You will feel like walking into a paradise of animals here.
When the dawn comes, Mountain Huang will come to live with chirping birds’ seeking for foods, lovely monkeys jumping around, deer dancing, shy animals doing the hide-and-seek and other animals taking the morning walk.
Mt. Jiuhua
Jiuhua Mount together with Wutai Mount in Shanxi Province, Putuo Mount in Zhejiang Province and E-mei Mountain in Sichuan Province is member of the mountains that are known for the Buddhist culture. Deep inside the steaming mountains, 78 old temples are lying peacefully beneath towering trees with smokes curling up above the roofs.
Jiuhua Mountain consists of nine peaks, of which make a circle just like a lotus. Precious animals like giant salamander and rarely seen plants like Zamioculcas zamiifolia are one of the treasures here. Clear streams originating from Jiuhua Mountain are running down to different directions, forming a pleasant scene around. The curtain-like waterfalls are flying down from the cliffs, providing another kind of splendid landscape for you.
Throughout the ages, such celebrities as poets, painters and calligraphers have been attracted by the marvelous sceneries. Libai (701-762), a famous poet in Tang Dynasty, once came to visit the mountain. The verse slipped out when he was intoxicated with the scene of lotus blooms-like peaks of Mt. Jiuhua, 'From the azure skies above descends a jade-like flow, and nine fascinating lotuses rise out of the hills below'. Later, poet Liu Yuxi (772-784) in Tang Dynasty, litterateur Wang Anshi (1021-1086) in North Song Dynasty and many other scholars, politicians and monks also made the journey to the mountain.
The picturesque natural landscapes together with the wonderful human landscapes won a name as the Most Wonderful Mountain in Southeastern China for Jiuhua Mountain. Sunrise, sunset, seas of clouds, soft rime and Buddha’s Light are too beautiful to forget.
Opening Hours: the whole day
Ticket Price:
95 CNY for the kids
190 CNY for the adults
Location: Chizhou City, Anhui Province
Transportation: Public Bus No. 7 will bring you here
Tunxi Ancient Street
For people who love Chinese paintings, the famous painting, Riverside Scene on the Pure Brightness Festival, must be a way to learn about the Chinese art, because it describes the most prosperous scene of the ancient China. While, Tunxi ancient town is praised as the real scene of that painting. From which, can you tell how wonderful this ancient town is?
It is the best-preserved commercial street with the styles of Song, Ming and Qing Dynasty. The architectures around the old town are not too large but exquisite in designs. The white walls and blue Chinese-style tiles of the orderly located buildings are giving out a strong breath of elegance and antique. The Hui-style gates with delicate wooden carving on can be one of the symbols.
Built in Song dynasty, about 700 years ago, Tunxi Ancient Street, became a distribution center for goods and materials to Huizhou during Ming and Qing dynasties. With shops, it looks densely and compactly. The shops, workshops and residences form an organic whole, keeping the characteristic and operation layout of ancient store. They are simple and elegant, magnificent and clean. The lane along the old town is paved with red flagstones. With clear grain after a rain, it is as clean as a picture. Whether you are wandering along the old bridge, visiting the fish beside the river, finding shoots of bamboo on the slope, or standing under a tree and listening to the birds whistle, it is easy to rest and attain mental tranquility by getting back to the nature.
With the mountain in the north and the clear stream in the south, this ancient town possesses an advantaged location, making itself a wonderful place throughout the ages. It should be a good choice to come here for the exploration of the Chinese Ancient culture and customs.
Opening Hours: the whole day
Ticket Price: free
Location: Tunxi Zone, Huangshan City, Anhui Province
Transportation: Bus No. 1 and 12 from Huangshan City will bring you here
Highlights
West Lake
The Spring Dawn Round the Su Causeway
The Spring Dawn Round the Su Causeway locates West Lake District Nanshan Road, tops the list of the ten best known sights in Hangzhou. The causeway was built during the Northern Song Dynasty by Su Dongpo, a great scholar in ancient time. Stretching around 2.8 kilometers long, it is spanned by six bridges and heavily sheltered by green vegetation. When spring comes, the whole causeway is blanketed by peach blossoms and weeping willows, creating an especially charming scene.
Breeze-ruffled Lotus at Quyuan Garden
In Southern Song Dynasty, Quyuan Courtyard was an official vinery which located on the bank of the West Lake beside the Hongcun Bridge on the Linyin Road where many lotuses were planted. In summer breezes, the air was scented with delicate fragrance of lotus intermingled with the tasteful bouquet of wine. However, the courtyard was very much neglected and the nearby lake silted up. Started from 1983, an extension project has been under way to develop it to a huge park. Currently, the park includes five sections: Yue Lake, Bamboo Garden, Lotus Garden, Winding Garden and Lakeside Forest. Therefore it is very popular attractions for the tourists.
Orioles Singing in Ripples of Willows
The park is a wonderful leisure place with the green willow leaves and orioles warbling, locates on the Nianshan Road of West Lake District. In the spring, the vernal breezes stroke the willows, their branches sway gently, bending over to kiss the rippling water. Walk in the garden, the orioles singing, the willows dancing, it is very wonderful. Now the park is combined by three gardens: Orioles Singing Garden, Friendship Garden and Collected Scenery Garden.
The eastern south of the Garden is served as a traditional public entertainment site. An open stage is built there. In the Summer and Autumn, the garden is served as an "evening garden". The lanterns exhibition, the traditional folk performance and cinema attract a lot of visitors every night.
Leifeng Pagoda in Evening Glow
Leifeng Pagoda, on the Evening Glow Hill situated on the south shore of the West Lake, was erected in celebration of the son his favorite concubine, Huang Fei, gave birth to. The 7 storied pagoda was a storied – pavilion –type structure, built of brick and wood. When the sun was setting, the pagoda bathed in the evening glow looked radiantly beautiful. It was therefore named as "Leifeng Pagoda in Evening Glow". In Ming Dynasty, the pagoda was fired by the Japanese bandits and collapsed at last on September, 25 1924 by the custom of local people to take a brick from its lower stories as a talisman or souvenir.
Malting Snow at Broken Bridge
It snows almost every winter in Hangzhou, when the sun comes out after snowfall, the snow on the sunny side of the bridge melts first, while the snow on the shady side still lingers. Looked at a distance or from a nearby hill, the bridge appears to be broken. It is a favorite stopover for you. Especially on fine winter days after a snow, you may stand on the bridge to feast your eyes on the snow scene far and near. Distant hills, clad in white, grow more enchanting.
Evening Bell Ringing at Nanping Hill
It has long history. In the Northern Song Dynasty, a distinguished artist, Zhang Zeduan, did a painting entitled "Evening Bell Ringing at Nanping Hill". Nanpin Hill lies along the south bank of the West Lake, less than 100 meters high, but extends as long as over 1000 meters. It features the odd-shaped rocks and the green woods. Nanpin Hill offers different views due to the different weather.
In 972 A.D. a famous temple, named as "Xingjiao Temple" was built on the Nanpin Hill. After that, a few more small temples were built around it. Therefore, Nanpin Hill was locally called as "Buddhism Kingdom Hill". Formed of limestone, the Nanping Hill contains lots of caves and cavities. The shape of the hill is just like a painted screen. Therefore, when the bell was rung in the evening, its sonorous sound echoed through the caves and cavities, even reached as far as the other shore of the West Lake. And then the Ge Hill locating there sent back a big echo over the lake.
Viewing Fish in the Flowering Harbor
This spot is located at the southern end of the Su Causeway. A clean stream leads from Huajia Hill to the West Lake through here, so it named as 'Flowery Harbor'. Viewing Fish at Flowery Harbor, now has been made into a 22 hectares park with many varieties of trees and flowers, featuring a peony garden which blooms in April and a goldfish pond which is the famous site for viewing fish.
Highlights
Great Wall
It is without doubt that the Great Wall is the greatest of civil engineering project of defense in ancient China. With its gigantic scale and difficulties in its construction, it is regarded as one of the great wonders in the history of mankind. The Great Wall is really the glory of the Chinese nation, which symbolizes the ancient culture and the long-standing history of China. Stretching over the mountain ranges, it proudly shows its magnificence to us. So to speak, the Great Wall has witnessed the rises and falls of innumerable dynasties and changes on the earth. At present, though the Great Wall is no longer served as a work of military defense against harassment and invasion. It still plays an important role in linking the Chinese people with the people of the rest of the world. It is one of the great bridges that build up friendship between different peoples.
The Great Wall is starting from the Old Dragon Head of the Shanhai Pass at the seaside in the east to a distance of 10,000 li (1 kilometer= 2 lis) in the west. Snaking along the north of China, it crosses three provinces, two municipalities and two autonomous regions. It is about 6,300 kilometers long, an equivalent of about 3,915 miles.
The present-day Great Wall originated from the early ancient Chinese history. During the time of Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.), in the purpose of defending themselves and against the infringement from the neighboring states, all the principal states had the walls built in the bordering areas of the territories. For example, the three states of Qin, Zhao and Yan had high walls and fortresses built along their northern frontiers to ward off the harassment by the Huns (an ancient nomadic tribe in China) from the north. In 221 B.C., the whole China was unified by the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty to defeat the six other ducal states. The emperor gave order to link up all the walls built by the former ducal states along the northern frontiers to prevent disturbing and attacking by the Huns. And these walls form the world famous “10,000-li Great Wall”. From generation to generation, the succeeding dynasties kept on the work of maintenance and repairs or having parts reconstructed time and again. Among them, the greatest project on scale in the old days of China was carried out in the Han and Ming dynasties.
Throughout history, the Great Wall is served as the traditional defensive project. It is mainly composed by passes, walls, watchtowers and beacon towers. Builders were forced to rely upon local materials for the wall inched across the Chinese wilderness. For example, some wall was built with tamped-earth, some with stone, some with tamped mixture of reed, red willow, and sands, and some with bricks outside and stuffed earth and sands inside. The walls we see today are mainly Ming walls, primary made of stone and bricks. The key parts of the military construction are Watchtowers. They are very close to each other, among which brick towers could be two or three storeys. There is a small room on the top of the tower, surrounded by battlements. The watchtower was also used to station soldiers or store food and weapons. Thousands of passes stretch along the Great Wall. Some are between the mountains, some between the mountains and rivers, and some between the mountains and sea. During the wars, passes are the strongholds by acting as the gateways of transportation. Beacon towers are used for communicating, which can deliver the emergent military messages in a very short time.
Just like the symbol of China—dragon, the Great Wall snakes from east to west on the Oriental. Nowadays, five sections of the Great Wall are opened to public in Beijing, including Badaling section, Juyong Pass section, Mutianyu section, Jinshanling section and Simatai section.
Badaling Section
Badaling section is the outstanding part of the Great Wall. Lying in the Yanqing District, sixty kilometers northwest of Beijing, it gives vital protection for the Juyong Pass, which is one of the key passes of the Great Wall. According to its strategic importance of commanding, Badaling section is known as "giving access to every direction", which gains it the name Badaling.
Badaling was built in an early time in the ancient Chinese history. During Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period, defensive wall was constructed along the Yanshan Range to resist the marauding of the nomadic tribes. Since then the following dynasties continued to fortify the Badaling section. The wall we see today was constructed in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.) along the ridges of mountains. The construction lasted about a hundred years long from 1505, the 18th year of Emperor Hongzhi, to the reign of Emperor Wanli.
The huge Badaling wall was strongly and firmly built. It was based on the foundation of granite slabs, surrounded by a facing of kiln-fired bricks, and covered with bricks on the top. All stuffed with pulverized lime, the slots could enable the wall to be smooth. The height of the wall is 8.5 meters. It is 6.5 meters wide at the bottom and 5.7 meters wide on the top, making it possible for 5 horses or 10 people march abreast on the top. Watchtowers are 0.5 or 1 kilometer apart from each other, which were full of vigor and grandeur, and orderly spotted the wall. The battlements and embrasures of the watchtower were in good condition in wartime. The wall winds its way along the ridge of the Jundu Mountain, rising abruptly to the peaks of each side of the Badaling. You will be amazed by its seemingly endlessness. It stretches far away into the remoteness. The wall of Badaling is 3, 741 meters long.
Among all the parts of the whole Great Wall, Badaling was the earliest section to be open to the tourists. Badaling has received 130 million tourists home and abroad. Among them, there are 370 foreign leaders and very important persons who have come to climb Badaling successively.
Mutianyu Section
Mutianyu section is 75 kilometers northeast of Beijing. Lies in Huairou District, it links Juyong Pass in the west with Gubeikou Pass in the east. Mutianyu section is called as the Majestic Pass on Precipitous Mountains, commanding its strategic importance.
Because of its relatively gentle terrain, watchtowers of Mutianyu section were built in large numbers to strengthen its defensive functions. The closest watchtowers are less than 50 meters apart from each other. Both arms of the Mutianyu section stretch upwards along the ridges of continuous mountains. On the foundation of the Ming Dynasty wall The Mutianyu section was mainly built on precipitous mountains and 5-7 meters high. It is featured with a thick cluster of watchtowers atop, strategic passed, majestic vigor and unique structure. In this section, the gate tower is the most unique building.
Simatai Section
Simatai Section lies in the Miyun County, 120 kilometers away from Beijing. It started from Wangjing Tower in the east and connected with Jinshanling section in the west. Without hordes of other tourists, it is a largely unrestored and more authentic section of the Great Wall.
Simatai section was constructed during the early years of Ming Emperor Hongwu. It is said that there was a renovation applying from 1569 to 1573. It was mainly built along the ridge of the mountains because of its location in the mountainous area. Featuring in uniqueness, ruggedness and trimness, it perfectly coordinates with the undulating terrain, which makes it more majestic and magnificent. Simatai reservoir is situated at the foot of the central part of the Simatai section, which is 600-700 meters long with the storage capacity of 50,000 cubic meters.
Simatai section is considered to be the most wonderful part of the Great Wall. Taking good advantage of the fluctuating terrain, the walls and watchtowers constitute the most essential part of the wall. It is famous for its precipitous cliffs, magnificent towers, suspension walls and rugged stairways. If you are looking from distance, you may find that the Great Wall is just like a flying dragon in the cloud. However, when you stand nearby, the wall stretches its arms along the ridges of mountains. All these make it the most amazing part of the Great Wall.
Jinshanling Section
The Jinshanling Great Wall was initially built from 1368 to 1389 in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and in 1567 and 1570 rebuilding of the Wall was mainly directed by General Qi Jiguang (1528-1588). Poems and tablet writings can be found on the Jinshanling Great Wall left from the time when Qi Jiguang directed the rebuilding of this section of the Great Wall. Continue to read more on the Great Wall history. Jinshanling is connected to the Simatai Great Wall in the east and the Panlongshan Great Wall in the west. Jinshanling has probably the highest frequency of towers per kilometer of any place along the Ming Dynasty Great Wall. It also has one of the greatest varieties of architectural and defensive styles of both wall and towers.
The total length of this section is about 11 kilometers (6.8 miles). The Wall is about 7 meters high and 5 meters wide, and is made of brick and stone. The Jinshanling Great Wall has an elevation of 700 meters. There are more than 100 watch towers along the Jinshanling Great Wall. ‘Watching Beijing Tower’ is on the highest point, from which you can see Beijing. The Jinshanling Great Wall is second only to the Badaling Great Wall in its completeness.
Tian’anmen Square
Tian’anmen(Gate of Heavenly Peace), situated at the center of Beijing meaning in English, symbolizes the People's Republic of China. Built in 1417, it was formally called Chengtianmen (Gate of Heavenly Succession). At that time, it was the front gate of the Imperial City. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, the uprising farmers led by Li Zicheng entered the city, but later when the Qing army marched upon Beijing, the Chengtianmen was destroyed under the crossfire. In 1651, it was rebuilt and named "Tian'anmen".
The Tian'anmen Rostrum, as a place to hold ceremonies of great importance, such as promulgating an imperial edict conferring the title of a queen, or announcing a newly enthroned emperor, was made known to the public all over the country. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was popular to hold the Imperial Exam system for choosing high-ranking officials by way of a palace examination, which supervised by the emperor himself. If the examinees ranked the first three, they would be entitled. What’s more, they would have the honor to be granted an audience by the emperor two days after the examination. On that day they would be called in to see the emperor in turn in the Tian'anmen Rostrum.
There is a square running 880 meters from south to north and 500 meters from east to west in front of the Tian'anmen Rostrum. It is the Tian'anmen Square – the very center of Beijing. Tian'anmen Square is the largest city square in the world with an area of 44 hectares.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Tian'anmen Square was a piece of land in front of the Imperial Palace, an open space jetting out towards the south from the Tian'anmen Gate. It had a meaning of embodying the outstanding importance of the Tian'anmen Gate and the Imperial City. In the early days of the Ming Dynasty, a gate of brick and stone was built, which is right on the site of the present Memorial Hall of Chairman Mao Zedong, called Damingmen (Gate of the Great Ming). In the Qing Dynasty it was renamed as Daqingmen (Gate of Great Qing) and after 1911 Zhonghuamen (Gate of China). Later on, another two gates of brick and stone structure were built on each site of the avenue in front the gate. Surrounded by a newly built red wall, the area within the three gates formed a small square of only 11 hectares-- Tian'anmen Square.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, common people were forbidden to enter the Tian'anmen Square. And for the officials, when they entered the gate, they had to get off horses and proceed on foot into the palace. The government offices were lined outside the wall on the east and west. According to the traditional system, the civil service organizations were set in the eastern part of the square, and the military organizations in the west.
Old buildings in the Tian'anmen Square were put down after the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1911. In 1957, the square expanded with an area of 44 hectares, which may hold 1 million people at a time. With Chairman Mao's Memorial Hall right behind, the Monument to the People's Heroes towered in the center of the square. To the east of the Square, there is the National Museum of China and to the west the Great Hall of People (National People's Congress building).
The Monument to the People's Heroes is the largest monument in China's history which was built in 1952. On this monument, you can see the words--"The People's Heroes are Immortal", which were written by Chairman Mao. The development of Chinese modern history and those who contributed their lives to the democratic progress are shown by the eight unusually large relief sculptures. The monument is enclosed by two rows of white marble railings. It seems very simple and beautiful.
At the south side of the Square is the Memorial Hall of Chairman Mao Zedong. This Hall is consisted by three halls, among which our dear Chairman Mao's body lies in a crystal coffin in the halls surrounded by fresh bouquets of various famous flowers and grasses.
The Great Hall of the People is in the west of the Square. Constructed in 1959, this building is the site of the China National People's Congress meetings, which also provides an impressive site for other political and diplomatic activities. With twelve marble posts, the Hall includes three parts--the Central Hall, the Great Auditorium and a Banqueting Hall. The ceiling of the Central Hall is decorated with crystal lamps and the floor paved with marble. The Great Auditorium behind the Central Hall can hold 10,000 people, while the huge Banqueting Hall can seat 5,000.
At the east side of the Square stands the China National Museum, which is another important place for you to visit. Built in 2003, it is a mergence of China History Museum and China Revolutionary Museum. This National Museum is on the opposite of the Great Hall of the People. In the China Revolutionary Museum, there are a lot of material objects, pictures, books and models, presenting the development of modern China. A large number of cultural relics are exhibited in the China History Museum, illustrating the long history and glorious culture of China from 1,700,000 years ago to 1925 when the last emperor left the throne.
Forbidden City
The Palace Museum, the imperial palace in the Ming and Qing dynasties, is the largest and best-preserved palace complex in the world today. It is also called the Purple Forbidden City in Chinese. Its name, on one side, derives from ancient Chinese astronomers' belief that God's abode or the Purple Palace. The pivot of the celestial world, is situated in the Pole Star (the middle of the Ziwei Star), at the center of the heaven. Therefore, the son of God of Heaven--the emperor, should live in the Purple City. On the other side, without special orders of the emperor eunuchs and guards, ordinary citizens were not allowed entering the Forbidden City, except for palace maids. For this reason, palaces in the Ming and Qing dynasties are called both the Forbidden City and the Purple City.
The Construction of the magnificent palace started in 1406, and ended in 1420. It took 14 years to complete the project. One year after completion, Emperor Yongle moved his capital from Nanjing to Beijing. Since then, 24 emperors have lived at the Forbidden City, 14 during the Ming Dynasty and 10 during the Qing Dynasty.
The Forbidden City covers an area of over 720,000 square meters, 750 meters wide and 960 meters long. And it has four great gates. The fabulous city, which is surrounded by a 52-meter-wide moat, has four delicate and lovely turrets overlooking both the inside and outside.
The Forbidden City has more than 8,700 wooden rooms, most of which have yellow-glazed tiles. It is a color that only emperors were allowed to use on their roof. From the northern Drum Tower and the Bell Tower to the Southern Gate of Everlasting Stability (Yongdingmen), these colorfully painted and embellished rooms are divided symmetrically into northern and southern halves. If you walk into the city, you will see the layers of halls and palaces spreading out on either side of a central axis. As the designations of the wise architectures, the splendid buildings represent the unique features of the traditional Chinese architecture and embody the incredible creativity of the ancient Chinese people. Reconstructed after being destroyed by several fires, this pearl of Chinese cultural heritage still retains its original arrangements of the Ming dynasty. Nowadays, most of the existing buildings open to visitors were reconstructed during the early Qing Dynasty.
In many ways the Forbidden City reveals ancient Confucian ideas, as it is generally designed to the principles of the Front court, Rear Market, Ancestral Sacrifice on the left and Altar on the right. Hence, the court was located in the southern or front section of the Forbidden City, where officials discussed political affairs. A large trading market was situated in the rear part of the city, providing daily necessities for the court. On the left side was the Imperial Ancestral Temple, where the emperor offered sacrifices to his ancestors. Nowadays, it is the Working People's Cultural Palace. On the right side was the Altar to the god of Land and Grain, where the emperor displayed his reverence to the god. This is now Zhongshan Park.
There are two courts in the Forbidden City: the Inner Court and the Outer Court. They are separated across the middle between the south and north ends. The Outer court is mainly composed by the Meridian Gate and the Three Front Halls, flanked by the Hall of Literary Glory (Wenhuadian) and the Hall of Martial Spirit (Wuyingdian), which witnessed various ceremonies and political activities during the Ming and Qing dynasties. While the inner court is mainly consisted by the Three Back Halls, Imperial Garden, Hall of Mental Cultivation and Palace of Abstinence, which are flanked by the Six East Halls and the Six West Halls. This was the place where the emperor was confronted with political affairs and was the residential area for the emperor and his empresses and concubines.
Compared with other contemporary palaces, the Forbidden City stressed more on balance and independence, and embodied more cultural perspectives of the specific ethnic group. Just as what was written in the book of History of Chinese Science by Joseph Needham, each part of the Forbidden City is in well balance and independence, which is just on the contrary to other palaces in the Renaissance Age. For the city, the Palace of Versailles is just acting as an object. The palace is an organic part of the whole city, combining deep deference to nature with lofty significance. As a tin far-reaching and complicated Chinese architecture, Great overall arrangements have reached the highest level, far above any other culture.
After the subversion of the Qing Dynasty by the Revolution of 1911, the last emperor Pu Yi was exiled to palaces at the rear of the Forbidden City. In 1914, the Three Great Halls in the Imperial Palace was opened as exhibition hall of antiquities. Ten years later, Feng Yuxiang staged a coup in Beijing and expelled the last emperor from the palace. Oct. 10, 1925 established The Palace Museum. And in 1961, the Forbidden City was listed as a place to be given special protection by the State Council. UNESCO listed it as World Cultural Heritage site in 1987.
The Forbidden City, as one of the world-famous royal palaces, has played an important role in the world architectural history. Many tourists both from home and abroad have been attracted by the almost 1 million rare treasures and cultural relics on exhibition there.
Summer Palace
Covering an area of 290 hectares in total, the Summer Palace spreads out some 15 kilometers away from the city center in the north western suburbs of Beijing. Three fourths of the palace is covered by a pool of water and the rest the land and hills.
The Summer Palace is the summer resort of the Qing royal family. Now it is the most intact, the best-preserved and the largest of its kind of the classical gardens in the country. Since the garden began to be built in 1153, it had undergone many a time reconstruction and renovation in the Yuan and Ming dynasties. In the period of Emperor Qianlong’s reign of the Qing Dynasty, it was still reconstructed in a large-scale. And this time was renamed the "Garden of Crystal Ripples". When it was completed in 1860, it suffered a severe destruction, led by the Anglo-French Allied Army, which brought it down to ashes. In 1886, Empress Dowager Cixi embezzled the funds allocated for the building of the navy to rebuild it and renamed it the "Summer Palace". However, in 1900, it underwent destruction again by the Eight Powers Allied Forces. Later, the1903 saw its second-time rebuild.
On the 12th of October 1911, Empress Dowager Longyu was finally forced to promulgate the abdication of the royal power. However, according to the agreement between the Qing royal family and the republic government, the Summer Palace would still be kept in the hands of the Qing royal family, while yet to be opened to outside as private property by selling admission tickets. 1924 when Puyi was ousted, the Summer Palace was taken over by the republic government and changed to be a public park.
The Qing royal family stayed in the Forbidden City in spring, autumn and winter. And when it came to summer, they went to their summer resort –Summer Palace. Hence, the Summer Palace shares the same functional quarters as that in the Forbidden City. Among these quarters, the office quarter, the living quarter and the entertainment quarter formed the magnificent scenery in Summer Palace.
Through the East Palace Gate, there is the Hall of the Benevolence and Longevity. The emperor used to handle state affairs and listen to reports by ministers and receive foreign envoys in there. It was called the Hallo of Diligent Administration by Emperor Qianlong during his reign. In 1860, it was burnt down by the Anglo-French Army. Reconstructed In 1890, it was then renamed the "Hall of the Benevolence and Longevity". During the reigns of Emperors Tongzhi and Guangxu, Empress Dowager Cixi got the real power to rule the country, and she started to handle state affairs behind the screen.
The Hall of Jade Ripples and the Hall of Happiness and Longevity are the three parts of the living quarter. Guangxu used to live in the Hall of Jade Ripples Emperor in the Summer Palace. After his failure of the Reform Movement of 1898, Emperor Guangxu was put into house arrest here. Thus, it is also regarded as an exquisitely decorated jail.
Consisting of four rooms, the Hall of Happiness and Longevity used to be the residence for Empress Dowager Cixi. The Empress moves to the Summer Palace and stays there in the hall every year on the first day of the fourth month in the lunar calendar. And she won't return until the tenth of the tenth lunar month when she had celebrated her birthday there. In the Summer Palace, there are over 1,000 people dancing attendance on the Dowager. Among them, there are 48 in the Hall of Happiness and Longevity, of whom 20 are maids-in-waiting, 20 eunuchs of importance and another 8 are the "ladies-in-waiting" by her side, normally waiting in the room behind the precious throne to attend on her.
The Long Corridor, the starting point of entertainment quarter, is at the end of the courtyard of the Hall of Happiness and Longevity. It is 728 meters long with more than 14,000 traditional Chinese paintings on the beams and rafters. The four pavilions along the corridor represent the four seasons a year. The Marble Boat can be found at the end of the Long Corridor. The original Chinese style of it was burnt down by the Anglo-French Army in 1860. In 1893, it was rebuilt into one of a western style, imitating a steam ship with two water-wheelers. In 1903 Empress Dowager Cixi built another storey of wooden structure with the decoration of colored pieces of glass. The construction of this immovable boat was to symbolize the stable and consolidated rule of the Qing regime just like a large piece of rock. It would stand still forever in the vast ocean and would, under no circumstances whatsoever be wavered or toppled.
Occupying three fourths of the total area of the Summer Palace, Kunming Lake plays important role in the adjustment of the temperature in the garden. Taking a walk in the Long Corridor and a dragon boat on the lake, you will have a wonderful feeling that you were the emperor and empress in ancient China.
Temple of Heaven
The Temple of Heaven stands in the southern part of Beijing. It was used to be the house ceremonies of emperors of worshipping heaven and praying for harvest in the Ming and Qing dynasties. This altar temple remains to be the largest existing ancient sacrificial structures across the world, more important than other three major temples, i.e. Altar to the Earth, Altar to the Sun and Altar to the Moon.
The Temple of Heaven was built in 1407 and the construction of the project took 14 years. Covering an area of 273 hectares, with two surrounding rings walls, it is four times bigger than the Forbidden City. The wall, stretching from north to south, is as long as 1,657 meters and that from east to west 1,703 meters. The outer wall is 6,553 meters in circumference while the inner wall measures 4,152 meters in perimeter.
To pray for good harvests and fine rain, emperors did regular worshipping and offered sacrifices to heaven. And the Temple of Heaven was used to the place where emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties went and worshipped the heaven twice (and sometimes three times) a year. In the past, the tradition went that sacrifices were offered to heaven and earth in one place only. But in 1530 when the Temple of Earth was built in the north of the city, the Temple of Heaven was ever since used specially for offering sacrifices to heaven alone.
The Temple of Heaven is consisted by three sections, named the Circular Mound Altar, the Imperial Vault of Heaven and the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, attached with some affiliated buildings like Dressing Platform, Long Corridor and Echo Wall.
The Circular Mound Altar was first constructed in 1530. In ancient China, to some extend, the altar was a place that even more important than the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. The emperor would come to offer sacrifices to heaven on the altar every year on the day of the Winter Solstice. For this reason, the altar was rebuilt into a circular one in 1749. Built in the open air without shelter, the sacrificial ceremony was being held right under heaven. Therefore, it was called "Luji", or the "open air offering of sacrifices".
The Imperial Vault of Heaven was first built in 1530 as a main building in the south of the Temple of Heaven. At first, it was called "Taishendian" or the Hall for Pacifying Gods, but later changed into the present name. In 1752, the building was rebuilt into one of a single eave, which used to have double eaves. Standing 19.5 meters high and of 15.6 meters in diameter, the circular hall used to be an octagonal one in the past. The tablet of the Jade Emperor, the four stone platforms on both sides used to be for the tablets of the emperor’s ancestors of eight generations in succession, is consecrated on the central stone-platform in the Hall of Imperial Vault of Heaven.
Being of 32.72 meters in diameter, built on a three-tired platform, the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests towers 38 meters' high with its eaves fanning out on three tiers, of which the upper one has a gold-plated knob on it. You will be amazed to see that such a heavy building was supported only by 28 wooden pillars with no single piece of reinforced concrete at all. The whole building was built by mortise and tenon joints without using a single nail. With each pillar in height of 19.2 meters, the four pillars in the center of the hall are called "Longjingzhu"--the Dragon Well Pillar. Only by joining hands together by two and half persons, can it be embraced. These four pillars indicate the four seasons of a year. You may find it more interesting that all pillars have their special meanings: the outside 12 pillars suggest 12 months in a year and another 12 pillars in the round wall symbolize the 12 two-hour periods of a day. And when you put the two 12 pillars together, the number you get is 24, which represents the 24 solar terms of a year. And when you add the four in the center of the hall to 24, you will get 28, which represents the 28 lunar mansions in the heaven above.
Since its first construction in 1420, the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests has gone through several times of changes. At that moment, the hall was called "Dasidian"--the Hall of Grand Sacrifices, which was rectangular in shape. But in 1529, it was reconstructed into a round one with a roof of three tiers. And this time it was named "Daxiangdian"--the Hall of Grand Treatment to Heaven. Three different colors were painted in these roofs of three tiers. From the upper tier to the lower one, the colors are respectively blue, yellow and green. In 1752, these three colors were all changed into glazed tiles of dark blue. However, they were destroyed by lightning in 1889. And later in 1890, it was restored according to the original. In 2006, the whole building was renovated with all its paintings according to the same style as they done last time. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests has become the symbol of Beijing.
At present, the Temple of Heaven is very popular with tourist home and abroad. It is also an entertainment center for local people. If you go to the temple early in the morning, you will find many local people practicing Taiji, playing cards and Chinese chess and singing folk songs there.
Ming Tombs
Covering an area of 40 square kilometers with 13 Ming emperors buried, the Ming Tombs is situated at the southern foot of the Tianshou Mountain in Changping District in the north western suburban areas of Beijing. The construction of the imperial tombs had been going on ceaselessly from the year 1409 when Emperor Zhu Di started building his tomb to the fall of the Ming Dynasty in 1644, lasting a period over 200 years.
As many people know, there are 16 emperors in the Ming Dynasty. Among the 16 Ming emperors, 13 of them were buried in this tomb area, except for Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty who was buried in the Xiaoling Mausoleum in Nanjing, Zhu Yunwen, who disappeared and Zhu Qiyu, who was buried at Jinshan Hill in the western suburbs of Beijing, all other. Therefore, this area was called the 13 Ming Tombs.
It was originally built only for Emperor Zhu Di and his empress, named Changling, which is the most magnificent tomb. The succeeding twelve emperors had their tombs built around Changling. At present, the two tombs opened to the public are Changling and Dingling.
Changling is the first Ming tomb built in this area. Hence, the axle line of Changling naturally became the axle line of the whole Ming Tombs. Along with the various tombs, the Stone Tablet House come together overall as a structurally and visually unified architectural accomplishment. Though these tombs were built in different periods, they were strategically planed and built in different stages. Each tomb has its own distinct adornments. However, the entire tomb area has a unified layout and style.
Zhu Di was the third emperor in the Ming Dynasty, who was buried together with his empress in Changling. During his 22-year of reign, he was, relatively speaking, an emperor who had made quite some achievements. For example, he determined to move the capital from Nanjing to Beijing in 1421. To some extend, the move itself was an expression of far-sightedness, for it was very important to strengthen the national defense and guard frontier areas. During the period from 1405 to 1424, Zheng He, also called Eunuch Sanbao, was sent by the emperor to fulfill a diplomatic mission which was on an ever larger and broader scale in Chinese history. He went six times on board across the sea to over 30 countries in Asia and Africa.
Completed in 1416, as the place for worshipping tablets of the emperor and empress and offering sacrifices to ancestors, the Hall of Eminent Favor is situated within the second compound of Changling. The Hall of Eminent Favor in Changling is the best-preserved among the ones of the 13 tombs, which duplicated the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City. It is a very precious relic of ancient China's wooden structures.
Dingling is the tomb for Emperor Zhu Yijun, named the tomb of Stability. It is said that he was buried together with his two empresses—Xiaoduan and Xiaojing. Ascending the throne at the age of 10, Zhu Yijun was died at 58 with a reign span of 48 years. Therefore he became the emperor with the longest time in power for in the Ming Dynasty. The construction of the Dingling tomb started in 1584. It took 6 years to bring the project to finish in 1590, covering an area of 180,000 square meters and costing 8 million taels of silver.
The Dingling began to be excavated in May 1956, which brought to light the mystery of the underground palaces of the Ming Tombs. Constructed with hard stone-slabs, with a total floor space of 1,195 square meters, the underground palace is composed by five beamless vaults, called the front, the middle, the rear and the two annexes on the right and the left. Carved out of white marble and the rear hall with the bier holding three coffins for the emperor and his two queens, three thrones were laid out in the middle vault. There are over 3,000 pieces of archeological findings unearthed from the tomb.
Yonghegong Lamasery
Yonghegong Lamasery is a well-known lama temple of the Yellow Hat Sect of Lamaism, which is located at the northeast part of Beijing. It was originally built in 1694 as the residence of Emperor Yongzheng of Qing (1644-1911 A.D.) before his ascent of the throne. And after his death, it was renamed Yonghegong. His successor Emperor Qianlong then rebuilt Yonghegong into an imperial palace with its turquoise tiles replaced by yellow tiles (yellow was the imperial color in the Qing Dynasty). In 1744, it became a lamasery. From then on, large numbers of monks from Mongolia and Tibet and national center of lama administration live in there.
As an imperial palace, the layout of the temple differentiated from other temples. The main gate faces to the south. There are five main halls and annex connected by courtyards on its 480-meter-long north-south axis, including a glaze-tiled arch, Gate of Peace (Zhaotaimen), Buddha's Warrior Hall (Tianwangdian), which was formerly the entrance to Yongzheng's imperial palace, Hall of Harmony and Peace (Yonghegong), Hall of Everlasting Protection (Yongyoudian), Hall of the Wheel of the Law (Falundian) and Pavilion of Eternal Happiness (Wanfuge).
When you are walking through the grand glaze-tile arch patterned with decorative dragons and flowers in the first court, you will reach a three-arch gate - the Gate of Peace. In ancient times, the central passageway was for emperors. On each side of the second court next to the Gate of Peace stand the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower. Two pavilions stand symmetrically on opposite to the north. If you want to know more about the temple's history, you can have a look at the inscriptions of Chinese, Manchu, Mongolian and Tibetan engraved on steles.
The Buddha's Warrior Hall, also known as the Hall of Heavenly Kings, is the former entrance to Yongzheng's imperial palace. The hall Maitreya (Happy Buddha) was always used to greet visitors, which has a smiling face with a sandalwood pagoda on each side. Many small Buddhist images, symbolizing longevity, stand on the pagoda. Therefore, the pagoda is the Longevity Pagoda. There are four fearsome-looking Heavenly Kings or Celestial Guardians on both sides of Maitreya's shrine.
On the way to the Hall of Harmony and Peace stands a marble-based bronze incense-burner. With decorations of two dragons playing with a pearl on its six opens, it is 4.2 meters in height. Afterwards there is the Mount Sumeru, a bronze sculpture of Ming (1368-1644A.D.), representing the center of the world. On the top of it there lies a legendary paradise where Sakyamuni and men of moral integrity live after death; in the middle the dwellings of humans and below devils abide in hell.
The Hall of Harmony and Peace is formerly a place for the emperor Yongzheng to hold meetings. It was also called Mahavira Hall or Daxiongbaodian in Buddhism. Mahavira here is an honorable title of Sakyamuni in Chinese. Sakyamuni is on the altar, with Buddha of the Present in the middle with Buddha of the Past Yeja and the Buddha of the Future Maitreya on each side. On each side of the hall stand Statues of 18 Arhats. It is said that 18 Arhats were the disciples of Samkyamuni to diffuse Buddhism. The painting that you can find on the western wall is a Bodhisattva.
The Hall of Everlasting Protection (Yongyoudian) and the Hall of the Wheel of the Law (Falundian) are right behind the Hall of the Harmony and Peace, where enshrines a bronze image of Tsong Kapa -- founder of the Yellow Hat Sect. With 5 gold-plating pagodas, the golden-roofed Falundian was the place where lamas assemble to have religious activities. There is a 6-meter-high gilded bronze statue of Tsong Kapa on a lotus seat in the center of the hall.
Now there are nearly 70 lamas living in this temple. If you go there, you will find that regular religious activities are still practiced. More lamas can be seen coming here in the festival for lamas or Lamaism.
Old Beijing Hutongs
The numerous old hutongs are the distinguished features of Beijing. They symbolize the traditional community with small lanes, alleys and Siheyuan (quadrangle). The life of local people in these old hutongs makes this ancient capital look more charming. Wandering along these small lanes, you can see many quadrangles, called Siheyuan in Chinese, which are the residential quarters of natives. No one knows the exact number of these hutongs there are in Beijing.
You cover both the "Top Four" China's classic tourist cities (Beijing, Xi'an, Guilin and Shanghai) and other naturally beautiful places in this tour. The picturesque scenery along the Li River in Guilin will amaze you and consume dozens of films or a big capacity of the memory card in your camera. You will get very excited upon getting a close look at the giant Panda who is China's animal ambassador in the panda center in Chengdu. Jiuzhaigou is really a colorful fairyland and you see Tibetan people there. People say if you regard China as a huge and robust tree, the city of Xi'an is definitely the deeply-earthed roots of the tree. The Bell Tower, the City Wall, the pagodas are all the witnesses of this ancient capital's prosperity and brilliance in the past. The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses is still a mysterious legend of the first centralized feudal empire of China. You will probably be shocked by Shanghai's modernization and fashionable life. A walk to the Nanjing Road and the Outer Bund will inform you how booming China's economy is. The Yellow Mountain which boasts the Greatest Mountain in whole China and Hangzhou's West Lake will both leave you a memorable impression of China's natural beauty. In the capital of Beijing, the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven and the other places of interests that are in the list of the World Cultural Heritage will give you the first impression of China. Stories told by your guide when you're standing in the world's largest imperial palace will help you learn lots of history about China's last two imperial dynasties, the Ming and the Qing Dynasty. Actually, Beijing is a city of amazing contrasts--an ancient capital with some incredible historical sites, and a bustling modern metropolis successfully hosted the 2008 Olympics.
Itinerary
Arrive in Guilin from Hong Kong by taking an evening flight. Our representative will meet you at airport upon your arrival, and you are transferred to your hotel.
Stay overnight in Guilin.
Meals included:
Drive to the wharf for [Li River cruise], enjoy the Li River picturesque scenery to Yangshuo. The cruise will definitely make your highlight of visit to China. We will pass the extraordinary peaks, sprays of bamboo lining, local fishing rafts floating on the river and picturesque villages. After disembarkation, some free time will be spent on [Yangshuo town] which boasts the "Global Village" due to the popularity with travelers from all over the world. And then drive back to Guilin.
Stay overnight in Guilin.
Meals included: Breakfast , Lunch
We have a whole day round trip to [Longji], a minority area with magnificent terraced rice paddies.
Stay overnight in Guilin.
Meals included: Breakfast , Lunch
We go to visit the [Reed Flute Cave] , the natural beauty of a large amount of stalactites and stalagmites, with their endless variety of remarkable scenes. Then come to [Elephant Trunk Hill] , the symbol of Guilin city,that looks like a giant elephant with its long trunk drinking water from the Li River. Then you will be transferred to Guilin airport to catch your pm flight to Chengdu.
Meals included: Breakfast , Lunch
We have a whole day round trip to Leshan, where you take a short cruise and climb a little bit to see the [Giant Sitting Buddha] that is on the list of the World Cultural Heritage.
Stay overnight in Chengdu.
Meals included: Breakfast , Lunch
It will be a very exciting thing to see the Giant Panda in [Chengdu Giant Panda Researching and Breeding Base] in the morning. After an early lunch, we head to the airport to catch an early pm flight for Jiuzhaigou.
Stay overnight at Jiuzhaigou.
Meals included: Breakfast , Lunch
After breakfast, we will go to [Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area]. We will visit the [Shuzheng Valley], [Rize Valley] and [Zechawa Valley] that take a "Y" shape, in the Minshan Mountain Range. Inhabited by Tibetans, the nine villages and alpine lakes, affectionately called "Ham", are like reflecting mirrors or crystal jade blocks inlaid in Snow Mountains and forests. At the end of Zechawa Valley is the Chang (Long) Lake and the end of Rize Valley are virgin forests. From south to north, both Valleys stretch and meet at Nuorilang. The drop between the two valleys and Shuzheng Valley is over 1,000 meters (about 3,280feet), with 114 lakes lying downward in an echelon manner, on which are 17 waterfalls, 11 rip currents and 5 travertine beaches, formulating alpine lake clusters and travertine spots that are rarely seen in China and even in the world. We will have sufficient time to enjoy natural beauties best demonstrated in its lakes, waterfalls, beaches, water currents, snow peaks, and virgin forests and take photos.
Stay overnight at Jiuzhaigou.
Meals included: Breakfast , Lunch
Take our van or bus from the hotel to [Huanglong Scenic Area]. After an early lunch, we head to the airport to catch an early pm flight back to Chengdu airport and transfer to another flight followed from Chengdu to Xi'an.
Stay overnight in Xi'an.
Meals included: Breakfast , Lunch
A tour to the renowned [Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum] today will show us these unearthed pottery statues, considered "the Eighth Wonder of the World" and one of the most important archaeological finds of the 20th Century. After coming back, the rest free time can easily be spent wandering the narrow streets among the [Muslim quarter] where we can find quaint shops, lively markets, groups of white-bearded men in skull caps sipping tea in dingy cafes.
Stay overnight in Xi'an.
Meals included: Breakfast , Lunch
You may still have some free time to explore the city yourself in the morning. Then we go to visit the [Shaanxi Provincial Museum] which will explain to you how Xi'an became the cradle of Chinese culture. And the [Big Wild Goose Pagoda] which was built by the eminent monk Xuanzang in 652 AD, with a great importance in China's Buddhism history. After those, we go to the airport, taking a pm flight to Shanghai.
Stay overnight in Shanghai.
Meals included: Breakfast , Lunch
Today, we are going to visit [Yuyuan Garden], a beautiful private garden which is the most typical representative of its sort of Chinese garden; the [Outer Bund], from where you see the modern skylines of this China's biggest city; and then [Nanjing Road] nearby, to experience the most prosperous and bustling shopping center of Shanghai.
Stay overnight in Shanghai.
Meals included: Breakfast , Lunch
Please have a free morning. In the afternoon, we will visit the [Jade Buddha Temple], which is an elegant architecture famous for its Buddha statue which is carved of solid white jade and decorated by jewels. We will enjoy our lunch at a romantic Shanghai restaurant. After lunch drive to the airport for a flight to Yellow Mountain.
Stay overnight in the Yellow Mountain City.
Meals included: Breakfast , Lunch
You will not go to visit other mountains after coming back from the [Yellow Mountain], a Chinese saying goes like that. We're going to visit it today! We will be transferred from the Yellow Mountain City to the foot of the mountain, and then [take cable car to the top] of it, tour to [Jade Buddha Temple] and other different peaks.
Stay overnight on top of the mountain.
Meals included: Breakfast , Lunch
Ride down to the foot of the mountain and then drive to Hangzhou.
Stay overnight in Hangzhou.
Meals included: Breakfast , Lunch
Have a city tour including the [West Lake] which has been describing for ages as a charming beauty, the [Lingyin Temple], the most famous one of its sort in southern China, and [Tea Plantation Farm] to taste the world-wide famous Dragon Well Tea.
Stay overnight in Hangzhou.
Meals included: Breakfast , Lunch
Have a free morning and take a pm flight to Beijing.
Stay overnight in Beijing.
Meals included: Breakfast , Lunch
Visit [Temple of Heaven], the place where the ancient emperors used to pray for the God's bless of the whole nation. [Tian'anmen Square], the largest city square in the world. And the [Forbidden City] which is the largest imperial palace in China during the Ming and Qing dynasties with a history of around 600 years.
Stay overnight in Beijing.
Meals included: Breakfast , Lunch
We will travel to [Jinshanling Great Wall], a largely unrestored and, as such, more authentic section of the famous wall, not crowded with hordes of other tourists. Climbing up this incredible man-made engineer and surveying the spectacular surrounding countryside is an unforgettable experience.
Stay overnight in Beijing.
Meals included: Breakfast , Lunch
Visit the [Summer Palace] which is the biggest and most renowned imperial summer resort from the Ming and Qing Dynasty and a great example of China's extraordinary workmanship and architecture. Have a big farewell dinner in the evening!
Stay overnight in Beijing.
Meals included: Breakfast , Lunch
Your China tour we sponsored ends after breakfast.
Meals included: Breakfast
Pricing & Accommodation
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- CA Dollar
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- Renminbi
1 person | 2-5 persons | 6-9 persons | ≥10 persons | Single Room Supplement | |
First Class Tour | $6414 | $4515 | $3909 | $3213 | $1400 |
Comfortable Tour | $5118 | $3713 | $3111 | $2610 | $1000 |
Standard Tour | $4220 | $3217 | $2715 | $2116 | $700 |
* Price in every box above is for each person.
* The default currency is in US dollar. Please use the Currency Converter to see the equivalent quote in your currency. Price is for references only, it may vary according to your actual travel itinerary, travel time, hotel price rise or fall, US dollar exchange rate fluctuation, car fuel price change and government tax adjustment, etc..
* The price is only for your reference and it is subject to seasons, high or low.Please send us your inquiry if you are interested.
* The differences between First Class Tour, Comfortable Tour and Standard Tour are mainly reflected in the hotels we use. For First Class Tour, we use mostly 5 star hotels (or hotels corresponded to 5 star ones), 4 star hotels for Comfortable Tour and 3 star hotels for Standard Tour. But there’re exceptions when there come home stay experience, remote destinations and other specified circumstances in the itinerary.
Inclusions / Exclusions
Inclusions:
- Attraction Entrance Fees
- Centrally Located Hotels
- Authentic Chinese Food
- Private Experienced Guides
- Private Cars/Van with Drivers
- Internal Flights/Train(s) in China
- Luggage Transfers
- Airport Taxes and Fuel Fees
- Service Charge & Government Taxes
- Travel Insurance
Exclusions:
- International Airfare to Enter/Leave China
- China Entry Visa Fees
- Excess Baggage Charges
- Personal Expenses
- Single Room Supplement
- Tips or Gifts to Guides/Drivers/Bellmen
Important Information
How to Pack up
We suggest that each person packs up one rollable suitcase with the weight under 20 kg/44lb. You will also need a day pack/bag to carry water, cameras and other electronics like iPods and mobile phones.
Checklist
It's only for reference, you may not need all of them. Choose from below according to the tour you pick up:
Passport (with photocopies)
Travel insurance (with photocopies)
Airline tickets (with photocopies)
USD cash and travelers checks
Credit or debit card (see personal spending money)
CET vouchers and trip dossier
Any entry visas or vaccination certificates required
Day pack for daily personal items
Wet wipes / Moist towelettes
Alarm clock
Flashlight
Sun hat, Sun block, Sunglasses
Insect Repellent
Water bottle and Plastic mug for train journeys
Ear plugs for train journeys or light sleepers
Small towel and swim wear
Toiletries (biodegradable)
Sturdy walking shoes/Sport sandals
Money belt
Shorts for summer months (June – September)
Long pants
Shirts/T-shirts
Warm clothes for Nov-April. Fleece, Jacket, hat and gloves
Umbrella or waterproof jacket.
Cover for backpack or plastic bags to keep clothes dry.
Camera, film and memory chip
Reading/writing material
Binoculars
Pocketknife
First-aid kit (should contain lip salve, Aspirin, Band Aids, anti-histamine, Imodium or similar tablets for mild cases of diarrhea, re-hydration powder, extra prescription drugs you may be taking).
Local Dress
Generally speaking, the dress standard is more conservative in China than it is in western countries. Things also changes quickly, nowadays the young Chinese share the same hobbies with their western counterparts. When packing try to pick loose, lightweight, long clothing that will keep you cool in the usually hot and humid climate of summers. In predominately Buddhist and Muslim regions we ask that you dress respectfully and avoid very short shorts/skirts and singlets/tanktops when visiting temples or mosques or other holy sites.
Spending Money
Every traveller is different and therefore spending money requirements will vary. Some travellers may drink more than others while other travellers like to purchase more souvenirs than most. Please consider your own spending habits when it comes to allowing for drinks, shopping and tipping. Please also remember the following specific recommendations when planning your trip.
Money Exchange
As currency exchange rates in Asia fluctuate often we ask that you refer to internet for the recent exchange rates. There are many ATM machines that accept both Visa and MasterCard and other credit cards in most Chinese cities. We also recommend the use of cash and travelers checks in USD currency. Major credit cards are accepted in big shops but they may charge a 2-4% transaction fee. For the small shops and the street venders, they take cash (either Chinese Yuan or US dollar) only.
Meals
Eating is a big part of your traveling in China. Travelling with CET you experience the vast array of wonderful food that is available out in the world. Generally breakfasts and lunches are included except dinners to give you the flexibility in deciding where, what and with whom to eat. Your group leader or local guide will be able to suggest favorite restaurants during your trip.
Emergency Fund
Please also make sure you have access to at least an additional USD200 (or equivalent) as an "emergency" fund, to be used when circumstances outside our control, necessitate a change to our planned route. This is a rare occurrence!
Tipping
It is customary to tip service providers in travel industry in Asia, at approximately 10%, depending on the service. Tipping is expected - though not compulsory - and shows an expression of satisfaction with the people who have assisted you on your tour. Although it may not be customary to you, it is of considerable significance to the people who will take care of you during your travels. Recommendations for tipping local guides would range from $3-$5 USD per person per day depending on the quality and length of the service, for driver, it could be half. If necessary, ask your tour leader or call your CET tour advisor for specific recommendations based on the circumstances . If you have a tour leader for the whole tour, at the end of the trip if you felt he/she did an outstanding job, tipping is appreciated. The amount is entirely a personal preference, however as a guideline $3-5 USD per person, per day can be used.
Local Flights
All local flights are included in the cost of your tour unless otherwise noted. It is important that we have your passport information at the time of booking in order to process these tickets.Internal flight tickets are all e-tickets. They are issued locally and You will be given the information of them prior to the flight departure.
Laundry
Generally laundry facilities are offered by our hotels for a charge. You also can go to a laundry service center near your hotel to have your clothing washed at a lower cost. There will be times when you may want to or have to do your own laundry so we suggest you bring non-polluting/biodegradable soap.
Safety and Security
We strongly recommend the use of a neck wallet or money belt while travelling, for the safe keeping of your passport, air tickets, travelers' checks, cash and other valuable items. Many of the hotels we cooperate with have safety deposit boxes which are the most secure way of storing your valuables. A lock is recommended for securing your luggage.
Many national governments provide a regularly updated advice service on safety issues involved with international travel. We recommend that you check your government's advice for their latest travel information before departure. When travelling on a trip, please note that your group leader or local guides has the authority to amend or cancel any part of the trip itinerary if it is deemed necessary due to safety concerns. Your leader or local guides will accompany you on all included activities. During your trip you will have some free time to pursue your own interests, relax and take it easy or explore at your leisure. While your group leader or local guides will assist you with options available in a given location please note that any optional activities you undertake are not part of your itinerary, and we offer no representations about the safety of the activity or the standard of the operators running them. Please use your own good judgment when selecting an activity in your free time.
A Couple of Rules
Illegal drugs will not be tolerated on any trips. Possessing or using drugs not only contravenes the laws of China but also puts the rest of the group at risk. Smoking marijuana and opium is not acceptable for CET travellers. Our philosophy of travel is one of respect towards everyone we encounter, and in particular the local people who make the world the special place it is. Use of illegal drugs is completely contrary to this philosophy and local law. Our group leader or local guides has the right to expel any member of the group if drugs are found in their possession or used.
Health
You should consult your doctor for up-to-date medical travel information well before departure. We recommend that you carry a First Aid kit as well as any personal medical requirements. Please be aware that sometimes we are in remote areas and away from medical facilities, and for legal reasons our leaders or local guides are prohibited from administering any type of drug including headache tablets, antibiotics, etc. In China pharmacies tend to stock the same western drugs as you get at home but they are usually produced locally so please bring the full drug name with you when trying to purchase a prescription drug. When selecting a tour please carefully read the itinerary and assess your ability to cope with our style of travel. Please refer to the Physical and Culture Shock ratings in this dossier for trip specific information. For travelers over 70 years a completed Medical Form is required. CET reserves the right to exclude any traveler from all or part of a trip without refund if in the reasonable opinion of our group leader or local guides they are unable to complete the itinerary without undue risk to themselves and/or the rest of the group.
Medical Form
It is very important you are aware that, as a minimum, an "average level of fitness and mobility" is required to undertake our easiest programs. Travelers must be able to walk without the aid of another person, climb 3-4 flights of stairs, step on and off small boats, and carry their own bags at a minimum. Travelers over the age of 70, or travelers with a pre-existing medical condition, are required to complete a short medical questionnaire, which must be signed by their physician. This is to ensure that senior travelers have the necessary fitness and mobility to comfortably complete their chosen trip. While our leaders or local guides work hard to ensure that all our travelers are catered for equally, it is not their responsibility to help individuals who cannot complete the day's activities unaided.
Travel Insurance
Travel insurance is compulsory in order to participate on any of our trips. You must have comprehensive travel insurance that covers you for medical costs associated with hospitalization, emergency travel and repatriation back to your home country. Please take your insurance policy with you when you travel. You may take other cover, of course, but we require you to be adequately insured before we can allow you to participate in our programs. Your CET leader or local guides will need to see and record your policy details at the pre-tour briefing at the starting city, so please bring a copy along to the meeting. If you arrive without travel insurance your tour leader or local guide will require you to purchase a policy before you continue your journey with us.
If you are covered by a policy arranged through your credit card company you will be asked to provide evidence of this cover, as well as a 24-hour emergency contact number. Many credit card companies do not provide an insurance policy number. In this instance, the tour leader or local guides will need to record your credit card number, as this is required to activate any request for emergency assistance. You should also bring along the travel insurance information booklet provided by your credit card company. It is your responsibility to ensure that you meet the requirements set out by your credit card company in order to be effectively covered and that the cover offered is of a suitable standard.
Passport & Visas
Well before travelling, please ensure that you have a current passport, with an accurate photo, that is valid for at least six months after your scheduled return home. Also check that your airline tickets are in exactly the same name as your passport.
Please note that visas for China and Hong Kong are the responsibility of the individual traveler. The visa requirements for your trip vary depending on where you are from and where you are going. Americans, British, Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders do currently require a visa for China. For all other nationalities please reconfirm your visa requirements with your government. For the most up to date information please check your governments' foreign ministry website. It is important that you check for yourself. For most travelers there will probably have an embassy and consulate in the country that you live in. Please note if you are travelling from China, into Hong Kong then back into China, you will need a double entry Chinese visa. Note that on some occasions people transiting through China on way to Hong Kong have been made to go through immigration and had their single entry visa stamped making this invalid. Do not allow your visa to be stamped if you are only going through transit.
Keeping in Touch
If you need to be contacted while travelling we recommend that you set up an email address that can be accessed on the road, rather than relying on postal mail. Email cafes are becoming increasingly commonplace and cheap throughout the country, and have quickly become the preferred way for our leaders and travelers to stay in touch. If someone wishes to contact you in an emergency while you are on one of our trips we recommend that they contact us so we can get into touch with your tour leader or local guide quickly by their cell phone and they can pass their cell phone to you! We recommend that family and friends don't try to contact you through phoning hotels en route, as our hotels are subject to change.
Feedback
After your travels, we want to hear from you! Your feedback information is so important to us and we'll record you and give you CET travel points so you can use the points to get discount for your next CET trip or your friends' CET tours.
Per Person