Beijing, as the most famous ancient capital, has a very important position in Chinese history. It is also the capital of the country today, a model city that combines ancient and modern culture. There are a large number of royal architectural complexes and ancient buildings left behind. Below is a detailed guide for your 3-day trip to Beijing.
Day 1 Itinerary
Tiananmen Square – Forbidden City – Temple of Heaven – Summer Palace
Morning: After breakfast, take a car to visit Tiananmen Square, one of the largest urban centers in the world.
Tiananmen is the main gate of the imperial city of the Ming and Qing dynasties. The founding ceremony of the People’s Republic of China was held here in 1949. It is one of the symbols of the People’s Republic of China and is a national key cultural relic. Afterwards, visit the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City is also known as the Purple Forbidden City. It is the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties, a concentrated embodiment of feudal imperial power. It is the largest and most complete extant wooden structure in the world. All the buildings in the Forbidden City are composed of two parts: the “Front Dynasty” and the “Inner Court”, surrounded by a city wall. After visiting the Forbidden City, go to the Temple of Heaven. The Temple of Heaven is located to the southeast of the Forbidden City. It is the place where the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties held the grand ceremony of sacrificing to heaven, which embodies the feudal ideology of “the heaven is round and the earth is square” and “the imperial power is bestowed by heaven”.
Afternoon: After lunch, visit the Summer Palace, a royal garden. The Summer Palace is one of the largest extant royal gardens in China and is known as the Royal Garden Museum. Many important events of the Qing Dynasty took place here. Functionally, it can be divided into a management activity area represented by the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity; a living area represented by courtyards such as the Hall of Joyful Longevity and Jade Fountain Hall; and a scenic area mainly consisting of Mount Longevity and Kunming Lake. In 1998, the Summer Palace was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Attractions Information
1. Tiananmen Square (Editor’s Suggestion: Tiananmen and the Forbidden City are very close to each other and can be reached on foot.)
Tiananmen Square is the center of Beijing, the heart of Beijing, and the largest urban center in the world. Tiananmen Square starts from Tiananmen Gate in the north and extends to the Great Hall of the People in the west. It is 880 meters long and 500 meters wide, covering an area of 440,000 square meters. It can accommodate 1 million people at the same time for grand gatherings. In the center of Tiananmen Square are the Monument to the People’s Heroes and the solemn Mao Zedong Memorial Hall. On the west side of the square is the Great Hall of the People, on the south side are two ancient towers built in the 14th century, Zhengyangmen and Qianmen Arrow Tower, and on both sides are the Palace of Culture of the Working People and Zhongshan Park. Tiananmen Square is neat and symmetrical, majestic, magnificent, and a beautiful sight of Beijing.
Ticket Price: Free
Opening Hours: 5:00-22:00
Address: No. 4, Jingshanqian Street, Xicheng District, Beijing
Highlights: This was once a forbidden area for ordinary people on the east, north, and south sides surrounded by walls during the feudal rule of the Ming and Qing dynasties. In modern history, it has witnessed countless historical events.
2. Palace Museum (Editor’s Suggestion: The ticket price of the Palace Museum is different for peak and off-peak seasons, and the opening hours also vary slightly. For detailed information, please call for inquiries.)
The Forbidden City is 961 meters long from north to south and 753 meters wide from east to west. It is surrounded by a 10-meter-high city wall. Outside the wall is a 52-meter-wide moat. It is truly a fortress with golden city walls and a moat. The Forbidden City has four gates: Wu Gate to the south, Shenwu Gate to the north, Donghua Gate to the east, and Xihua Gate to the west. There is a graceful corner tower at each of the four corners of the city wall. There is a saying among the people that it has nine beams, 18 pillars, and 72 ridges, which describes the complexity of its structure. The buildings in the Forbidden City are divided into the outer court and the inner court. The center of the outer court is the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony, and the Hall of Preserving Harmony, collectively known as the Three Great Halls. They are where state ceremonies were held. The Three Great Halls are flanked on both sides by two groups of buildings: the Hall of Literary Glory and the Hall of Martial Glory.
The center of the inner court is the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the Hall of Interconnectedness, and the Hall of Tranquil Longevity, collectively known as the Three Posterior Palaces. They are the main palaces where the emperor and empress resided. Behind them is the Imperial Garden. The Three Posterior Palaces are flanked on both sides by the East Six Palaces and the West Six Palaces, where concubines lived and rested. East of the East Six Palaces are Buddhist temple buildings such as the Temple of the Heavenly Vault, and west of the West Six Palaces are Buddhist temple buildings such as the Hall of Uprightness. In addition to the outer court and the inner court, there are also the Outer East Road and the Outer West Road, which are two parts of the building. The south of the Outer East Road is the Xiefang Palace, commonly known as the South Three Palaces, where the princes lived. The north is the Ning Shou Palace, a palace built by Emperor Qianlong for the retired emperor. The south of the Outer West Road is the Cining Palace and the Shoukang Palace, where the empress dowagers lived. The north, in addition to the Shou’an Palace, where the empress dowager lived, also includes Buddhist temple buildings such as the Yinghua Palace.
Ticket Information:
Peak Season Price: 60 yuan
Off-Peak Season Price: 40 yuan
Ticket for visiting the Treasure Gallery: 10 yuan
Ticket for visiting the Clock Gallery: 10 yuan
Opening Hours:
Peak Season: 8:30-17:00 (April 1 to October 31)
Off-Peak Season: 8:30-16:30 (November 1 to March 31 of the following year)
Tips: From April 1, 2013, except for statutory holidays and summer vacations, the off-peak season will be closed on Monday afternoons, (Monday opening hours are 8:30-12:00).
Address: No. 4, Jingshanqian Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing
Highlights: The Forbidden City is the most luxurious mansion in the world. For 600 years, it has only been inhabited by two families as their residence, one surnamed Zhu and the other surnamed Aisin Gioro.
3. Temple of Heaven Park (Editor’s Suggestion: The Temple of Heaven is large, so you must plan your time well and set out early to avoid missing anything and leaving yourself with regrets.)
The Temple of Heaven is located on the east side of Yongdingmennei Street in Chongwen District, Beijing. It was originally a place for emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties to worship the Emperor of Heaven. It was built in the 18th year of Yongle (1420) of the Ming Dynasty. After continuous expansion and reconstruction, it was finally completed in the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. The Temple of Heaven covers an area of 2.73 million square meters. The main buildings include the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the Round Altar, the Imperial Vault of Heaven, the Palace of Abstinence, the Music Bureau, and the Sacrifice Ground. In 1918, it was opened as a park.
The Temple of Heaven is divided into an inner altar and an outer altar. The inner altar consists of the Round Altar and the Altar of Prayer for Good Harvests. The north of the inner altar is the Altar of Prayer for Good Harvests, and the south of the inner altar is the Round Altar. A 360-meter-long Danbi Bridge connects the two altars. The main buildings of the two altars are concentrated at both ends of the Danbi Bridge. The Round Altar and the Imperial Vault of Heaven are at the south end of the Danbi Bridge, and the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and the Imperial Vault of Heaven are at the north end. The Danbi Bridge, also known as the Sea-Catching Avenue, is a huge brick-paved high platform road, and it is also the main axis of the Temple of Heaven’s buildings. On the east side of the Danbi Bridge, there are auxiliary buildings adapted to the sacrificial function of the Temple of Heaven: the Altar for Sacrificing Animals, the Divine Kitchen, the Divine Storehouse, etc. On the west side of the Danbi Bridge is the Palace of Abstinence, where the emperor went into seclusion before the ceremony of sacrificing to heaven.
Ticket Information:
Peak Season Price:
Ticket: 15 yuan, Half-Price Ticket: 8 yuan, Combined Ticket: 35 yuan
Off-Peak Season Price:
Ticket: 10 yuan, Half-Price Ticket: 5 yuan, Combined Ticket: 30 yuan
Opening Hours:
Main Gate: 6:30-21:00 (Stop selling tickets at 20:00 in the evening)
Attractions: Ticket sales stop at 16:00 in peak season and close at 18:00; ticket sales stop at 15:30 in off-peak season and close at 17:00
Address: East side of Tianta
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