Forbidden City
Why? To see China's most famous attraction, the awesome
'Forbidden City', travel to Beijing, the bustling Chinese capital,
which is currently gearing up for the 2008 Olympic Games. Beijing
is the heartland of Chinese culture and politics, where historic
sites and fascinating museums rub shoulders with glittering new
skyscrapers.
When? Now is a great time to holiday in Beijing, most of its
attractions and tourist facilities being overhauled for the
upcoming Olympics. Weather-wise the best time to travel to Beijing
is during the relatively short spring (February to April) or autumn
(August to October), avoiding the stifling summers and freezing
winters.
Who for? A holiday in Beijing is for the serious sightseer
who wants to explore Chinese history and experience modern
China.
More Info: Entry requirements, health, local customs and
safety issues are all important factors when planning to travel to
Beijing and details of all of these, and more, can be found on our
comprehensive Beijing travel guide. There are also details of all
attractions, events, and top restaurants in this fascinating
city.
Overview
The capital of the People's Republic of China, Beijing (formerly
Peking) is a very modern and exceedingly busy city (nearly 14
million people call it home) with high-rise buildings,
international hotels and sprawling suburbs. The city is abuzz and
bristling with cranes on the skyline as construction projects give
rise to new skyscrapers and modernisation proceeds apace. However,
Beijing also encompasses numerous attractions of cultural and
historical interest, of which some, such as the Great Wall, former
Imperial palace (known as the Forbidden City), the Temple of
Heaven, Summer Palace and the remains of Peking Man at Zhoukoudian,
are UNESCO-endorsed World Cultural Heritage Sites. Chinese history
and culture fascinates Western visitors, and Beijing is the place
to start exploring it. The city abounds in imperial palaces,
temples, mansions, gardens and tombs that epitomise classical
Chinese architecture. It has 120 museums and more than 100 public
gardens.
The first port of call for most visitors is the Forbidden City,
which lies at the heart of Beijing with the rest of the city
radiating out from it in a grid pattern. For five centuries this
massive palace complex with 9,999 rooms functioned as the
administrative centre of the country and home to a succession of
emperors, who lived in luxurious isolation, surrounded by courtiers
and retainers. The Palace overlooks the famous Tiananmen Square,
site of so much political drama and dissent, the epitome of this
capital city.
As host to the 2008 Olympics in August next year, Beijing has
been busy readying itself to conduct what it claims will be 'the
best in Olympic history'. Public transport is being improved,
environmental issues addressed and a general clean up of the city
has been ordered. The Chinese government sees the games as a chance
for China to highlight its economic rise and emergence as a world
power.
