1、BeijingisametropolisinnorthernChinaandthecapitalofthePeoplesRepublicofChina.Beijingisamajortransportationhub,withdozensofrailways,roadsandmotorwayspassingthroughthecity.ItisalsothefocalpointofmanyinternationalflightstoChina.Beijingisrecognizedasthepo
2、litical,educational,andculturalcenterofthePeoplesRepublicofChina.ThebesttimestovisitBeijingarespring(AprilandMayarenicest)andfall(SeptemberandOctobercanbebeautiful).BeijingorPekingmeansnortherncapital.ThetermPekingoriginatedwithFrenchmissionariesfourhund
3、redyearsagoandcorrespondstoanolderpronunciation.Thecityhasbeenrenamedseveraltimes:(JinDynasty)Zhongdu,(MongolYuanDynasty)Dadu,(MingDynasty)Hongwu,Beiping(Peiping)=northernpeace,Nanjing,Yanjing.October1st1949.CommunistPartyOfChina,undertheleadershipofMaoZed
4、ongannouncedinTiananmenthecreationofthePeoplesRepublicofChinaandrenamedthecitybacktoBeijing.TheForbiddenCity(ZijinCheng)TheForbiddenCitywastheChineseimperialpalacefromtheMingDynastytotheendoftheQingDynasty.ItislocatedinthemiddleofBeijing,China,and
5、nowhousesthePalaceMuseum.Foralmostfivecenturies,itservedasthehomeoftheEmperorandhishousehold,aswellastheceremonialandpoliticalcentreofChinesegovernment.Thecomplexconsists980survivingbuildingswith8,707baysofroomsandcovers720,000squaremeters.ForbiddenCit
6、y,whichislocatednorthoftheTiananmenSquare,andtowhomisgoingthroughthesamegate,UNESCOdeclaredWorldHeritagein1987.year.Buildingforbiddencitystartedthe1406thyear.Ittook14yearsandabout200,000workerstocompletethecomplex.ItisprotectedbyUNESCO.Partofhisnam
7、e-Forbiddenreferstothefactthatnoonecouldenterorleavethepalacewithoutthepermissionoftheemperor.ThedesignoftheForbiddenCity,fromitsoveralllayouttothesmallestdetail,wasmeticulouslyplannedtoreflectphilosophicalandreligiousprinciples,andabovealltosymbolize
8、themajestyofImperialpower.TheGreatWallOfChinaisaseriesofstoneandearthenfortificationsinChina,built,rebuilt,andmaintainedbetweenthe5thcenturyBCandthe16thcenturytoprotectthenorthernbordersoftheChineseEmpirefromXiongnuattacksduringtheruleofsuccessivedy
9、nasties.Itstretchesoverapproximately6,400km(4,000miles)fromShanhaiguanintheeasttoLopNurinthewest,alonganarcthatroughlydelineatesthesouthernedgeofInnerMongolia,butstretchestoover6,700km(4,160miles)intotal.Itwasguardedbymorethanonemillionmen.PekingDu
10、ck:adelicious,lightly-smoked,richmealcomplimentedbypancakes,dippingsauce,vegetablefillingandirresistiblesliversofjuicymeat,fatandcrispyskin.PekingDuckissaidtooriginatefromInnerMongoliaandwasfirstservedinaPekingrestaurantin1855.TheoriginalrecipeforPeking
11、Duckincludesadescriptionofhowtobuildandfiretheovenforsmokingthebird!TheheartofmodernChinabeatsinTiananmenSquare,thesymbolofthePeoplesRepublicandthecenterofBeijingslandmarks.TheflagstonesofTiananmencoverastaggering440,000squaremeters,enoughspacetoallo
12、wamillionpeopletogatherthere.TheTiananmenGateTowersitesatthenorth,theFive-StarRedFlagflieshighonthesquare,theMonumenttothePeoplesHeroesdominatesthecenter,theGreatHallofthePeopleandtheMuseumoftheChineseRevolutionandtheMuseumofChineseHistorytotheea
13、standwestofit,aswellasTheChairmanMaoMemorialHallandtheQianmengate,sitinthesouthofthesquare.Overseveralhundredyears,infrontoftheTiananmen,manydemocracymeetingsanddemonstrationsareheld.FiveStarRedFlag-theChinesenationalflag,flieshighintheskyabovethe
14、Square.Itisoneofthebestparksinthecity.OriginallyitwasaretreatforemperorstoescapethescorchingsummerheatofBeijing.TheSummerPalaceishuge,mostofitbeingtakenupbyKunmingLake.ThedirtthatwasduguptomakethelakewaspiledupandmadeintoLongevityHill.Ontop
15、ofLongevityHillareseveralBuddhisttemples,which,oncleardays,offergoodviewsofthelake.Smallboatsareavailableforrentandyoucanmotororpaddleaboutthelake.Anotherpartofthepark,calledSuzhoustreet,whichissupposedtobeamodelofwhatthecityofSuzhoulookedlikei
16、ntheQingDynasty.The“street”encirclesashortcanal,whichyoucangoupanddowninagondola-likeboat.Builtbetween1409and1420,theTempleofHeavenisoneofBeijingsmostimpressiveparksintermsofHeavenisoneofBeijingsmostimpressiveparksintermsofarchitecture,colorandsig
17、nificance.TheTempleisbasicallyahugecommunicationsterminalwhichtheEmperorusedtocommunicatedirectlywithHeaven.Severaltimesayear,theEmperorwouldcomeheretoprayforgoodharvests,enoughrainandotherheavenlyboons.TheconstructionoftheTempleisbasedaroundthenumbern
18、ine,thelargestofthesingledigits,whichisdivineinChinesenumerology.TheTempleconsistsoffourbasicparts:theRoundAltar,theEchoWall,theImperialVaultofHeaven,andtheHallofprayerforGoodHarvests.TheRoundAltariswheretheEmperorwouldreportonthestatusofthecountr
19、ytoHeaven.TheAltarisconstructedinthemiddle,anythingyousayisamplifiedseveraltimes.ThisisbecausewhentheEmperorwastalkingwithHeaven,hisvoicewassupposedtobeamplifiedsothatitwasasifhisvoicewasasloudasthecollectivevoiceofawholenation.TheEchoWallisa
20、roundstructurewhichifyouwhisperalongtheinnerwall,yourvoicecanbeheardallthewayaroundtheotherside.SupposedlytheEmperorwouldusethismethodtosecretlyconferwithInnerCourtmembers.TheImperialVaultofHeavenandtheHallofPrayerforGoodHarvestsarebothstructureswh
21、ichwereplacesofworshipfortheEmperor.TheHallofPrayerforGoodHarvestsisremarkablebecauseitisa38-meter-tallbuildingwhichdoesnothaveasinglenailholdingittogether.Theoriginalwasburntdownin1889buthasbeenfaithfullyreconstructed.Thehallhas28woodenpillarssuppo
22、rtinga39-metertowerofthreeconicalroofs,coveredwithblueglazedtiles,toreflectthecolorofthesky.Thewoodenwallsarerichlydecorated,insideandout.TothewestofthecomplexistheHallofAbstinence,wheretheemperorswouldpreparethemselvesforthesolemnoccasionbyspending
23、anightfasting(andwithoutconcubines!).Otherwiseknownasthe“13Tombs”,thisistheburialsiteof13outof17emperorsoftheMingDynasty.ThebestpartoftheMingTombsistheroadthere.ThespiritWayisthepathleadingtothemouthofthetomb.Alongthepatharebizarre,mythicalst
24、onemonstersstandingguard.Togettothetombitself,youhavetowalkdownmanyflightsofstairstillyouaredeepinsidethemountain.Buttheactualtombchambersarealittledisappointing.Itsjustacoupleofstonerooms,excavatedtreasures.Ahutongisanancientcityalleyorlanetypica
25、linBeijing,wherehutongsrunintotheseveralthousand.Themainbuildingsinthehutongwerealmostallquadrangles-abuildingcomplexformedbyfourhousesaroundaquadrangularcourtyard.Thequadranglesvariedinsizeanddesignaccordingtothesocialstatusoftheresidents.Theordinarype
26、oplesquadranglesweresimplybuiltwithsmallgatesandlowhouses.Hutongs,infact,arepassagewaysformedbymanycloselyarrangedquadranglesofdifferentsizes.IsatempleandmonasteryoftheGelukSchoolofTibetanBuddhismlocatedinthenortheasternpartofBeijing.Thebuildingandthea
27、rtworksofthetemplecombineHanChineseandTibetanstyles.BuildingworkontheYongheTemplestartedin1694duringtheQingDynasty.TheYongheTempleisarrangedalonganorth-southcentralaxis,whichhasalengthof480m.TheHalloftheHeavenlyKingsisthesouthernmostofthemainhalls,
28、itservedoriginallyasthemainentrancetothemonastery.InthecenterofthehallstandsastatueoftheMaitreyaBuddha,alongthewallsstatuesofthefourHeavenlykingsarearrangedItisverylarge,about68.2hectares,andalmosttwo-thirdsoftheparkisalake.TheparksitsintheBeiji
29、ngscenter,usedtobetheroyalgardenoftheJin,Yuan,MingandQingEmperors.Besidesthelake,themainthingstoseeinBeihaiaretheRoundCity,whichcontainsajadevasefromthetimeofKublaiKhan;theTempleofEternalPeace,theNineDragonScreen,whichisreallya5-meter-high,27-me
30、ter-longwallcoveredwithglazedtilescarvedintonineintertwiningdragons;andtheWhitePagodaonGemIslandinthecenterofthelake.WithinBeihaiisalsothefamousFangshanRestaurant,thebestknownoftheImperialCourtstylerestaurantswhereyoucaneatQingDynastytypefood,forapre
31、ttypenny.TheformerCapitalMuseum,whichwaslocatedintheConfuciusTemple,starteditsplanningstagein1953andformallyopenedtothegeneralpublicin1981.Themuseumisafive-storeybuilding,allowingforamaximumof13concurrentexhibitions,whichcanbeseeninabout5hoursatthe
32、costof30Yuanpervisitor.ThearchitecturaldesignconceptoftheCapitalMuseumisbasedonhumanandculturalheritagetoservethecommunityandunderlinestheharmoniousintegrationofpastandpresent,historyandmodernism,artandnature.TheconstructionoftheCapitalMuseumitselfisa
33、pieceofarchitecturalartworkintegratingbothclassicalandmodernbeauty.BirdsNestistheworldslargeststeelstructureandthemostcomplexstadiumeverconstructed.Itistheworldslargeststeelstructureandthemostcomplexstadiumeverconstructed.AlsocalledChinasNationalStadium,it
34、hostedtheopeningceremony,athleticevents,thefootballfinalandtheclosingceremonyofthe2008BeijingOlympicGames.MongolianHotPotisanothergreatexampleoftraditionalBeijingcooking.Thinslicesofvariousmeatsaredangledorplacedinaboilingpotwithvariouskindsofvegetables
35、untiltheyredone,andtheneatenwithspecialsaucesandsidedishes.Thisdishisespeciallyfavoredduringthecoldseason.CalledZhaJiangMianinChinese,itconsistsofthreemainmaterials.Theyarewidehand-tossednoodles,vegetablepiecesaswellaspork.LocalBeijingpeople,especially
36、elderonesliketoeathotnoodlesinthecolddaysandtoeatcoldnoodlesinhotweather.PanjiayuanAntiqueMarket潘家园古玩市场ItisthelargestantiquemarketinChina,alsothecheapestandmostpopularantiquemarketinBeijing.Youcanfindvariouscollections,suchasantiquefurniture,fo
37、urtreasuresinthestudy,ancientpaintingsandbooks,jade,porcelain,ancientandforeignmoney,bamboocarving,Buddhistkeepsake,folkclothesandculturalrelics.QianmenStreetislocatedtothesouthofTiananmenSquare.Beijingsoriginalcommercialcenterfor600yearsago;today,itlargel
38、ydealsinChinesetraditionalproducts.Manytime-honoredshopscanbefoundthere,suchasTongrentangPharmacies,QuanjudePekinRoastDuckRestaurantandRuifuxiangSilkClothesShop.Afteritsrenovationin2008,thestoresarelinedupsidebysideinthestyleoftheHutong.Thisisgoodplace
39、forgoodsouvenirsasstoneorjadestampscarvedyourname.TheLaoSheTeahouseislocatedonwestofQianmenStreet,andisagoodplacetosamplechineseteas,readorwatchatraditionalshow.AsthequintessenceofChina,PekingOperadisplaystheuniqueChineseculturetothewholeworld.Be
40、ijingoperaisacombinationofacrobatics,singinganddancing.ThedistinguishingariaofBeijingoperaisimpressive,andthecostumesandmasksarequitecharming.YouareatourguideForeignersarecomingtoyourhometown,andhavehiredyoutoshowthemaroundYourgroupwilldecidewheretheywilltakethem.WhataretheirinterestsWherearetheyfromDotheyhaveanydietaryrestrictionsIsthereanythinginparticulartheywanttoseeHowmanypeople