City of Beijing

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Introduction

Beijing, a municipality directly under the Central Government, is the capital of the People's Republic of China and the country's political, economic, cultural and transportation center as well as a famous historic city. Beijing is the second largest city in China.

Beijing is one of the places of human origin. It is here that Peking Man, man's forefathers, once lived 500,000 to 700,000 years ago. The history of Beijing as a city may be traced back to over 3,000 years ago. Particularly in the last 600 years from the heyday to the collapse of the feudal society, Beijing was the capital of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, and from here 34 emperors ruled China. 

A long history has left numerous famous historical sites which possess great aesthetic and cultural values. The Great Wall, a huge project begun more than 2,000 years ago, meanders through mountains and valleys for hundreds of kilometers in the region of Beijing. On the Shijing Mountain, there are morethan 340 volumes of 15,000 stone tablets carved with Buddhist scriptures. The big Yongle Bell, cast at one go with over 230,000 characters on it , weighs46.5 tons and shows the exquisite casting technology of ancient China. The Forbidden City, the largest ancient architectural complex extant today, is splendid crystallization of ancient Chinese architectural art. Walking in the city, one may find many places worth a second visit. These include mansions, gardens , gate towers , temples, former residences of celebrities and places where many historical events took place. The Summer Palace, equally famous as the Forbidden City, lies in the north western outskirts of Beijng. Blending southern China-style garden architecture with northern China's natural landscapes, the gardens are probably the best of their kind in Chinese garden architecture. The Temple of Heaven is China's largest existing temple complex. It used to serve for the worship of heaven and celebration of harvest by Ming and Qing emperors. Every day, hundreds of thousands of people, domestic and foreign, come to Beijing to visit its grand palaces and graceful gardens and to enjoy its marvelous art.

As the country's center of culture, education, science and technology, Beijing has more than forty state scientific research institutions, over thirty universities and various exhibition halls, museums, cinemas and palestras. The National Library of China is the largest library in Asia.

Some Sightseeing around Beijing

The Great Wall

Forbidden city

Temple of Heaven

Summer Palace

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