The oval-shaped National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA is made from thousands of titanium plates combined with sheets of glass. Surrounded by an artificial lake, the structure looks like a giant egg floating on the water when viewed from afar. Opera, concert, and theater halls host national and international performances.
This theater inside the Qianmen Jianguo Hotel in the Xuanwu District—an area famous for being the birthplace of Peking Opera—has been hosting this traditional performing art since 1990. Performances here offer a classic introduction to Peking Opera, with elements of Beijing culture, kung fu, and even humor featuring prominently.
About 1,500 years old, the Shuanglin Temple complex is home to China’s largest collection of painted Chinese clay sculptures, which are intricately decorated and well-preserved. To place each collection of sculptures in context, each chamber is painted with dramatic backdrops depicting China’s varied landscapes.
Set in the village of Jingsheng, not far from the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Pingyao, the Wang Family Courtyard is one of China’s largest non-royal historic residences. The sprawling complex, built by the Wang family in the 17th to 19th centuries, spans more than 60 acres (25 hectares), with ancestral halls, a temple, castles, a museum, and courtyard homes.
Located just north of Tiananmen Square in the center of Beijing is the monumental Gate of Heavenly Peace (Tiananmen Tower. Originally built during the Ming Dynasty as an entrance to the Imperial City, today it’s a national symbol of modern China, and one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city.
Literally “the Street of Eternal Peace,” Chang'an Avenue runs through Beijing from east to west. Its core section, first built during the 15th century, houses Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the National Center for the Performing Arts (aka the Egg), and Wangfujing. The name is sometimes written “Chang’an Avenue.”
Towering 125 feet (38 meters) above Tiananmen Square, the Monument to the People’s Heroes is a Beijing landmark. Constructed during the 1950s, not long after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, the granite structure pays tribute to Chinese revolutionaries with inscriptions and reliefs.
When the Tianjin Eye was completed in 2008, it officially became the first and only observation wheel in the world to be built over a bridge. The 394-foot (120-meter tall wheel straddles the Hai River above the Yongle Bridge, offering stellar views (on clear days or nights of this city of some 7.5 million people.
The epicenter of Harbin’s annual ice and snow festival, Harbin Ice and Snow World is China’s ultimate winter wonderland. This vast outdoor playground features ice slides, ice pagodas, ice bars, ice bicycles, live performances, ski slopes, and more. Up to 1,000 installations illuminated in colored lights deliver an icy razzle-dazzle that’s built afresh on a new theme each year.
The Mountain Resort in Chengde is located just north of the city of Chengde and is China's largest imperial garden. The former summer residence of the Qing dynasty’s emperors and royal members, this vast complex took almost a whole century to complete, with construction taking place between 1703 and 1792. The imperial grounds include the emperor's residential buildings plus the royal gardens and a number of striking temples. The various styles of the buildings and landscapes appear to blend in with the surrounding lakes, mountains, and forest.
The Eastern Qing Tombs (Qing Dong Ling) are the largest and best preserved mausoleum complex in China. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the complex of 15 tombs and more than 500 structures contains the remains of 5 emperors, 15 empresses, 3 princes, 2 princesses, and 136 imperial concubines of the Qing Dynasty (1644 to 1911).
Step back in time in historic Cuandixia Village, a picturesque town nestled in the mountains. Founded during the Ming Dynasty, the village has 70 well preserved stone courtyard homes. It’s a popular day trip destination from Beijing, offering visitors stunning vistas and a glimpse into traditional village life.
These ruins are all that remains of several grand palaces that made up a summer retreat for Chinese emperors from the 15th to mid-19th centuries. Occupying a space the size of Central Park in New York, the Old Summer Palace (Yuanming Yuan) is now a collection of marble chunks, crumbling statues, and broken columns.
During a 1773 renovation of a northeastern section of the Forbidden City, a Nine Dragon Screen—common in palaces and gardens throughout China—was added to provide privacy and protection from evil spirits for Emperor Qianlong’s retirement villa. The screen depicts nine Chinese dragons, each playing with a pearl amid ocean waves.
Within Beijing's Forbidden City complex—a vast museum in its own right—sits the Treasure Gallery. With a collection of paintings, clocks, pottery, furniture, bronze, and jade statuary, some artifacts date to the days when Qing emperors roamed the halls. A must-visit for anyone interested in the last imperial dynasty in China.
The Capital Museum in Beijing houses a sizable collection of imperial Chinese art and artifacts, as well as Buddhist relics from several Asian countries. Five aboveground levels and two basement floors house more than 200,000 pieces, including bronzes, ceramics, textiles, and sculptures. History lovers will be enthralled during their visit.
A large Buddhist temple in Jizhou, northern China, the Dule Temple (Temple of Solitary Joy) traces its origins to the 7th century and includes some of China’s oldest wooden buildings. The front gate and towering Guanyin Pavilion date back more than 1,000 years. Murals and statues, including a gigantic clay Goddess of Mercy (Guanyin), add life and color.
Some 485 granite and marble lions—each slightly different—stand guard along Beijing’s Marco Polo Bridge (Lugou Qiao), built in 1192 and the oldest in the Chinese capital. Italian explorer Marco Polo supposedly wrote about the bridge, with its 11 arches spanning the Yongding River southwest of central Beijing.
Once an imperial residence, the palace of the Forbidden City had an inner and an outer court. While the outer court was for official business, the inner court held the royal family’s personal living quarters and gardens. Visitors can now enter these once-private areas, to see how emperors lived until the 1720s.
Built in 1777, the Prince Gong Mansion (Gong Wang Fu) is one of the best preserved imperial mansions in Beijing, and it has been turned into an excellent museum. Be sure to visit the ornamental gardens, featuring pavilions, ponds, and winding paths. A central stage hosts Beijing opera and orchestral performances throughout the day.
Founded in 1317, Dongyue Temple is dedicated to Tai Shan, one of the five great mountains of Taoism. Still an active temple, it’s one of the largest Taoist temples in north China at 11.7 acres (4.7 hectares). It’s also one of Beijing’s more unusual temples, with 76 small rooms representing the “departments” of the Taoist underworld.
The China Aviation Museum (Datangshan Museum is the largest of its kind in Asia. This huge facility, located in an old air force base north of Beijing, displays hundreds of aircraft and missile launchers of various makes, including various Russian and Chinese crafts, two British Spitfires, and a US Starfighter.
Built in 1984 on the site of a former imperial palace, Beijing’s Chaoyang Park is the largest park in the city at 714 acres (289 hectares). Visitors enjoy relaxing or boating at Lotus Lake, exploring the artworks and fountains on display, treating the kids to amusement park rides, taking a bike ride, or playing basketball.
Giant pandas are the main draw at Beijing Zoo, a wildlife attraction with a heritage dating back over 100 years. Besides distinctively Chinese animals, such as white tigers, golden monkeys, and milu deer, it hosts everything from giraffes to polar bears. The Beijing Aquarium is within the zoo, but a separate ticket is required.
Housed in a classical, multistory pavilion-style building in central Beijing, the National Art Museum of China (NAMOC) is one of the largest art museums in the country. Its collection spans over 100,000 works across different periods of Chinese art, from imperial to contemporary, as well as notable works by international masters.
Located in Ditan Park, the Temple of Earth is the last remaining temple dedicated to the God of Earth, and the second largest of the five altar temples in Beijing. Built in 1530 by Emperor Jiajing, it is believed to have been used by 14 emperors as a place of sacrifice and to pray to the God of Earth for a good harvest.
St. Joseph's Church (sometimes referred to as the East Cathedral is one of four significant Catholic cathedrals in Beijing. Construction finished in 1655, making it the second oldest in the city after the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. It’s predominantly Romanesque in style but with some Chinese architectural features.
Step back in time at the Shijia Hutong Museum. Located in Beijing’s Dongcheng District, the museum gives visitors insight into life in the hutong alleyways and traditional courtyards homes of years past, with exhibits that showcase life at various points in the 20th century, from contracts and bus tickets to furnished rooms.
The Juma River snakes through Shidu Nature Park and its landscape of striking limestone karst formations, making it a photogenic spot from almost every vantage point. The park in China’s Fangshan District encompasses some 74,131 acres (30,000 hectares) and is a popular day trip from Beijing for those who enjoy the great outdoors.
China is home to the world’s largest network of high-speed rails, which connects Beijing with other notable destinations in the country. Quiet, fast, and efficient, bullet trains reach a top speed of 220 miles (354 kilometers) per hour. The longest route covers more than 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers) from Beijing south to Guangzhou.
