English
No adjective is good enough to define the beauty of the capital of the People´s Republic of China. There´s nothing better than a trip there to discover it and understand first hand how spectacular this huge city is, where most of its monuments or buildings are some of the biggest in the world. So, are you ready to know what you have to visit?
Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square, also known as the Gate of Heavenly Peace, is the biggest square in the world, covering over 4700 square feet. Here, in 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the foundation of the People´s Republic of China and since then the square has become a centre for ceremonies, celebrations and demonstrations. It´s inevitable not to remember the bloody protest that took place in 1989 and the emblematic photograph of the young man standing in front of the tank (which won the World Press Photo Award that year). In the same square you´ll find the Sun Yat Sen Park, the Monument to the People´s Heroes, the Chinese National Museum (the biggest in the world), the National People´s Assembly Palace and Tiananmen Tower, a symbol of the city.
The Forbidden City
The Forbidden City also has the record for being the biggest palace complex in the world, with 980 buildings and covering 178 acres of land. This enormous complex is enclosed in a bigger area called the Imperial City, which was the home of the Chinese Imperial Palace since the era of the Ming Dynasty until the Qing Dyansty (1912). The Forbidden City is divided in two areas: the Outer Court, where the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony and the Hall of Preserving Harmony are located, and the Inner Court, where you can find the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Palace of Earthly Tranquillity and the Hall of Union. In three of its sides, the Forbidden City is surrounded by imperial gardens, one of which is the ancient Zhongnanhai Garden, which today holds the headquarters of the Communist Party of China and the Secretary of State of the People´s Republic of China. In the Palace Museum there are 1.17 millions preserved items, such as ceramics, paintings, bronze objects and jades among others. In 1987, it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China, another enormous challenge carried out by the ancient Chinese culture, is the biggest construction built by man. Recently, they discovered that it´s a lot longer than they initially though, some three times longer: it´s 13,170 miles long and it extends itself through 15 provinces, autonomous regions and towns in the country. The wall was built to retain the incursions of the nearby tribes, although first from the Mongols, even if that wasn´t fully accomplished. The Great Wall of China is one of the seven wonders of the world and, since 1987, a World Heritage Site designated by UNESCO. It´s important to highlight that the fact that it can be seen from the moon is an urban legend.
Visiting Beijing is a dream that many people have. If you can make it come true, don´t waste time trying to find accommodation in Beijing to discover one of the most ancient and complex cultures in the history of the world.
