With a history dating back to more than 3,000 years, Beijing is one of the most ancient and alluring cities that offers an abundance of discoveries to attract and delight travelers as they arrive to explore the city’s ancient past and amazing modern development. Beijing has now become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, with millions of local as well as international visitors every year. If you are planning to visit the city, here are some things that you should definitely check out.
Places to visit:
The city of Beijing: The Capital of the People’s Republic of China.has plenty to offer its visitors. Walking around the traditional hutongs, or residential neighborhoods is a great way to get away from the busy and bustling modern city and get a glimpse of how life once used to be. While wandering through the hutong you will come across many famous locations such as Liulichang Cultural Street, home to one of China’s largest antique markets. If you are an art lover, you may want to visit the National Art Museum Of China (NAMOC) or the Peking Opera, a traditional dramatic musical performance known as Jingju. History lovers can check out Beijing’s ancient and well-preserved pagodas, such as the Pagoda of Tianning Temple that has been around since the Liao Dynasty.
The forbidden city is one of the ancient wonders in Beijing worth visiting. It is a large imperial palace complex where the Chinese emperors used to live for almost five hundred years. Admission during the Summer season costs CNY 60 ($9 USD) while during the winter, it costs CNY 40 ($6 USD). Tours are available where you can choose to spend three or four hours covering the essentials or spend whole days to get in-depth knowledge of these sites.
Another must-see spot in Beijing is the The Great Wall of China, one of the seven wonders of the world that extends more than 5,000 miles. The construction of the wall started as early as the 7th Century BCE and gradually it was made stronger and used to protect the Chinese provinces from attacks and invasions from various different groups.
Yet another must-visit location in Beijing is Tiananmen Square, a large square located at the center of Beijing city. One of the ten largest city squares in the world, Tiananmen Square is home to a large number of monuments like the National Museum of China, Tiananmen Tower and the Chairman Mao Zedong Memorial Hall.
What to eat in Beijing:
Apart from the historic monuments and attractions, Beijing is also famous for its delicious and mouth-watering food. The Peking duck, dumplings, Zha Jiang Noodles (Fried Sauce Noodles), corn chowder and steamed corn buns are some of the most famous everyday food that are usually available at cheap prices. The Peking duck is one of the few iconic dishes that used to be a delicacy for the royalties during the Ming dynasty. Today it is a very common dish loved by people all over the world. Quan Ju De, Da Dong and Xi He Ya Yuan are some of the restaurants where you get the best Peking duck.
Beijing has a continental type of climate with hot summers and, cold and dry winters. The best time to visit Beijing is April to October, when the weather is nice and mild. Beijing is a city full of surprises, with restaurants that serve the most delicious food, awesome galleries, historic temples, spectacular palaces and bargain shopping markets, that make you fall in love with the city instantly. The city offers so much to see and do that thousands of tourists keep coming back year after year.
