Beijing Tourist Attractions
Beijing is a metropolitan city in northern part of China. It is the capital of the nation and one of the four ancient capitals of China. Beijing borders the Hebei Province in the north and is an important tourist center. The historical buildings, ancient monuments, forts, and palaces make Beijing a great place to visit. Beijing tourist attractions comprise of tours to the palaces, historic centers, museums, and other adventure parks in the city.About Beijing tourist attractions
Beijing turned out to be an important tourist destination since the 18th century. The scenic gardens and historical sites began to draw significant number of people to the city. The top Beijing tourist attractions include the Forbidden City, Beihai Park, National Museum of China, and The Summer Palace. The Summer Palace in Beijing is a World Heritage Site. The religious sites in Beijing like the Temple of Heaven are also among the most visited places in Beijing. There are also guided tours to many of the ancient pagodas in Beijing.
Top Beijing attractions include the following:
Forbidden City Beijing
The Forbidden City is the imperial Chinese palace of the Ming Dynasty was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty. The Forbidden City was housed within the Imperial City walled by Beijing. It served as the royal residence of the Qing Dynasty as well. The palace in the later years also served as a political and cultural center for the Chinese government. Today, other than the architecture, the Palace Museum within the Forbidden City is a great attraction.
The palace was constructed in 1420. It consisted of 980 buildings and rooms covering 720,000 meter square. The complex represents the Chinese architecture of the era. The Forbidden City was declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site in 1987. the place is well known for having the largest collection of wooden furniture since the 16th century.
The Palace Museum is a host various art works, paintings, life-size pictures, and artifacts. The collections in the museum dates back to the Ming and Qing dynasties in China.
National Museum of China
The National Museum of China is located on the eastern side of Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The mission was built to educate the local people about Chinese art and architecture. The Ministry of Culture of China maintains the museum. The two museums- Museum of the Chinese Revolution and the National Museum of Chinese History was merged in 2003. The Museum of Chinese History comprised of around 620,385 items dating back to 1.7 million years, that now belongs to the National Museum of China.
The museum today displays a large variety of precious collections from the Ming dynasty era. There are vessels, antique items, coins, medals, paintings, and other art pieces. Some of the important collections at the National Museum of China are the following:
The Simuwu Ding- a large vessel from the Shang Dynasty dating back to around 3,000 years. This is one of the finest pieces from that perios.
Beijing Botanical Garden
The Beijing Botanical Garden is situated in the northwestern part of the city. It is located between the Fragrant Hills Park and the jade Springs Mountain. The garden was formed in 1955 and covers around 564,000 square meters of land area. The main highlight of the botanical garden is the tree garden, the perennial bulb garden, rose garden, the peony garden, and medicinal herbs garden. Other sections of the Beijing Botanical Garden are the Wild Fruit section, the environment protection plants area, and the water and vine plants district. Large number of tropical plants is also grown here. The other attraction of the garden is the Buddhist temples located within the park area.
This botanical garden boasts of 6,000 species of plants including flower species, bushes, and tropical shrubs. The medicinal plant garden is a research unit for abstracting herbal medicines for traditional Chinese treatments.
Beijing Arts and Crafts Museum
The Beijing Arts and Crafts Museum is one of the oldest and important museums in the country. it is part of the Gongmei Emporium in Beijing. The museum was founded in the year 1987, and since then it is among the top places of visit in Beijing. The museum has an extensive collection of Chinese art works since recorded history of the place. The craft museum is home to a large number of art pieces, embroidered work, and artifacts frim ancient China. This is an excellent place to come across the history and culture of early Chinese civilization.
The permanent collection at the Beijing Arts and Crafts Museum features around 3,000 items of traditional art works, Jade carvings, Ivory works, and other hand-made items. There are also silver and bronze wares, calligraphy works of noted artists, and utensils forming an integral part of the exhibits.
Beijing Zoo
The Beijing Zoo is an important zoology park in the city located in the Xicheng District. It is an interesting place to visit with your family and children. Beijing Zoo covers an area of 89 hectares that includes lakes, ponds, and open safari. One of the oldest zoo in the country, it has a marine aquarium, several animal species, and birds. There are around 450 species of animals, 500 marine animals, and 400 more bird species. At least 6 million people visit the place in the year and it is among the top attractions in Beijing.
The zoo was established during the rule of Qing dynasty in 1906. Besides the exhibits, the zoo is surrounded by the large Chinese style gardens, meadows, and dense tree growing area. The lotus pools, streams, and long pathways are popular places for tourists to spend time in the zoo.
The zoo is also host to many endangered and rare species of animals that make it a conservation center in the country. The most popular animals in endangered category include Giant Pandas, South China Tiger, Pere David’s deer, Chinese Giant Salamander, Ibis, Yak, and the Siberian Tiger. It is also a breeding center for lions, Tobetan Gazelle, Kiang, Rhinoceros, Hippopotamus, Black Bear, Polar Bear, and Gorilla. It is home to 13 species of cranes of the 15 in the world. In the marine group, there are large number of turtles, sea turtles, and penguins. Animals from various continents and countries are bred here.
