The Grand View Garden

GMT China Daily Located in Xuanwu District southwest of Beijing, the present Grand View Garden (Daguanyuan in Chinese) is a replica of Daguanyuan, the magnificent garden of an imperial family described in the well-known Chinese novel "A Dream of Red Mansions" by a Qing Dynasty writer Cao Xueqin (17l5-l763). The site used to be a park dotted with willows and pines. In l984, the China Television Film Production Centre decided to use it as the setting to shoot garden scenes for the TV series "A Dream of Red Mansions". After that the plan to build the Grand View Garden at the site faithful to the writer's description has come into being.

Beijing Zoo

GMT China Daily Situated in the Xicheng District, Beijing Zoo was the first of its kind to be opened in China. The zoo contains a diverse collection of animals, a number of exhibition halls and some sites of historical interest.

Fragrant Hills Park

GMT Xinhua English The Fragrant Hills Park is located 20 kilometers northwest of Beijing. The name of the park derives not from the fresh air or aroma in the area, but in the shape of the hills themselves. If you look close enough, you can just make out the shape of an incense burner at the peak of the hills.

Zhongshan Park

GMT Xinhua English Covering an area of 24 hectares (60 acres), the Zhongshan Park lies west of Tian'anmen Gate. About a thousand years ago, this park used to be the site of Xingguosi (Temple of National Revival) in the northeastern part of the city of Yanjing (Yan Capital, the old name of Beijing) during the Liao and Jin dynasties (9l6-l234).

Yonghe Lamasery

GMT China Daily Situated on the east side of Yonghegong Street in the northeastern corner of the city, the Yonghe Lamasery is the largest and best-known lamasery in Beijing. The principal components are three exquisite memorial archways and five major halls, all of which stand on a north-south axis. The total area of the compound calculated from the southernmost memorial archway to the lamasery's northernmost point is 66,400 square meters.

Temple of Azure Clouds in Beijing

GMT Xinhua English The Temple of Azure Clouds lies at the foot of the Western Hills. Its landmark the Diamond Throne Pagoda can be seen towering amidst green trees from a far distance.

Temple of The Reclining Buddha

GMT Xinhua English The Temple of the Reclining Buddha is situated at the foot of the Western Hills about 30 kilometres west of Beijing. It was first built in the 7th century at a cost of 5 million taels of silver.

Pool and Cudrania Temple

GMT Xinhua English In between the Mahavira Hall and Vairochana Pavilion the Pool and Cudrania Temple is situated 45 kilometres west of the city. For Centuries, there has been a saying:"First there was the Pool and Cudrania Temple, then came Beijing."

Panjiayuan Antiques Market

GMT China Daily Situated west of Panjiayuan Bridge and south of the East Third Ring Road, the Panjiayuan Antiques Market is easily accessible. The market deals mainly in antiques and arts and crafts. It also has the reputation of being the most inexpensive antiques market in Beijing, attracting foreign and domestic tourists.

Beijing Capital Museum

GMT China Daily Beijing Capital Museum was formerly located in the Confucius Temple at Guozijian Street, Andingmen. It was prepared to build up in 1953 and was officially opened to the outside world in 1981.

Liulichang Antiques Street

GMT China Daily Liulichang is known for its ancient books, calligraphy, paintings, rubbings, ink stones and ink. The street, which is only 750 meters long, is located south of Hepingmen (Peace) Gate within walking distance of the Hepingmen Quanjude Peking Duck Restaurant.

Wangfujing Street

GMT China Daily Wangfujing Street, located in the Dongcheng District of Beijing, is one of China’s most attractive and modern shopping streets. Now much of the road is off-limits to cars and other motor vehicles, and it is not rare to see the entire street full of people.

The Temple of Heaven

GMT China Daily The Temple of Heaven, or Tiantan in Chinese, is the largest existing complex of ancient sacrificial buildings in China. It is a masterpiece of China's royal sacrificial buildings complex and one of the best symbolic illustrations of Chinese cosmology.

Qianmen

GMT China Daily The Qianmen, also known as Zhengyangmen, was formerly the front gate of the Imperial City, a part of the ancient city of Beijing. It stands at the south end of the Tiananmen Square precinct.

Tian’anmen

GMT China Daily Climbing up Tian’anmen Gate to take a view of Tian’anmen Square is a dream for many generations of Chinese. Tian’anmen is not simply a gate. It had bore witness to many historical events, and the decline and resurgence of the nation.

The Forbidden City

GMT China Daily The Forbidden City, the core of the central line, was where the emperors lived. Located in the center of Beijing, it used to be the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Its construction started in 1406, and was completed in 1420. The rectangular palace covers an area of some 720,000 sq. km -- 961 m in length and 760 m in width. It has a total of 9999.5 room spaces (an area enclosed by four poles).

First Beijing sightseeing bus puts into service

GMT China Daily A sightseeing bus passing by the Water Cube on Sunday, July 20, 2008. With the first Beijing sightseeing bus put into service, two tourist routes are now available to tourists. One drives past the Water Cube and other Olympic venues, while the other covers Beijing's cultural cityscape. Each bus has a bilingual tourist guide on board who explains the unique characteristics and design concepts of each scenic spot.

A list of recommended museums in Beijing

GMT Xinhua English BEIJING, July 14 (Xinhua) -- For many overseas visitors to Beijing for the Olympic Games, it may be a good and meaningful arrangement to insert some trips to local museums between sport matches. Here, Xinhua helps you screen the city's more than 2,300 museums and patch up a simple list of more than 80 museums that may cater to your interests.

Guide to the Great Wall in rural Beijing

GMT Xinhua English BEIJING, July 14 (Xinhua) -- China's Great Wall was originally built to keep out invaders. Today it is arguably the main attraction bringing foreigners into the country.

Guide to historic attractions in Beijing

GMT Xinhua English BEIJING, July 15 (Xinhua) -- With its 3,000-year history, Beijing boasts some of the most renowned historic attractions in the world.