北京英文旅游指南手册 Beijing_travel_guide

B e iji ng i s a huge city with s e v e r a l d i s tr i c t a rt i c l e s c on t a i n i ng s i gh t s ee i ng, restaurant, n i gh t li f e and a cc o mm od a t i on li s t i ng s — c on s i d e r p r i n t i ng them a ll .

B e iji ng (北京 B ěij īng ) i s the c a p i t a l of

the most popu l ou s country in the world, the

P e op l e 's R e pub li c of Ch i n a , a nd a l s o i t s

second l a r g e s t city a f t e r S h a ngh a i . It was

a l s o the seat of t h e Ming and Qing dynasty

emperors until the f o r m a t i on of a r e pub li c

in 1911. B e iji ng i s the po li t i c a l ,

e du c a t i on a l a nd c u l t u r a l centre o

f the

country and a s such it i s rich in h i s t o r i c a l

s i t e s a nd i m po rt a n t government and c u l t u r a l

i n s t i t u t i on s .

The city i s w e ll known for i t s f l a t n e ss and r e gu l a r c on s tr u c t i on. There are only three h ill s to b e found in the city li m i t s (in J i ng s h a n Park to the north of the f a m ou s Fo r b i dd e n City). L i k e t h e c on f i gu r a t i on of the Fo r b i dd e n City, B e iji ng has c on c e n tr i c "ring r o a d s ", which are a c t u a ll y r e c t a ngu l a r , that go around the m e tr opo li s .

B e iji ng was host to the 2008 Summer O l y m p i c G a m e s .

Landmarks

The centre of the city and most i m po rt a n t l a nd m a rk i s T i a n a n m e n Square in Dongcheng D i s tr i c t . T h i s i s the w o r l d 's l a r g e s t public square and a must see for a ll v i s i t o r s from abroad and from e l s e w h e r e in Ch i n a . The square i s surrounded by grand bu il d i ng s i n c l ud i ng the Great H a ll of t h e P e op l e , the Museum of Ch i n e s e H i s t o ry , the Museum of the Ch i n e s e R e v o l u t i on, the Q i a n m e n Gate and the Fo r b i dd e n City. It i s a l s o home to the Ch a i r m a n Mao M e m o r i a l H a ll and t h e Monument to the P e op l e 's M a rtyr s .

The N a t i on a l S t a d i u m or B i r d 's Nest in Chaoyang D i s tr i c t i s a new m a j o r l a nd m a rk and t h e s y m bo l of the 2008 Olympic Games. Two contemporary bu il d i ng s in Chaoyang D i s tr i c t a r e

r e m a rk a b l e l a nd m a rk s : the CCTV Building and the World Trade Center Tower III. Both a r e ou t s t a nd i ng e x a m p l e s of contemporary a r c h i t e c t u r e .

There are a l s o a number of r e m a rk a b l e r e m a i n s from the m e d i e v a l city including the Ming Dynasty City W a ll S i t e Park (the only r e m a i n s of the city w a ll ) in

Chongwen D i s tr i c t , the Drum and B e ll Towers in D ong c h e ng D i s tr i c t ,

and Q i a n m e n in Chongwen D i s tr i c t .

Palaces, temples and parks

The c i ty 's many green oases are a w ond e r f u l break from w a l k i ng a l ong the never e nd i ng bou l e v a r d s and n a rr o w hutongs. L o c a l s s i m il a r l y flock to B e iji ng 's p a l a c e s , t e m p l e s and parks whenever they have t i m e . T h e green areas are not only used for r e l a x i ng but a l s o for sports, d a n c i ng, s i ng i ng and g e n e r a l r e c r ea t i on.

The most i m po rt a n t p a l a c e , bar none, i s t h e

Fo r b i dd e n city in Dongcheng D i s tr i c t . T h e Fo r b i dd e n City was home to the I m p e r i a l Court during the Ming and Qing Dy n a s t i e s . U n li k e many other h i s t o r i c a l s i gh t s , the Fo r b i dd e n City was r e l a t i v e l y untouched during the c u l t u r a l r e v o l u t i on due to the t i m e l y i n t e rv e n t i on of p r e m i e r Zhou En l a i , who sent h i s troops to guard t h e p a l a c e from the o v e r-z ea l ou s Red Guards. The T e m p l e of Heaven (天坛) in Chongwen D i s tr i c t i s the s y m bo l of B e iji ng and i s surrounded by a li v e l y park ty p i c a ll y packed with hordes of l o c a l p e op l e drinking tea, p r a c t i c i ng c a lli g r a ph y or t a i -c h i or j u s t w a t c h i ng the world go by. T h e Yonghegong (Lama T e m p l e ) ( 雍 和 宫 ) in Dongcheng D i s tr i c t i s one of the most i m po rt a n t a nd b ea u t i f u l t e m p l e s in the country.

Other parks are scattered around B e iji ng. Some of the best are Zhongshan Park ( 中 山 公 园 ) in X i c h e ng D i s tr i c t , B e i h a i Park ( 北 海 公 园 ) in X i c h e ng D i s tr i c t , Chaoyang Park ( 朝 阳 公 园 ) in Chaoyang D i s tr i c t and R i t a n Park (日坛公园) in Chaoyang D i s tr i c t . The B e iji ng Zoo (北京动物 园 ) in X i c h e ng D i s tr i c t i s f a m ou s for i t s tr a d i t i on a l l a nd s c a p i ng and g i a n t pandas, however li k e many zoos, the c ond i t i on s for the a n i m a l s have been qu e s t i on e d.

H a i d i a n D i s tr i c t i s home to the Summer p a l a c e (颐和园), the

r u i n s of the Old Summer P a l a c e ( 圆 明 园 ), F r a g r a n t H ill s

(香山), and the B e iji ng B o t a n i c a l Garden (北京植物 园). All

are qu i t e c l o s e together and worth a v i s i t .

Museums and galleries The museums in B e iji ng are g e n e r a ll y not yet up to the standard seen

in c i t i e s such as P a r i s , Ro m e and New York. However the city c on t a i n s one of the l a r g e s t and most w e ll known museums in A s i a , the P a l a c e Museum a l s o known as the Fo r b i dd e n City. It i s a l s o a UNESCO World H e r i t a g e