Beijing – capital of China. Has a population of about 15 million people. There are lots
of places of historic importance to see in Beijing.
Tiananmen Square – World's largest central city square - 440,000 square meters
and can hold 4M people at a time. Below are some pictures from Tiananmen Square.
 
 
         
 
 
 
 
 
Forbidden City – Now known as the Palace Museum. Construction began in 1407 and completed in
1420. It has been the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Forbidden City is divided into
two sections. The southern section (Outer Court) and the northern section (Inner Court). From the Outer
Court emperor exercised his power over the nation. In the Inner Court, the emperor lived with his royal
family.

There are 9,999 buildings. The yellow color is dominant in the Forbidden City as yellow is the symbol of
the royal family. Below are some pictures of the Forbidden City.
 
 
 
             
 
 
 
Temple of Heaven – The Temple of Heaven is much larger than the Forbidden City. The Temple was
built in 1420 AD in the Ming Dynasty to offer sacrifice to Heaven. Chinese emperors called themselves as
“son of heaven” and thus dared not to build the Forbidden City larger than Heaven.

The northern part within the wall is semicircular symbolizing the heavens and the southern part is square
symbolizing the earth. The northern part is higher than the southern part. This design shows that the
heaven is high and the earth is low and the design reflected an ancient Chinese thought of 'The heaven
is round and the earth is square'.
 
 
 
             
 
 
 
             
 
 
 
Beijing Opera – Beijing opera, more commonly known as Peking opera to westerners, is deemed the
national opera of China. The accompanying music, singing and costumes are all fascinating and artistic.
Full of Chinese cultural facts, the opera presents to the audience an encyclopedia of Chinese culture as
well as unfolding stories, beautiful paintings, exquisite costumes, graceful gestures and acrobatic
fighting. This kind of opera is so popular among Chinese people, especially seniors, that even a "Beijing
Opera Month" has been declared.
 
 
 
             
 
 
 
Beijing Visit continued on next page
China - Beijing
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Updated: 8/05/06