lhasa

gisnotonlythepoliticalcenterofChina,butitisalsothemoststrategic

nastiesinChinehistoryactivelybuiltwallsinthis

anyhistoricalruinsoftheGreatWallinBeijing,thewallbuilt

duringtheMingDynasty(1368-1644)isthemostoftenenandbest

prerved,runningover373milesandcontainingabout827citywallplatforms,

ousGreatWallctionsincludethe

Badaling,Huanghuacheng,Mutianyu,Jiankou,Gubeikou,Jinshanlingand

Simataigreatwall.

IfyouwanttoexperiencethecultureandenjoythebeautyoftheGreatWall,

famousforitsdeep-rootedculture,magnificentsightsandcompletemilitary

findmanypicturesofitin

hemust-ection

oftheGreatWall,itissometimesflockedwithvisitorspeciallyduringholidays.

YoumaywanttoavoidthepeakasonsorvisittheMutianyuGreatWall

renostalgicfor

oldtimes,

ong,primitive

wallnhancethebeautyofthewilderness.

datthecenterofBeijingCityisTiananmenSquare,whereyoucanvisit

TiananmenTower,MonumenttothePeople'sHeroes,GreatHallofthePeople,

MaoZedongMemorialHallandethenationalflagraisingceremony.

emustplacetovisit

inBeijingCity.

TiananmenTower

llybuiltin1417during

theMingDynasty(1368A.D.-1644A.D.),theSquarewasthefrontdoorofthe

timportantuofitinthepastwastodeclareinabig

ceremonytothecommonpeoplewhobecametheemperorandwhobecamethe

1911whenthelastfeudalkingdomwasover,noonecouldenter

theTowerexceptfortheroyalfamilyandaristocrats.

MonumenttoPeople'sHeroesThegraniteMonumenttothePeople'sHeroesis

n1952,itisthelargest

monumentinChina'shistory.'ThePeople'sHeroesareImmortal'writtenby

nusuallylargerelief

rowsofwhitemarblerailingnclothemonument,simpleandbeautiful.

GreatHallofthePeople

ilding,erectedin1959,

isthesiteoftheChinaNationalPeople'sCongressmeetingsandprovidesan

marbleposts

areinfrontoftheHallwhichhasthreeparts--theCentralHall,theGreat

oroftheCentralHallispavedwith

atAuditoriumbehind

theCentralHallats10,quetingHallisahugehallwith5,000

ats.

MemorialHallofChairmanMao

llis

dividedintothreehallsandourdearChairmanMao'sbodyliesinacrystalcoffin

inoneofthehallssurroundedbyfreshbouquetsofvariousfamousflowersand

grass.

NationalMuumofChina

AnotherimportantplaceforthetouristtovisitistheChinaNationalMuumat

cameintoexistencein2003andisa

combinationofChineHistoryMuumandChineRevolutionaryMuum.

theChine

RevolutionaryMuumarealotofmaterialobjects,pictures,booksandmodels

neHistoryMuum

showsalargenumberofculturalrelicsillustratingthelonghistoryandglorious

cultureofChinafrom1,700,000yearsagoto1921whenthelastemperorleft

thethrone.

Flag-RaisingCeremony

FiveStarRedFlag-theChinenationalflag,flieshighintheskyabovethe

heguardofhonorraitheFlagisamustforthetouristvisiting

etogetupveryearlyandarriveattheSquarebefore

doingsocanyouetheceremonyclearlyastherearecrowds

ofpeopleattendingtheceremonyeveryday.

Clickformoredetailson2011TimetableforFlag-RaisingCeremony:January

-JuneJuly-December

TheprentTiananmenSquarehasanareaof440,000squaremetersandhas

holiday,thewholesquareiscoveredwithfreshflowers.

ionalStadium,affectionatelyknownasBird'sNest,issituatedin

OlympicGreenVillage,ChaoyangDistrict,esignedasthemain

mpiceventsoftrackandfield,

football,gavelock,ctober,

2008,aftertheOlympicnded,theNationalStadiumhasbeenopenedasa

,it'sthecenterofinternationalordomesticsports

competitionandrecreationactivities.

ThedesignofthislargestadiumwasaccomplishedtogetherbySwissarchitects

JacquesHerzogandPierredeMeuronandChinearchitectLiXinggangandthe

ignersdidn'tdoanyredundantdisposalstothelookofthe

stexpodthesteelstructurentirelyandletthembecome

mofthestadiumlookslikeabignest

looksratherlikeacradle

bearinghumanbeings'hopeofthefuture.

raCottaWarriorsandHorsarethemostsignificantarcheological

ongoingatthissite,whichisaround

1.5kilometerastofEmperorQinShiHuang'sMausoleuminLintong,Xian,

ightnottobemisdbyanyvisitortoChina.

Uponascendingthethroneattheageof13(in246BC),QinShiHuang,laterthe

firstEmperorofallChina,11

eculatedthatmanyburiedtreasuresandsacrificial

ofpeasants

uncoveredsomepotterywhilediggingforawellnearbytheroyaltombin1974.

metoXianin

destablishedbeyonddoubtthat

theartifactswereassociatedwiththeQinDynasty(211-206BC).

srightlyoneofthemostfeaturedanddreamt-aboutcitiesintheworld.

Thisisnotonlybecauofitshighaltitudeat3,650meters(11,975feet)which

meansremotenessandlimitedaccessibility,butalsobecauofitsover1,000

years'culturalandspiritualhistorywhichleavesanimpressiveheritagethathas

helpedtocreatetheromanticandmysteriousTibetanreligion.

DifferingfromtheinlandcitiesandotherplacesinTibet,Lhasaisuniquewithan

ibetanlanguage,LhasameanstheHolyLandorthe

ecenterofTibet'spolitics,y

hasalsobeenappointedasoneofthe24historicalandculturalcitiesofChina.

ThesplendorandgrandeurofthePotalaPalaceinLhasaremainsa

world-famoussymboloftheenigmaticpowerofpoliticsandreligioninthis

region.

AsthebeautifulcapitalcityofTibetAutonomousRegion(TAR),Lhasaissituated

intheSouthCentralpartoftheregion,ontheNorthbankoftheKyichuRiver

(LhasaRiver)cientsprawlingcity,ttled

1,300yearsago,covers30,000squarekilometers(11,583squaremiles),with

apopulationof400,000,anpopulation

is180,000.

6.

Rippingwatershimmeringonsunnyday,

Mistymountainsshroudedtherain;

PlainorgailydeckedoutlikeXizi;

WestLakeisalwaysalluring."

ThearethewordscompodbythefamousSongDynastypoetSuDongpo

(960-1127)whenhecomparedtheWestLaketoXiZi,themostbeautiful

oeticntimentsleaveoneinnodoubtofthe

gloryofthescenerythatinspiredthem.

Originallyashallowainlet,duetothelayingdownofsiltthis5.68square

kilometers(about1,404acres)

culturallandscapeoftheWestLakeinitiatedinthe9thCentury,tookshapein

utten

centuries,ithasalwaysbeenthespiritualhomeofChinecultureelites,the

paradiforallstrataofChinepeopleandawell-knownlakeinChinawiththe

nscribedontheWorldHeritageList

onJune,24,2011,bythecommitteeofthe35thWorldHeritageConferencein

Paris.

Withanaveragedepthofjustfivefeetthelakecomprisfivedistinctctions.

ThelargestpartisknownastheOuterLakeanditisboundedbytheNorthInner

Lake,YuehuLake,theembrace

ofhillypeaksonthreesides,thiswaterwonderlandhasbeenanattractionfor

e

anditnvironshavealltheelementsofatraditionalChinegardenbutona

uralttingofstrangelyshapedpeaks,reneforestsand

springs,denfoliageandamyriadofblossomspeciallyinspringtimeare

erthe

ason,thepanoramaispleasingtotheeyeandthenuancesoflightshade

togetherwiththemoodsoftheweatherprentanever-changingpicturethat

justifiablyhasbeendescribedas'intoxicating'.

idthatifthereshouldbewonderlandsontheearth,JiuzhaigouValley

snoequalelwherethathassceneriesandfables

ofdreamlikeeloquence,ornaturalpuritieslikeafairylandasJiuzhaigouValley.

JiuzhaigouValleyislocatedinNanpingCounty,450kilometers(about280miles)

eisduetotheexistenceofninestockaded

villagesofTibetanorigin,anditisalwaysregardedasaholymountainand

igouValleyisagreatmasterpieceof

inesbluelakes,waterfalls,verdant

forests,snow-coveredmountains,andthefolkcustomsoftheTibetanand

hasitthatlonglongagothedeityofmountainnamed

DagohadacrushonthegoddessSemo,andhegaveamirrorthatwasmade

r,thedevilappearedandmade

rtently,Semobrokethemirrorinto108pieces,which

eisalso

calledHaizibylocalpeople.

entralareaofShanxiProvinceliesanancientcountytypicalofrural

's

differentisthatthiscountyislinkedfirmlytoacertainprosperoustimein

edquiteanimportantroleintheeconomicdevelopment

ofShanxiduringtheMingandQingDynasties.

PingyaoCountyis94kilometers(58.4miles)

areaof1,260squarekilometers(486.5squaremiles),ithasfivetownsandnine

thocitiesorcountiessouthoftheYangtze

River,Pingyaowasnotendowedwithcharmingnaturalscenerybutwithagroup

owasthebirthplaceoftheJin

Businessmen,whowereoneofthetwofamousChinebusinessgroupsduring

theMing(1368-1644)andQing(1644-1911)othis,thefirst

,forthenexthundred

years,

acertaindegree,PingyaowastoChinaduringtheeighteenthcenturywhatWall

StreetistotheUS,whichnotonlyhelpedpromotetheeconomicdevelopment

ofShanxi,butalsoleftuswithamagnificentoldcityandariesofgrand

residences.

Pingyaohasnowbecomequiteahottouristattractioneventhoughitisno

tsthefamousPingyaoOldCitywhich

e

topofthegrandCityWall,youhaveabird's-eyeviewoftheOldCity,acomplete

ncientMingandQingStreet,you

canexperiencethetown'sformerglorywhileexploringtherowsofresidences

andshopsallconstructedintheoriginalarchitecturalstyle.

gGrottoes,oneofthethreemajorcaveclustersinChina,punctuate

thenorthcliffofWuzhouMountain,awaxcavatedalongthe

mountain,extending1km(0.62miles)fromeasttowest,revealing53caves

andover51,000stonestatues.

TheCavesaredividedintoeast,middle,sdominatethe

easternparts;nthe

middlearemadeupoffrontandbackchamberswithBuddhastatuesinthe

ingcoverswallsandceilings.

Startedin450,YungangisarelicoftheNorthernWeiDynasty(386-534).

AbsorbingIndianGandharaBuddhistart,Yungangsculpturesdeveloped

traditionalChineartmeldedwithsocialfeaturesofthetime.

DuringthereignofEmperorXiaoWenamonknamedTanyaotookchargeofthe

20-meter

(65.6-foot)-highcavestandsa15-meter(49.2-foot)-highpagoda-likecolumn

oursidesofthetowerpillar,

andontheeast,southandwestwallsofthecave,33embosdpanelsdepict

thestoryofSaykamuni.

denCity--Generalintroduction

LyingatthecenterofBeijing,theForbiddenCity,calledGuGonginChine,

wastheimperialpalacefortwenty-fouremperorsduringtheMingandQing

irstbuiltthroughout14yearsduringthereignofEmperor

ChengzuintheMingDynasty(1368-1644).AncientChineAstronomers

believedthatthePurpleStar(Polaris)wasinthecenterofheavenandthe

acefortheemperoron

orbiddentoenterwithoutspecial

tsname'ThePurpleForbiddenCity',usually

'TheForbiddenCity'.

NowknownasthePalaceMuum,itistothenorthofTiananmenSquare.

Rectangularinshape,itistheworld'slargestpalacecomplexandcovers74

ndedbya52-meter-widemoatanda10-meter-highwallare

morethan8,tethe

TiananmenGate,tothenorthistheGateofDivineMight(Shenwumen),which

tancebetweenthetwogatesis960meters,while

reunique

anddelicatelystructuredtowersoneachofthefourcornersofthecurtainwall.

Theaffordviewsoverboththepalaceandthecityoutside.

thernction,ortheOuter

northernction,ortheInnerCourtwaswherehelivedwithhisroyalfamily.

Until1924whenthelastemperorofChinawasdrivenfromtheInnerCourt,

fourteenemperorsoftheMingdynastyandtenemperorsoftheQingdynasty

beentheimperialpalaceforsomefivecenturies,it

byUNESCOasaWorld

CulturalHeritageSitein1987,thePalaceMuumisnowoneofthemost

populartouristattractionsworld-wide.