Population: 15.5 millions.

Average temperatures: January -15, July +28

Beijing is the capital and the second largest city of China in terms of population, after Shanghai. It is an ancient city and the capital for the last 700 years. Beijing has a great number of temples, churches, palaces, museums and historical monuments. It is a major transportation hub, with dozens of railways, roads and expressways entering and leaving it in all directions. It is als o the cenral point of many international flights to China. The city covers about 16,800 square kilometers in area. The best time of visit of Beijing is late spring and autumn, particularly during the months of May, September, and October when people can enjoy bright sunshine and blue skies.

Beijing was first recorded as the city of "Ji" in the 11th century BC. But the town was a country town. In the 10th century AD the Mongolian tribes under the direction of Kublai Khan, the grandson of Chingis Khaan, conquered the part of the northern China and established their southern capital where Beijing is today. They were defeated in the 12th century.

Beijing became the capital of China in 13th century during the rule of Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Many monuments and historical buildings that we see today were built during this period. The Forbidden City and Tian'anmen Square were built in 14th century. Emperors of Qing dynasty, that ruled over China from 1644 to 1911, went on with construction of additional temples and palaces.

Tian'anmen Square is the largest city square in the world and covers 400,000 square meters in area.

The Forbidden City

It was the imperial palace of Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is the largest palace complex in the world and covers 74 hectares. It has thousands beautiful rooms and magnific ent towers. The Forbidden City is located in the north of Tian'anmen Square.

"Tian'anmen Gate" is on the north of the Tian'anmen Square. This 33.7-meters-high terrace has been standing here for the last 500 years. You can go up Tian'anmen Gate and look at the vast Tian'anmen Square, like emperors of an ancient China.

The Chairman Mao's Mausoleum stands in the south of the Tian'anmen Square, between the Monument to the People's Heroes and the Zhengyang Gate. Chairman Mao is the founder of the People's Republic of China and he is one of the considerable characters in the modern history of China.

The Temple of Heaven is the beautiful temple complex. It is enclosed within the double wall and has two altars, an altar on the inside and one on the outside. The upper northern half of the temple resembles Heaven and southern half represents Earth. The Temple of Heaven was built in 1420, the same year as the Forbidden City.

Summer Palace is located about 10 kilometers to Beijing City. In 1750, Emperor Qianlong built the garden in honor of his mother. It was the largest imperial garden. It was enclosed within small mountains, has the river, the lake and a large number of magnificent buildings. Kunming Lake, which covers about three-fourths of the total area of the garden, is the major scenic spot in Summer Palace.

The Great Wall is most popular attraction among tourists. It stretches 7200 km from the Bo Sea in the east to the Gobi Desert in the west. The construction of the Great Wall began 2200 years ago. But the wall that you visit today is largely product of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). The great wall averages 7.8 meters in height and is 6.5 meters wide at the base and 5.7 meters at the top. The width is enough for five horses to go side by side.