Beijing - the Top Ten Spots

Beijing was in my dream when I was a little kid. The dream became reality while I were studying there for 5 years. I love the ancient beauty of the city, the temples, the ancient bell, the Great Wall, and so many other exceptional sights. Each of the sights seems telling you a tale or the past of it, and just make you wondering.

It is impossible to introduce all of the attractions of Beijing in this feature, instead I will guide you through the top ten spots. The titles of the top ten spots in both English and Chinese GB.

10. Yongle Bell
The yongle bell is one of the heaviest and largest ancient bronze bells. It weighs 46.5 tons. The bell is also known for the over 200,000 characters of Buddhist scriptures engraved on it.

9. Yunju Temple
Yunju Temple is located in the southwest of Beijing (about 75 kilometers). Yunju means the dwelling in the clouds. The temple is established aroundthe beginning of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). It is best known for the largest collection of Buddhist scriptures on stone in the world, which has more than 15,000 stone tablets engraved with Buddhist sutras.

8. Peking Man at Zhoukoudian
The first skull-cap of "Peking Man" at Zhoukoudian was discovered by Dr. Pei Wenzhong on December 2, 1929. Here is a brief description from the world heritage list. Check out Dennis Etler's site for more information.

7. Ming Tombs
The Ming Tombs is one of the largest and best-preserved imperial tomb complexes in the world. Thirteen emperors and 23 empress of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) were buried in the Ming Tombs. Here is a picture of Changling, the first tomb built among the 13 tombs.

6. Beihai Park
Beihai is known as the world's earliest royal garden. Here is the virtual tour of this magnificent park from the China Vista site.

5. The Summer Palace
The Summer Palace is the best preserved existing royal garden in Beijing. See the virtual tour here.

4. The Temple of Heaven
Tiantan or the Temple of Heaven was built about 600 years ago for worshiping the heaven. It is best known for the perfection of Chinese traditional architecture and is the grandest of its kind.

3. Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square is the largest city square in the world. It is the "theme park" of the Culture Revolution and 20th-century Chinese history.

2. The Forbidden City
The Forbidden City had been the imperial home of 24 emperors of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. Here is a previous feature.

1. The Great Wall
The Great Wall likes a huge dragon been lying on the vast land for centuries and seems just awaken. See a previous feature here.