Beijing the City of Many Temples by Douglas Scott

The capital of the peoples republic of China is Beijing. It was formlery known in English as Peking or Peiking. It is hosting the 2008 summer olympics and is one of the four great ancient capitals of China.

As the capital Beijing has also been the site of political turmoil in recent years. Tiananmen Square a well known landmark in the city was the site of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1976 and then the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 which ended in the Tiananmen Square massacre.

The Great Wall of China passes through Beijing. The Great Wall extends for a good 3000 miles from Shanhaiguan. Today travellers go to The Great Wall to walk on the only man made structure visible from space and to look out from one of the guard towers onto the barren mountains.

Badaling is the section closet to Beijing and offers some of the best views, but it is always crowded.
Mutianyu is another restored section. This section is a more rigours climb but have cable cars to reach the top. A less crowded section is known as Simatai but is 100 kilometres northeast of Beijing and takes a day trip. All section have tour but the most popular is Badaling.

Forbidden City

In the centre of Beijing is The Imperial Palace which was the residence of the emperors for five hundred years from the 15th century to the 20th century. It was the symbolic sea of the imperial power. It is better known as The Forbidden City. Many of the buildings of the Palace have been rebuilt or repaired. The architectural covers an area of 2350,000 square feet and has 9,999 rooms. It is the biggest complex in the world .The forbidden City has three primary Halls of State. The Hall of Supreme Harmony The Hall of Middle Harmony and The Hall of Preserving Harmony. The Outer Court the emperors governed from their thrones and hold court session with the ministers also The Outer Court was used for ceremonies such as birthday and weddings. The Inner Court was where the emperor dealt with state affairs.
Urban Beijing is known for being the center of pirated goods and anything from the latest dvds to the latest designer clothing can be found in markets all over the city.

Most night clubs are in the area around Sanlitun or near the workers stadim.

Wudaokou, in northwestern Beijing, is also a bustling nightlife center. There are more Koreans and other foreigners, mostly students, in the area.

Author Resource: Douglas Scott is a free lance writer for Car Rentals the car hire comparator. and writes for The Self Catering Holiday Rental Site

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