Beijing Tour Guide   

Beijing tour guide makes a humble effort to give its readers an overview of Beijing. Beijing with an area of 16808 sq. km. is the second largest city of China after Shanghai and is also the capital of the 'People's Republic of China' more commonly known as China. During the long history of the city it has gone by the names of Ji, Zhongdu, Dadu, and finally Beijing when the Ming Dynasty Emperor ChengZu chose the name in 1421.

While planning your Beijing tour please keep in mind that there are many sites and places to visit in Beijing, so I recommend spending at least a week here to take in as much as you can without rushing and enjoying every moment of your Beijing tour.

Here are some great ideas for where to visit during your Beijing tour :

The Imperial Palace: In 1421, after 17 years of construction, Yongle, a Ming emperor, became the first to occupy the imperial palace. The Imperial Palace built over 250 acres of land, accommodates some 9,000 rooms capable of housing the imperial family, administrators, eunuchs, maids and soldiers. The Imperial Palace is one of the greatest example of ancient Chinese architecture. This place is a must see during your tour of Beijing.

The Temple of Heaven: The Temple of Heaven with an area of 273 hectares, is at least 3 times the size of the Forbidden City and is one of the largest temple complexes in China, its located just a short distance from the Imperial Palace. Today, thanks to the loosening of religious repression, visitants can see this largest of religious buildings in China. This historical building was entered into the world cultural heritage list in 1998 and should not be missed from your list of 'places to visit' during your Beijing tour.

Other Temples: Beijing is of course a spiritual center and as such you can visit a number of temples. One very popular site is the Lama Temple. Originally built as a palace for a prince of the Qing dynasty, it was later turned into a Lama temple in 1744, it features a 54-foot high Buddha that was sculptured from a single piece of sandalwood.

The Da Zhong Si (Big Bell) temple is also worth a visit. Built in 1733 AD, it features thousands of elaborately carved bells, among them is reputedly the world's oldest and largest. Some of the other beautiful temples are White Cloud Temple, Temple of Azure Clouds and Fa Yuan Temple. There are over 20 other temples, mosques and cathedrals to visit as well.

The Tiananmen Square which is  the largest open square in the world, and can comfortably accommodate about 1 million people. And The Beijing Zoo which contains a diverse collection of animals; nearly 600 species make their home here, with over 6,000 animals drawn from all over the globe are on display. These two place are also a must visit during your Beijing tour.

During your jam packed Beijing tour schedule, there are a lot of sights in the capital city that offers a calm atmosphere. At Yiheyuan is a 290-acre park where tourers can stroll over bridges and rest in pavilions alongside a large lake. Sip tea at one of the many tea-houses, or saunter along one of the many tree-lined paths.

To make your Beijing tour a memorable one, be sure to budget enough time. Beijing has many fascinating sights and you'll find it hard to choose which site to see and which to skip, so the more time you have, the easier for you to plan your Beijing tour.