Historic Site sights in China
-
A
Forbidden City
Ringed by a 52m-wide moat at the very heart of Běijīng, the fantastically named Forbidden City is China's largest and best-preserved complex of ancient buildings. So called because it was off limits for 500 years, when it was steeped in stultifying ritual and Byzantine regal protocol, the otherworldly palace was the reclusive home to two dynasties of imperial rule until the Republic demoted the last Qing emperor to has-been.
The design of the palace was originally closely based on its grand and now dilapidated forerunner in Nánjīng. Today, the Forbidden City is prosaically known as the Palace Museum (故宫博物馆; Gùgōng Bówùguǎn). In former ages the price for uninvited…
reviewed
-
B
Summer Palace
Virtually as mandatory a Běijīng sight as the Great Wall or the Forbidden City, the gargantuan Summer Palace easily merits an entire day's exploration, although a (high-paced) morning or afternoon may suffice.
Once a playground for the imperial court fleeing the suffocating summer torpor of the Forbidden City, the palace grounds, temples, gardens, pavilions, lakes, bridges, gate-towers and corridors of the Summer Palace are a marvel of landscaping. Unlike the overpowering flatland of the Forbidden City or the considered harmonies of the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace – with its huge lake, hilltop views and energising walks – offers a pastoral escape into the…
reviewed
-
Mùtiányù
Famed for its Ming-era guard towers and excellent views, the 3km-long section of wall at Mùtiányù, northeast of Běijīng in Huairou County, is largely a recently restored Ming dynasty structure that was built upon an earlier Northern Qi dynasty edifice. US President Bill Clinton came here (Reagan went to Bādálǐng), if that’s anything to go by. With 26 watchtowers, the wall is impressive and manageable, with most hawking reserved to the lower levels (hawkers go down to around Y15 for cotton ‘I climbed the Great Wall’ T-shirts) : the further you get away from Mùtiányù central the better. It’s actually possible to hike from Mùtiányù all the way west to …
reviewed
-
Jiankou
For stupefying hikes along perhaps Běijīng’s most incomparable section of wall, head to the rear section of the Jiankou Great Wall, accessible from Huáiróu. It’s a 40-minute walk uphill from the drop off at Xizhazi Village ( 西栅子村; Xīzhàzi Cūn) to a fork in the path among the trees that leads you to either side of a collapsed section of wall, one heading off to the east, the other heading west. Tantalising panoramic views spread out in either direction as the brickwork meanders dramatically along a mountain ridge; the setting is truly sublime.
reviewed
-
C
Yellow Crane Tower
Wǔhàn's magical dancing crane, immortalised in the poetry of Cui Hao, has long flown but the city's pride and joy remains perched on top of Snake Hill. The tower has had its history rebuilt out of it since the original was constructed in AD 223, and today's beautiful five-storey, yellow-tiled version is a 1980s remake of the Qing tower that combusted in 1884. Trolley bus 1 and bus 10 go here.
reviewed
-
D
Great Hall of the People
The Great Hall of the People, on the western side of Tiān'ānmén Sq, is where the National People's Congress convenes. The 1959 architecture is monolithic and intimidating; the tour parades visitors past a choice of 29 of its lifeless rooms. Also on the billing is a 5000-seat banquet room and the 10,000-seat auditorium with the familiar red star embedded in a galaxy of lights in the ceiling. It's closed when the National People's Congress is in session. The ticket office is down the south side of the building. Bags must be checked in but cameras are admitted. Hours vary.
reviewed
-
E
Old Summer Palace
Forever etched on China's national consciousness for its sacking and destruction by British and French forces during the Second Opium War, the old Summer Palace was originally laid out in the 12th century. Resourceful Jesuits were later employed by Emperor Qianlong to fashion European-style palaces for the gardens, incorporating elaborate fountains and baroque statuary. During its looting, much went up in flames and considerable booty was sent abroad, but a melancholic tangle of broken columns and marble chunks from the hardier Jesuit-designed stone palace buildings remain.
The subdued marble ruins of the Palace Buildings Scenic Area (Xīyánglóu Jǐngqū) can be mulled over…
reviewed
-
F
Gate of Heavenly Peace
Hung with a vast, beatific portrait of Mao and lending its name to the square immediately south, the Gate of Heavenly Peace is a potent national symbol. Built in the 15th century and restored in the 17th century, the double-eaved gate was formerly the largest of the four gates of the Imperial Wall which enveloped the imperial grounds.
The gate is divided into five doors and reached via seven bridges spanning a stream. Each of these bridges was restricted in its use and only the emperor could use the central door and bridge.
Mao proclaimed the People's Republic on 1 October 1949 from here and his gigantic portrait is the dominating feature, with anachronistic slogans on…
reviewed
-
Bìshǔ Shānzhuāng
The imperial summer resort is composed of a main palace complex and vast parklike gardens, all enclosed by a good-looking 10km-long wall. The peak season entrance price is steep, considering the Forbidden City is half the price.
A huge spirit wall shields the resort entrance from the bad spirits and traffic fumes of Lizhengmen Dajie. Through Lìzhèng Gate (丽正门; Lìzhèng Mén), the Main Palace (正宫; Zhèng Gōng) is a ser- ies of nine courtyards and five elegant, unpainted halls, with a rusticity complemented by towering pine trees. The wings in each courtyard have various exhibitions (porcelain, clothing, weaponry), and most of the halls are decked out in period…
reviewed
-
G
Foreign Legation Quarter
For grand shades of Europe, the former Foreign Legation Quarter where the 19th-century foreign powers flung up embassies, schools, churches, post offices and banks is well worth a stroll.
Access the area walking up the steps east from Tiānānmén Sq into Dongjiaomin Xiang (东交民巷), once called Legation St and renamed 'Anti-Imperialism Road' during the iconoclastic Cultural Revolution. Legation Quarter is a classy cluster of elegantly restored legation buildings towards the west end of Dongjiaomin Xiang. The commercial quadrant – which opened straight into the jaws of the credit crunch – is home to several exclusive restaurants (including Maison Boulud), shops and an…
reviewed
Advertisement
-
H
Ancient Observatory
Star-gazing is perhaps on the back foot in today's Běijīng – it could take a supernova to penetrate the haze that frequently blankets the nocturnal sky – but the Chinese capital has a sparkling history of astronomical observation. Běijīng's ancient observatory, mounted on the battlements of a watchtower lying along the line of the old Ming city wall, originally dates to Kublai Khan's days when it lay north of the present site.
At ground level is a pleasant courtyard containing a reproduction-looking armillary sphere supported by four dragons and halls housing displays (with limited English captions). At the rear is an attractive garden with grass, sun dials and a…
reviewed
-
I
Noonday Gun
Built in 1901, this recoil-mounted 3lb cannon is one of the few vestiges of the colonial past in Causeway Bay. The gun stands in a small garden opposite the Excelsior Hotel on Gloucester Rd and is fired at noon every day.
The Noonday Gun is accessible via a tunnel through the basement car park in the World Trade Centre, just west of the Excelsior Hotel. From the taxi rank in front of the hotel, look west for the door marked ‘Car Park Shroff, Marina Club & Noon Gun’.
reviewed
-
J
Tung Chung
Change has come to Tung Chung, on Lantau's northern coast, at a pace that can only happen in Hong Kong. This previously all-but-inaccessible farming region, with the small village of Tung Chung at its centre, has seen Chek Lap Kok, the mountain across Tung Chung Bay, flattened to build Hong Kong's international airport and a New Town rise up, served by the MTR.
As part of the territory's plans to solve its housing crisis, Tung Chung New Town has now become a 760-hectare residential estate. The expected population of Tung Chung and the neighbouring New Town of Tai Ho is 330,000 by 2012.
These developments and transport improvements have put an end to Tung Chung as a peaceful…
reviewed
-
Sīmǎtái
In Miyun County near the far-flung town of Gǔběikǒu near the Héběi border, the stirring remains at Sīmǎtái make for an exhilarating Great Wall experience. Built during the reign of Ming-dynasty emperor Hongwu, the 19km stretch is characterised by watchtowers, steep plunges and scrambling ascents. This rugged section of wall can be heart-thumpingly steep and the scenery is dramatic. Following the crowds to the wall, you have a choice: either head west for the hike (four hours one way) to Jīnshānlǐng or walk east as far as you can. The hike to Jīnshānlǐng makes the long journey out here worth it, but you will need to set off early in the morning; you can do the hike…
reviewed
-
K
Front Gate
The Front Gate actually consists of two gates, originally linked by a by a semicircular enceinte, which was swept aside in the early 20th century. Without the city walls, the gate sits entirely out of context, like a door without a wall. The northerly gate, 40m-high Zhèngyáng Gate (正阳门; Zhèngyáng Mén) – literally 'Facing the Sun Gate' – dates from the Ming dynasty. The largest of the nine impressive gates of the inner city wall dividing the Inner or Tartar (Manchu) City from the Outer or Chinese City, the gate was partially destroyed during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900 and the temples that flanked it have vanished. Also torched during the Boxer Rebellion, the…
reviewed
-
Jinshanling
The Jinshanling Great Wall, near the town of Gǔběikǒu, marks the starting point of an exhilarating 10km hike to Sīmǎtái. The adventure – winding through stunning mountainous terrain – takes around four hours as the trail is steep and parts of the wall have collapsed, but it can be traversed without too much difficulty. Note that the watchtowers are in various states of preservation and some have been stripped of their bricks. Autumn is the best season for the hike; in summer you’ll be sweating gallons so load up with water before you go (ever-present hawkers on the wall sell pricey water for around Y10 a bottle, or more depending on how thirsty you appear). To…
reviewed
-
Bādálǐng
The mere mention of its name sends a shudder down the spine of hardcore walkers of the Great Wall. Bādálǐng is Běijīng’s most-visited chunk of the brick-clad bastion. Nixon, Thatcher, Reagan, Gorbachev and Queen Elizabeth have all stamped on Bādálǐng. It ticks all the iffy Great Wall boxes in one flourish: souvenir stalls, T-shirt flogging hawkers, restaurants, heavily restored brickwork, little authenticity, guardrails and mobs of sightseers. If you’re curious to discover how many people can fit on the wall at any one time, the big holiday periods are a good time to find out. Some guidebooks trumpet that ‘130 million foreign and domestic tourists have visited…
reviewed
-
L
City Walls
Xī'ān is one of the few cities in China where the old city walls are still standing. Built in 1370 during the Ming dynasty, the 12m-high walls are surrounded by a dry moat and form a rectangle with a perimeter of 14km.
Most sections have been restored or rebuilt, and it is now possible to walk the entirety of the walls in a leisurely four hours. You can also cycle from the South Gate (bike hire Y20 for 100 minutes, Y200 deposit). The truly lazy can be whisked around in a golf cart for Y200. Access ramps are located inside the major gates, with the exception of the South Gate, where the entrance is outside the walls; there's another entrance inside the walls beside the…
reviewed
-
M
Folk House
This well-rounded historic residence also serves as an art gallery, entertainment centre and teahouse. Originally the home of the Qing bureaucrat Gao Yuesong, it's a fine example of a courtyard home and has been tastefully restored. There are reception rooms, bedrooms, servants' quarters, an ancestral temple and a study (now the teahouse).
Tours start with an optional marionette or shadow-puppet demonstration (Y10). As the complex currently belongs to the Shaanxi Artists Association, there's an art gallery here where you can pick up reasonably priced traditional Chinese art. Confusingly, despite the address, this place isn't at No 144, but is about 20m down the street.
reviewed
-
N
City Walls
Kāifēng is ringed by a relatively intact, much-restored Qing-dynasty wall. Encased with grey bricks, rear sections of the ramparts have been recently buttressed very unattractively with concrete. Today's bastion was built on the foundations of the Song-dynasty Inner Wall (内城; Nèichéng). Rising up beyond was the mighty, now buried Outer Wall (外城; Wàichéng), a colossal construction containing 18 gates, which looped south of the Pó Pagoda, while the Imperial Wall (皇城; Huángchéng) protected the imperial palace.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
Old Dragon Head
The mythic origin/conclusion of the Great Wall at the sea's edge, Old Dragon Head is 4km south of Shānhǎiguān. What you see now was reconstructed in the late 1980s – the original wall crumbled away long ago. The name derives from the le- gendary carved dragon head that once faced the waves; as attractions go, it's essentially a lot more hype than history. Buses 25 and 21 (Y1) go to Old Dragon Head from Shānhǎiguān's South Gate.
reviewed
-
Xiǎngshuǐhú
Xiǎngshuǐhú means ‘loud water lake’, which may suggest tempting visions of the Great Wall reflected in turbulent waters. The name actually derives from a nearby spring and the surrounding area can be quite dry, especially in winter and spring. Nonetheless, the restored Ming-era wall here has some staggeringly steep gradients, which make for quite a Great Wall StairMaster workout. Sections of the fortification, which divides into two at the road, come with 1m-high steps that make you feel totally Lilliputian. Take shoes with good grip. Located to the west of Mùtiányù and about 30km from Huáiróu.
reviewed
-
First Pass Under Heaven
A restored section of wall studded with watchtowers and tourist paraphernalia, the First Pass Under Heaven is also called East Gate (东门; Dōng Mén). The 12m-high wall's principal watchtower – two storeys with double eaves and 68 arrow-slit windows – is a towering 13.7m high.
The calligraphy at the top (attributed to the scholar Xiao Xian) reads 'First Pass Under Heaven'. Several other watchtowers can also be seen and a wèngchéng (enceinte) extends out east from the wall. To the north, decayed sections of battlements trail off into the hills; to the south you can walk to the ramp just east of the South Gate.
The ticket also includes admission to the vaguely…
reviewed
-
Mu Family Mansion
The former home of a Naxi chieftain, the Mu Family Mansion was heavily renovated (more like built from scratch) after the devasting earthquake that struck Lìjiāng in 1996. Mediocre captions do a poor job of introducing the Mu family but many travellers find the beautiful grounds reason enough to visit.
reviewed
-
O
Duān Gate
Sandwiched between the Gate of Heavenly Peace and Meridian Gate, Duān Gate was stripped of its treasures by foreign forces quelling the Boxer Rebellion (according to the blurb).
reviewed