Travel in China!

The Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in China, built, rebuilt, and maintained between 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire during the rule of successive dynasties. Several walls, referred to as the Great Wall of China, were built since the 5th century BC, the most famous being the one built between 220 BC and 200 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang; this wall was located much further north than the current wall built during the Ming Dynasty, and little of it remains.

The Great Wall is one of the existing megastructures and the world’s longest man-made structure, stretching over 6,352 km (3,948 miles) from Shanhai Pass in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia.

The Great Wall, like the Pyramids of Egypt, the Taj Mahal(1) in India and the Hanging Garden of Babylon(2), is one of the great wonders of the world.
Starting out in the east on the banks of the Yalu River in Liaoning Province, the Wall stretches westwards for 12,700 kilometers to Jiayuguan in the Gobi desert, thus known as the Ten Thousand Li Wall in China. The Wall climbs up and down, twists and turns along the ridges of the Yanshan and Yinshan Mountain Chains through five provinces——Liaoning, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Gansu and two autonomous regions——Ningxia and Inner Mongolia, binding the northern China together.
Historical records trace the construction of the origin of the Wall to defensive fortification back to the year 656 B.C. during the reign of King Cheng of the States of Chu. Its construction continued throughout the Warring States period in the fifth Century B.C. when ducal states Yan, Zhao, Wei, and Qin were frequently plundered by the nomadic peoples living north of the Yinshan and Yanshan mountain ranges. Walls, then, were built separately by these ducal states to ward off such harassments. Later in 221 B.C., when Qin conquered the other states and unified China, Emperor Qinshihuang ordered the connection of these individual walls and further extensions to form the basis of the present great wall. As a matter of fact, a separate outer wall was constructed north of the Yinshan range in the Han Dynasty(206 BC——1644 BC.), which went to ruin through years of neglect. In the many intervening centuries, succeeding dynasties rebuilt parts of the Wall. The most extensive reinforcements and renovations were carried out in the Ming Dynasty (1368——1644) when altogether 18 lengthy stretches were reinforced with bricks and rocks. it is mostly the Ming Dynasty Wall that visitors see today.
The Great Wall is divided into two sections, the east and west, with Shanxi Province as the dividing line. The west part is a rammed earth construction, about 5.3 meters high on average. In the eastern part, the core of the Wall is rammed earth as well, but the outer shell is reinforced with bricks and rocks. The most imposing and best preserved sections of the Great Wall are at Badaling and Mutianyu, not far from Beijing and both are open to visitors.
The Wall of those sections is 7.8 meters high and 6.5 meters wide at its base, narrowing to 5.8 meters on the ramparts, wide enough for five horses to gallop abreast. There are ramparts, embrasures, peep-holes and apertures for archers on the top, besides gutters with gargoyles to drain rain-water off the parapet walk. Two-storied watch-towers are built at approximately 400-meters internals. The top stories of the watch-tower were designed for observing enemy movements, while the first was used for storing grain, fodder, military equipment and gunpowder as well as for quartering garrison soldiers. The highest watch-tower at Badaling standing on a hill-top, is reached only after a steep climb, like “climbing a ladder to heaven”. The view from the top is rewarding, hoverer. The Wall follows the contour of mountains that rise one behind the other until they finally fade and merge with distant haze.
A signal system formerly existed that served to communicate military information to the dynastic capital. This consisted of beacon towers on the Wall itself and on mountain tops within sight of the Wall. At the approach of enemy troops, smoke signals gave the alarm from the beacon towers in the daytime and bonfire did this at night. Emergency signals could be relayed to the capital from distant places within a few hour long before the invention of anything like modern communications.
There stand 14 major passes (Guan, in Chinese) at places of strategic importance along the Great Wall, the most important being Shanghaiguan and Jiayuguan. Yet the most impressive one is Juyongguan, about 50 kilometers northwest of Beijing.
Known as “Tian Xia Di YI Guan” (The First Pass Under Heaven), Shanghaiguan Pass is situated between two sheer cliffs forming a neck connecting north China with the northeast. It had been, therefore, a key junction contested by all strategists and many famous battles were fought here. It was the gate of Shanghaiguan that the Ming general Wu Sangui opened to the Manchu army to suppress the peasant rebellion led by Li Zicheng and so surrendered the whole Ming empire to the Manchus, leading to the foundation of the Qing Dynasty. (1644-1911)
Jiayuguan Pass was not so much as the “Strategic pass Under the Heaven” as an important communication center in Chinese history. Cleft between the snow-capped Qilian Mountains and the rolling Mazong Mountains, it was on the ancient Silk Road. Zhang Qian, the first envoy of Emperor Wu Di of the Western Han dynasty (206 B.C-24 A.D), crossed it on his journey to the western regions. Later, silk flowed to the west through this pass too. The gate-tower of Jiayuguan is an attractive building of excellent workmanship. It has an inner city and an outer city, the former square in shape and surrounded by a wall 11.7 meters high and 730 meters in circumference. It has two gates, an eastern one and a western one. On each gate sits a tower facing each other. the four corners of the wall are occupied by four watch towers, one for each.
Juyongguan, a gateway to ancient Beijing from Inner Mongolia, was built in a 15-kilometer long ravine flanked by mountains. The cavalrymen of Genghis Khan swept through it in the 13th century. At the center of the pass is a white marble platform named the Cloud terrace, which was called the Crossing-Street Dagoba, since its narrow arch spanned the main street of the pass and on the top of the terrace there used to be three stone dagobas, built in the Yuan Daynasty(1206-1368). At the bottom of the terrace is a half-octagonal arch gateway, interesting for its wealth of detail: it is decorated with splendid images of Buddha and four celestial guardians carved on the walls. The vividness of their expressions is matched by the exquisite workmanship. such grandiose relics works, with several stones pieced together, are rarely seen in ancient Chinese carving. The gate jambs bear a multi-lingual Buddhist sutra, carved some 600 years ago in Sanskrit(3), Tibetan, Mongolian, Uigur(4), Han Chinese and the language of Western Xia. Undoubtedly, they are valuable to the study of Buddhism and ancient languages.
As a cultural heritage, the Wall belongs not only to China but to the world. The Venice charter says: “Historical and cultural architecture not only includes the individual architectural works, but also the urban or rural environment that witnessed certain civilizations, significant social developments or historical events.” The Great Wall is the largest of such historical and cultural architecture, and that is why it continues to be so attractive to people all over the world. In 1987, the Wall was listed by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage site.
Notes:
1. the Taj Mahal in India  印度的泰姬陵
2. the Hanging Garden of Babylon  巴比伦的空中花园
3. Sanskrit  梵语
4. Uigur  维吾尔语

Are located in Changping District, Shannan military wing. Ming Tombs of the East, North, West three, three Shou-shan, Tai Yu Shan, five Fengshan, Cuihua Hill wins mountain range, and so erect, such as screen such as accounting, Central take a radius of about 40 square kilometers of small basin, during which 13 tombs scattered . The most famous tomb to a few Dingling and Changling. Chang Ling-Ling in the domain centre, is the Ming Tombs in Zuling, the grand scale of building palaces, magnificent.

Transportation: Tour 1, 2 Yu, Yu 3, 4 YOU, YOU 5 to reach. Madian Bridge while driving from the Badaling Expressway to the island after Changping, road signs.

Tel: 60761196 (Dingling)

Tickets: 20 yuan Zhang Ling, Ding Ling 20 yuan, Zhao Ling 20 yuan, 12 yuan God Road

All：

The Ming Tombs are located in Changping District, about 50kilometers(31miles) to the northwest of Beijing. This imperial cemetery covers an area of 40square kilometers with 13 Ming emperors, 23 empresses, many imperial concubines, princes and princesses buried there. These tombs are the best preserved of all Chinese imperial tombs.

The Ming Dynasty started from 1368 to 1644, lasting 276 years. Altogether 16 emperors ruled in the Ming Dynasty. But out of the 16 emperors, 13 emperors were buried in Beijing Ming Tombs area. The first Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang had his tomb built in Nanjing and he was buried in Xiaoling of Nanjing. Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming  Dynasty, was born in 1328 and died in 1398. He buled China for 31 years. he came from a poor peasant familuy. In 1345 both his parens and his brother died of serious natural calamity within half a year when he was 17 years old. In order to make his livelihood, he went to a temple, there he took tonsure and became a Buddhist monk. He went out three years for begging alms in Henan, Anhui and south of the country. In 1348, he came back to the temple and was determined to study diligently. In 1351, the Red Turban Peasant Army appeared in China, later in 1352, he joined the Red Turban Peasant Army, fighting against the Yuan court. Finally he became the chief leader in the army. In 1368 Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty with its capital in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. In 1398, after his 31 years on the throne, Zhu Yuanzhang died at the age of 71 and was buried in his tomb Xiaoling, eastern suburbs of the capital Nanjing.

According to the Chinese hereditary system, the eldest son should be the successor. But unfortunately, Zhu Yuanzhang’s eldest son Zhu Biao died in 1392, six years earlier than the emperor. So Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang chose his grandson Zhu Yunwen as the successor.  In 1398, after Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang died, his 21-year-old grandson succeeded his throne and became the second emperor of the Ming Dynasty named Emperor Jian Wen. At that time Emperor Jian Wen was assisted by cout officials in governing the country. In order to centralize the power, he adopted the suggestion of his court officials to weaken the power of the regional garrison commanders who were actually his uncles, the sons of the first emperor. But these measures met with strong resistance from his uncle Zhu Di, the prince of Yan ,the fourth son of the first Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Di got so enraged when he heard the news that his power would be reduced. With an army of 100000stong, he was the most powerful garrison commander among all the princes, then under the excuse of wiping out the evils around the emperor, he launched punitive expedition to the capital in 1399 in the name of “wiping out evil for the country ”. the war lasted for three years, finally Zhu Di usurped the power from his nephew and became the 3rd emperor of the Ming Dynasty and adopted the reign title “yongle”. Emperor Jian Wen, the dethroned emperor disappeared with nowhere to be found. Some people said that he died in a big fire; another saying is that he had escaped to a temple and became a Buddhist monk. Anyway his whereabouts remained unknown till now in spite of Yongle’s search for him all over the country. So there is no tomb for the second emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

History: From the mid-12th century AD, as Beijing Yuan, Ming and Qing history before and after the capital of nearly 800 years. October 1, 1949, after the founding of New China, Beijing People’s Republic of China was designated as the capital.

Area: Beijing a total area of 16,808 square kilometers.
Administrative divisions: 16 Beijing administered zone two counties, followed by the Dongcheng District and Xicheng District, Xuanwu District, Fangshan District, Chongwen District, Haidian District, Chaoyang District, Fengtai District, Mentougou District, Shijingshan District, Tongzhou, Shunyi District , Changping, Daxing, Huairou, Pinggu and Miyun County District, Yanqing County.
Location: adjacent to the northwest Shanxi, Inner Mongolia plateau, South and the North China Plain convergence East near the Bohai Sea.
Climate: temperate monsoon climate, four distinct seasons and pleasant weather. Rainfall concentrated in the summer, the average annual rainfall 644 mm, spring and autumn is the best tourist season.

Beijing outlined

Beijing called Beijing, the People’s Republic of the capital. City Centre at 39 degrees north latitude, 116 degrees east longitude, is located in the northwest edge of the North China Plain, south-east about 150 km from the Bohai Sea. Area of over 16,800 square kilometres. The city’s total population of 13.819 million people. North Hill has all the military, a Western Hills West, the mountainous area of the city’s 62 percent; southeast of the Yongding River, the Chaobai River and other rivers from the alluvial, slowly tilt to the Bohai Sea on the plain. Mountain coal, iron and other minerals and granite, marble and other fine materials.

Beijing Plain in the altitude of 20 to 60 meters, mountain general elevation of 1,000 to 1,500 meters, and Hebei at the junction of East Mountain 2,303 meters above sea level, the highest peak for Beijing. River runs through the territory of five, mainly the eastern part of the Chaobai River, North Canal, the western part of the Yongding River and Juma He. Beijing is the topography of the northwest, southeast low. Yu Mo is the Taihang Mountains west of the Western Hills, north of the Yanshan Mountains are mountains of the military, the two-ditch clearance in the south of the intersection, forming a semicircle to the southeast of the start bending the mountains, known as “Beijing bends,” it around the small Beijing Plain is the small plains. Looking at Beijing terrain, the mountain Jin, the magnificent situation. As the ancients said: “You Zhou land, sea, Central left, right Yong Taihang, North pillow Ju Yong, South River Ji Jin,-the Land of Abundance.”

Beijing city’s total land area of 16807.8 square kilometers. Plain area of 6390.8 square kilometers, accounting for 38 percent. Mountain area of 10417.5 square kilometers, accounting for 62 percent. City area of 87.1 square kilometers. Suburban area of 1282.8 square kilometers, the suburb area of 3,198 square kilometers. County, an area of 12239.9 square kilometers. Urban planning: Ding Fuzhuang the east, west Shijingshan, Nanyuan the south, north and Qinghe, 750 square km area. Downtown area (that is, the old city areas and things to the Second Ring Road center for the community, north-south axis for the sector to a moat) area of 62.5 square kilometers.

Beijing’s climate is typical of the temperate sub-continental monsoon climate, hot summer rainy, cold and dry winter, spring and fall short. The average annual temperature of 10 to 12 degrees Celsius in January -7 ~ -4 degrees Celsius, on July 25 to 26 degrees Celsius. Minimum -27.4 degrees Celsius, 42 degrees above the highest extreme. Annual frost-free period 180 to 200 days, the western mountain shorter. The average annual rainfall over 600 mm, for the most rainfall in North China one of the regions, Piedmont windward slope up to 700 mm and above. Season is very uneven distribution of precipitation, 75 percent of annual rainfall concentrated in the summer, 7, 8, often heavy rain.

Beijing Tourism Resources

Beijing is rich in tourism resources, the opening up of more than 200 tourist attractions, the world’s largest palace Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven temple worship of heaven, the Royal Garden in the North Sea, the Royal Summer Palace gardens, Badaling, Mutian Valley, Sima Tai Great Wall And the world’s largest courtyard Prince Gong House, and other sites. The city’s total of 7,309 cultural relics, of which 42 units of national cultural relics, the municipal heritage preservation unit 222. Beijing existing tourist hotels designated 456, including 407 star hotels and 84,000 rooms, 456 travel agencies, 21 major languages of the tour guides more than 5,000 people, operating on a global market. 2000 received 2.821 million overseas tourists trips, tourism foreign exchange earnings 2.77 billion U.S. dollars. Beijing by the National Tourism Administration as “excellent Chinese tourist city.”
As of March 1995, Beijing has opened the forest park and forest total of 15 tourist areas, including: the Western Hills, Mangshan, at the top of hill and Jiufeng four national forest parks; Yunmengshan, small goal-Xin Three city-level forest parks, Pine Tree Hill National Nature Reserve, municipal Baihua Mountain Nature Reserve,丫Kyrgyzstan Hill tourist areas and tourist areas, such as four floor, a group of state-owned tree farms.
The list of attractions:
Dongcheng District: People’s Heroes Monument, Yu Qian Temple, Tiananmen Square, Tai Miao (labour People’s Cultural Palace), the National Museum of Chinese History, the Museum of Chinese Revolution, the China Art Gallery, Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, Wen Tianxiang Temple, Confucian Temple, Zhengyang Men (the front door ), The East four mosques, Peking University red chamber, Ditan, the Observatory, Sun Yat-sen Museum trip, the Corfu Palace, Imperial College, the National Palace Museum (Forbidden City), Jinshui Qiao, Berlin Temple, the imperial history (Mian + 10%), the clock tower, intellectual and Temple, Purdue Temple, the Drum Tower and the Lama Temple.
Xicheng District: Great Hall of the People, the high-Hyun Hall, Wansong elderly tower, Guang Jisi,Temple of Ancient Monarchs, Zhongnanhai, Yingtai, Zhongshan Park, Shi Shahai, on altar, Beihai, Baiyun Guan, National Culture Palace, the Xi Shi Church, Mission City, the Tomb of Matteo Ricci, the former residence of Soong Ching Ling, Miaoying Temple Baita (Baita Si), Shing Wong Basilica, Prince Gong House, Xu Beihong Memorial Hall, the former residence of Guo Moruo, Jingshan, the former residence of Lu Xun, Deshengmen Jianlou, the China Science and Technology Hall.
Xuanwu District: Tianning Temple, the Niujie Mosque, Xian Nongtan, at Temple, Song Jun Um, Fayuan Si, South Hall, Taoranting Park, Liulichang, Liyuan Theatre and the Lao She Teahouse.
Chongwen District: Temple of Heaven, flyovers and music tea Longtan temple fair.
Haidian District: 10, Pu McGREGOR Temple (Wat Pho), 7 Wang Fen, the Tomb of March 18, Tai Juesi, large-hui Temple, the Chinese People’s Revolutionary Military Museum, Yuquan Shan, the Beijing Planetarium, Li Dazhao martyrs Park, the 1911 revolution Luanzhou Martyrs Tower, Pine Hall, Diaoyutai, McGREGOR Health Temple (Dazhong Si), Xiangshan, the Capital Gymnasium, I really feel Temple (Wu Tasi), Yuanmingyuan ruins, sorghum Bridge, Snow tomb, Zizhu Yuan, Jingtai Mausoleum, and the Longtan, Jimenyanshu monument, the Summer Palace, Cishousita, Biyun Si, Ying Taogou, Mo he Um, Wei Wo statues and the China Millennium Monument.
Chaoyang District: on the altar, Dongyue Miao, West Huang Si and the National Agricultural Exhibition Center.
Fengtai District: the western Bao Han Tomb, Changxindian February 7 revolutionary relics, the Lugou Bridge, the site in Tucheng, the town Kong tower and Yan pier.
Mentougou District: Mountain and Baihua Mountain, Miao Fengshan, Longmen Jian, Tanzhe Temple, Xifeng Temple, Jietai, riverside city, Zhenzhu Hu, while the Great Wall of Taiwan’s enemy and under-the village.
Shijingshan District: Western Hills Bada Chu, the Shijingshan glaciers Cahen and Fahai Temple.
Changping District: Xiaotangshan Hot Springs, Gong Hua City, Gougou Cliff, the Ming Tombs, Juyongguan, Juyongguan Haeundae, pagodas and Yinshan Zhaozong Bridge.
Yanqing, Huairou, Miyun County: Badaling Great Wall, the statue of Zhan Tianyou, Mutian Valley Great Wall, hit Crossing, Gubeikou Great Wall, the Longquan Temple Qi Jiguang and poetry landmark Sima Tai Great Wall.
Shunyi District and Tongzhou District: Jiaozhuanghu tunnel warfare sites, bridges and Lizhuo Wu Yong-tomb.
Fangshan District: Shidu, at the top of mountains, cloud water tunnel, the Chinese Yuan Ren sites, Zhoukoudian fish fossil origin, Shandingdongren sites, new holes were sites, Liangxiang Dubbo pagoda, Yunju Si towers and Liuli He Shang and Zhou sites.
Pinggu District: Jinhai Hu (Haizi Reservoir).
Transregional: Tucheng yuan site, the southeast corner Jiaolou City, Beijing Mass Transit Railway, the Commissioner ditch King, 72, pillow-sen, Hakuho mound, Mu Guiying dianjiangtai, white trees, Play Gap, Turtle Rock, the natural barrier, Tsing Lung inverted water, Wangjing stone, Chadao Town and courtyard dwellings.