Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
high-rises aplenty and with plenty more to come; and
Wangfujing
, with its array of places to
shop and Beijing's most prominent night markets. The best sight hereabouts is the little oasis
of calm that is the
Ancient Observatory
, where Jesuit priests used to teach the charting of
the heavens.
South of the Forbidden City you'll find
Qianmen Dajie
, a shopping street reconstructed
along dynastic lines. This eventually leads to the magnificent
Temple of Heaven
, a superb
specimen of Ming-dynasty design surrounded by pretty parkland. There's less to see west of
the Forbidden City, but there are still a few sights worth visiting. These include a couple of
charming temples; the
Military Museum
, monument to a fast-disappearing communist eth-
os; the modern
Capital Museum
; and the city
zoo
and
aquarium
.
In the far north of Beijing proper, you'll find three contrasting groups of sights. Farthest
west, providing one of the most pleasant areas to escape from the city bustle, is the
Summer
Palace
, centred around peaceful Kunming Lake; Yuanmingyuan, the “old” summer palace,
lies nearby. East of here, past the university district, is the
OlympicGreen
, home to some of
the remaining venues from the spectacular 2008 Summer Games. East again, en route to the
airport, is the fascinating
798 Art District
, centre of Beijing's burgeoning art scene.
Beijing's sprawling outskirts are a messy jumble of farmland, housing and industry, but here
you'll find the giant parks of
Badachu
and
Xiangshan
, and the impressive
Tanzhe
,
Fahai
and
Jietaitemples
. Well outside the city - but an essential stop for many visitors well within
the scope of a day-trip - is the
GreatWall
, which winds over lonely ridges only a few hours'
drive north of the capital, while for those with time to spare, the imperial pleasure complex
of
Chengde
is easily accessible capital by train and bus.
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