Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South
An oasis of methodical Confucian design, the 267-hectare Temple of Heaven Park is unique. It originally served as a vast stage for solemn rites performed…
Must-see attractions in Beijing
Beijing
A marvel of Chinese garden design and one of Beijing's must-see attractions, the Summer Palace was the royal retreat for emperors fleeing the suffocating…
Beijing
Beihai Park, inside the old Imperial City, looks much as it would have done in the 18th century when it served as Emperor Qianlong's private gardens. The…
Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South
This immense fortress, part of the Ming City Wall Ruins Park, guarded the southeast corner of Beijing's city walls. Originally built in 1439 but repaired…
Beijing
Contemporary art meets communist history at this thrilling enclave of international galleries installed within China's model factory complex of the 1950s…
Beijing
Converted from a princely residence to a lamasery in the 18th century, the Lama Temple extends through a crescendo of ever more divine halls in a whirl of…
Beijing
Venerable bastions of time-keeping, the Drum Tower and its counterpart the Bell Tower were for centuries the tallest buildings in Beijing, lording it over…
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Beijing
Though it dates back to the Yuan dynasty, this enchanting Buddhist temple complex was enlarged to its current splendor by Emperor Qianlong in 1748, adding…
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Beijing
If any Beijing sight can vanquish the dreaded 'temple fatigue', it's Wuta Si. This little-known gem is eminently worthy of a pilgrimage, not just for its…
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Beijing
Originally built in 1271 under the reign of Kublai Khan, the serene Miaoying Temple slumbers beneath its astonishing high dagoba, the tallest in China. A…
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Beijing
A highlight of a visit to the Ming Tombs is to walk the Shen Dao, or Spirit Way, a funerary avenue that plots a sombre course to Cháng Líng, the earliest…
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Beijing
Remodelled in 2019, UCCA remains the finest contemporary-art gallery in 798, and a contender for the best in the country. Many global art superstars have…
Beijing
A grand sweep of willow-lined waterways enclosed by invitingly maze-like hutong lanes, this trio of lakes is one of Beijing's best-loved outdoor spots,…
Beijing
Established according to feng shui in the cradle of Tianshou Mountain (天寿山, Tiānshòu Shān), this auspicious swath of nature was walled off by the Ming to…
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Beijing
A great swath of Beijing's Western Hills (Xīshān) was once an imperial pleasure resort, acres of undulating pine-cypress forest peppered with temples,…
Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests
Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South
The crowning glory of the Temple of Heaven is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, its triple-eaved roof canopy of glazed blue tiles reflecting its…
Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South
The present build dating to around 1540, this is the business end of the Temple of Heaven. Here on this open-air, raised platform (a circle within a…
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Confucius Temple & Imperial College
Beijing
An incense stick’s toss away from the Lama Temple, China’s second-largest Confucian temple is a haven of scholarly calm and contemplation. Come to wander…
Beijing
Stretching for 728m along the north shore of Kunming Lake, the open-air Long Corridor is one of the premier sights of the Summer Palace. One can imagine…
Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South
Inside the Echo Wall, this ornate building was merely a storeroom, used to keep the spirit tablets of the gods and other materials used for the ceremonies…
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Beijing
It's no coincidence that the most magnificent of the Ming tombs bears more than a passing resemblance to the Forbidden City. It was commissioned by the…
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Beijing
Along the Spirit Way before you reach the pairs of stone guardians, this glorious pavilion contains a stele thought to be the largest in China, mounted on…
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Beijing
Connecting the eastern shore of Kunming Lake to South Lake Island, this is the largest bridge in the Summer Palace at 150m long. It was built during the…
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Beijing
Topping Jade Islet (琼岛; Qióngdǎo), the 36m-high Tibetan-style White Dagoba was built in 1651 by the first Qing emperor to honour a visit by the Dalai Lama…
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Beijing
Although this privately owned Danish gallery is a relative newcomer, it has racked up an enviable showreel of exhibitions and retrospectives since 2011,…
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Beijing
To the west of Western Elysium, set back from the lakeshore, is this 5m-high, 27m-long spirit wall emblazoned with writing and coiled dragons, picked out…
Beijing
Shattered ruins are all that remain of the 'Garden of Perfection and Light', once known as the 'Versailles of the East' for its profound beauty, even…
Beijing
Formerly known as Beitang, this gothic church (c 1897) is Beijing's most exemplary, with a pair of 31m-high bell towers looking resplendent (read: gaudy)…
Beijing
The sprawling residence of Prince Gong (1833–1898), half-brother of the Xianfeng emperor, is most notable for its marvellous gardens, which feature…
Beijing
White Cloud Temple is an active, vast and fascinating maze of halls, shrines and brightly painted immortals, tended by Taoist monks with their hair…
Beijing
Dedicated to the Eastern Peak (Tài Shān) of China’s five Taoist mountains, this morbid Taoist shrine is an unsettling, albeit entertaining, place of…
Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South
This wistful stretch of brick and stone is all that remains (besides a couple of other denuded nubs) of Beijing's once formidable city walls, girding the…
Beijing
Despite being stranded along the North 3rd Ring Rd, this Qing-era temple is well worth a diversion to marvel at its centrepiece, the humongous Yongle Bell…
Beijing
Infused with an air of sleepy reverence, this working Buddhist temple is one of Beijing's most evocative. Perhaps it's the ancient Song dynasty pines,…
Beijing
Known locally as Da Kucha (大裤衩, Big Pants), the 234m-tall CCTV Tower is an architectural fantasy that appears to defy gravity. Designed by Rem Koolhaas…
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Beijing
This tranquil, little-visited temple was originally consecrated for the storage of Buddhist texts. Its name echoes the Summer Palace’s Longevity Hill …
Song Qingling's Former Residence
Beijing
Set in well-tended gardens on the north shore of Houhai Lake, this is the mansion of Madam Song, venerated by the Chinese as the wife of Sun Yatsen, first…
Beijing
The restrained, grey-stone edifice of the Bell Tower (Zhonglou) is arguably even more charming than its resplendent other half, the Drum Tower (Gulou),…
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Beijing
Of all the Ming tombs, this is the only one to have been excavated, and visitors can descend into the enormous burial chambers of the Wanli Emperor (1563…
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Beijing
This cathedral-like Bauhaus space, ceilings emblazoned with red Maoist slogans, makes for the quintessential 798 photograph whether or not an exhibition…
