Most Famous Historical Places in Beijing

Aside from the contemporary hustle and bustle of an international metropole, Beijing boasts a number of historical places. For those who just relocated, you might want to grab the chance to explore and discover the most popular spots of the ancient history. Here is where we put together a list of the most famous historical places in Beijing. So go out and be a tourist in your own city!

 
1. The Magnificent Forbidden City

Let us start from the best-preserved imperial palace in China! Located at the center of this huge city, Forbidden City is the largest ancient palatial structure in the world. It is an astonishing example of traditional Chinese architectural among the historical places in Beijing. The complete structures of the Forbidden City, including the palaces and gates, were arranged about the north-south central axis of old Beijing. This was to represent the supreme power of the emperor, being the son of heaven, and the place where he lived, being the center of the world. The grand palace was home to 24 emperors from the Ming and Qing dynasty—the years 1420 to 1912.

A divine place like the Emperors Palace, was obviously not open to commoners, which is why it received this name. The Chinese name is Gugong – the ‘Former/Old Palace’. The palace covers an area of about 72 hectares with a total floor space of approximately 150,000 square meters. It consists of 90 palaces and courtyards, 980 buildings and 8,704 rooms, can you imagine?

We would suggest for a first time visitor to enjoy a walk through the entire palace, starting from the Meridian entrance gate through the Gate of Heavenly Peace at Tian’anmen Square straight up to the outer and inner court where all the important buildings await. In order to be able to appreciate all these buildings the audio guide is highly recommend.


Contact
Forbidden City (Gugong) 故宫
No.4 Jing Shan Qian Jie, Dongcheng District, Beijing
北京市东城区景山前街4号
Phone: (010)65131892
www.dpm.org.cn/ http://www.dpm.org.cn/Home.html
Admission
April 1st – October 31st : 60 RMB
November 1st – March 31st : 40 RMB

Additional 10 RMB ticket is needed for entrance to the Treasure Gallery (Zhenbao guan, where the Stone Drum Gallery is also located) and to the Hall of Clocks (Zhongbiao guan).

Opening hours
OPEN: Tuesday – Sunday
CLOSED: Monday (except for national holidays and July-August)

April 1st – October 31st: 8:30 to 17:00 (Last entry: 16:10, Last tickets are sold at 16:00)
November 1st – March 31st : 8:30 to 16:30 (Last entry: 15:40, Last tickets are sold at 15:30)

Tip: the most busy time of the day is always 10:00 – 13:00. If possible try to avoid coming during these hours.

Getting there
Subway:
Take Line 1 to Tian’an men East (Tian’an men dong) station or Tian’an men West (Tian’an men xi) station, then you’ll see the imperial palace right away.
Maps

Check on Baidu http://map.baidu.com/?shareurl=1&poiShareUid=06d2dffda107b0ef89f15db6&cityCode=131&tn=B_NORMAL_MAP&hb=B_SATELLITE_STREET
 

2. The Emperor’s Royal Park: Summer Palace

The Summer Palace is easily one of the most recognizable and also: a popular sites to visit in Beijing. Visitors from around the world rave about this peaceful slice of heaven in Beijing’s north west corner. The Summer Palace was once the play ground of emperors before it was destroyed during the Opium wars of 1856-1860. Since then, it has been rebuilt and now serves as a tourist attraction as well as a recreational park for locals.

The site spans over 2.2 square kilometers, most of which is made up of one of the largest man-made lakes in the world. In the center of the park you’ll find the ‘Tower of Buddhist Incense’. This huge structure protrudes from the side of the mountain and gives you a stunning view of Kunming lake and the small peninsula that surrounds it.

We encourage you to take your time exploring the lake, palace and surrounding garden areas. During a leisurely stroll around the Kunming Lake, you’ll be greeted with small clouds of incense and kites dancing in the breeze. The Summer Palace certainly is not to be missed.

Contact
Summer Palace (Yiheyuan) 颐和园
No.19 Xinjian Gongmen, Haidian District, Beijing
北京市海淀区新建宫门路19号
Phone: (010) 6288 1144
http://www.summerpalace-china.com http://www.summerpalace-china.com/
Admission
April to October
30 RMB, Summer Palace Garden
60 RMB, Summer Palace Garden, Wenchang Garden Park Hospital, Germany and garden, Buddhist Incense and Suzhou Street

November to March
20 RMB, Summer Palace Garden
50 RMB, Summer Palace Garden, Wenchang Garden Park Hospital, Germany and garden, Buddhist Incense and Suzhou Street

40RMB Audio guide

Opening hours
April 1 – October 31
6:30 – 20:00

November 1 – March 31
7:00am-17pm
Getting there
Subway:
Take Line 4 to Xiyuan station Exit C2 and walk west toward the palace gate.
Maps

Check on Baidu http://map.baidu.com/?shareurl=1&poiShareUid=25856c72a1e9959fab059d7c&cityCode=131&tn=B_NORMAL_MAP&hb=B_SATELLITE_STREET
 

3. The Impressive Temple of Heaven

Temple of Heaven served as a place where emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1912), held the Heaven Worship Ceremony. It is as well one of China’s largest and most representative existing masterpieces among China’s ancient sacrificial buildings first built in 1420. The Temple of Heaven has also been listed as one of the World Cultural Relics by the UNESCO.

It covers an area of 2,700,000 square meters (a lot of zeros on that), which makes it even larger than the Forbidden City! A unique feature of the temple is that it is designed to show that heaven is high and earth is low:  The northern part is higher than the southern part. Another element reflecting an ancient Chinese thought is that ‘the heaven is round and the earth is square’: The northern part is semicircular symbolizing the heavens and the southern part is square symbolizing the earth.

There are two ways to explore the altar of heaven: enter from Zhaoheng Gate (South Gate) or North Gate. Usually, people will take a touring route starting from “The Circular Altar Mound” with its famous buildings at the Southern part, to the “Circular Mound Altar” that brings you to the Imperial Vault of Heaven. Across the Danbi Bridge which  connects the northern part and the southern part, you will come to the main attraction that shouldn’t be missed: “Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests”.

Contact
Temple of Heaven (Tiantan Gongyuan) 天坛公园
No.1 Tiantan  East Road, Dongcheng District, Beijing
北京市东城区天坛东路1号
Phone: (010) 6702 8866
www.tiantanpark.com/ http://en.tiantanpark.com/default.aspx
Admission
Entrance Ticket: 10 RMB
Through Ticket: 30 RMB

Additional 10 RMB ticket is needed for entrance to the Palace of Abstinence and Divine Music Administration.

Opening hours
Gate open everyday: 6:00 – 22:00

November to February
8:00 – 17:00

March to  June
8:00 – 17:30

July to October
8:00 – 18:00
Getting there
Subway:
Take Line 5 to Tiantan Dongmen station Exit A1 and walk west toward the East gate of the park.
Maps

Check on Baidu http://map.baidu.com/?shareurl=1&poiShareUid=45ef9a2b5508cbfda2d230e6&cityCode=131&tn=B_NORMAL_MAP&hb=B_SATELLITE_STREET
 

4. The Ruins of Old Summer Palace

Only some ruins remain to tell the story of the former grandeur of the Old Summer Palace: a massive complex of gardens and palaces located about 8km north-west of the Forbidden City. The original name was Imperial Gardens, where, in the 18th/19th century, the emperors of Qing Dynasty lived. During this time, the Forbidden City was only used to perform formal ceremonies. With three gardens making up a total area of 3.5 square km, it was eight times as big as the Vatican City, or five times as big as area of the Forbidden City.

Apart from the palaces where the emperors and their family resided, it included scenic areas, temples, pavilions, and extensive areas of Chinese landscape gardening. Construction started in 1707, but each emperor continued following his own ideas. With Chinese Style buildings making up for 95% of the buildings, in the north there was one area called “Western Mansions” which is the part best preserved nowadays.

During the second Opium War in October 1860, British and French troops demolished the Imperial Gardens, further destruction allegedly happened during the Cultural Revolution. Nowadays the gardens and lakes have been reclaimed and are very well maintained. Wander around for hours and discover the ruins telling the story of times long gone.

Contact
Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan) 圆明园
No.28, West Tsinghua Road, Haidian District, Beijing
北京市海淀区圆环东路28号
Phone: (010) 62628501 / 62658207
www.yuanmingyuanpark.cn/ http://www.yuanmingyuanpark.cn/ymyen/
 
Admission
One Day Entrance Ticket: 10 RMB
Monthly Admission Ticket: 15 RMB (can be used from the first day to the fifth day of each month)

Additional 15 RMB is needed to enter the Site of European Palaces Scenic Zone (including Dashuifa, the Exhibition Hall and the Labyrinth)
Additional 10 RMB is needed to get to the Model Exhibition of Yuanmingyuan during its Flourishing Period.

Opening hours
November to March
7:00 – 17:30

April
7:00 – 18:30

May to August
7:00 – 19:00

September to October
7:00 – 18:30
Getting there
Subway:
Take Line 4 to Yuanmingyuan station Exit A/B and walk north towards the entrance of the ruins.
Maps

Check on Baidu http://map.baidu.com/?shareurl=1&poiShareUid=62d852adf09e449a2fb17ef5&cityCode=131&tn=B_NORMAL_MAP&hb=B_SATELLITE_STREET
 

Looking for more trips to amazing historical places in Beijing? One of them is none other than the famous Great Wall of China! Read our  “Day Trip Series #4 – The Great Wall of China” post, and discover one of the most amazing historical places that Beijing has to offer. https://www.refoxrelocation.com/explore/beijing-great-wall-of-china/