Beijing Must See

To visit Beijing, there are numerous places are worth sightseeing, such as Beijing Must See Attractions, Beijing Must See Shows, Beijing Must See Commercial Streets, Beijing Must See Buildings, etc. Top China Travel has picked out some must see in Beijing that are worthwhile for tourists.

Beijing Must See Attractions:

Badaling Great Wall, is one of the best-preserved and most accessible Great Wall of China which is a symbol of ancient Chinese civilization and a world-renowned fortification.

Mutianyu Great Wall, has the largest construction scale and best quality among all sections of Great Wall, served as the northern barrier defending the capital and the imperial tombs.

Forbidden City, or Imperial Palace Museum, as a sample of the traditional Chinese palatial architecture, is the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.

Temple of Heaven, the existing largest temple in China, was the venue for the Ming and Qing emperors to offer sacrifices to the Heaven and pray for harvest.

Tiananmen Square, with a capacity of 1 million people, is the largest urban square in the world.

Summer Palace, is the existing largest, best-preserved imperial garden in China and a fine example of imperial gardening art.

Beijing Hutong, in fact the passage formed by lines of Siheyuan (a compound with houses around a courtyard), give you an insight into the lives of ordinary Chinese people and reveal their social culture in today's Beijing City. Nanluoguxiang is one of the most famous Hutong districts in Beijing.

Houhai, a huge artificial lake, is the marvelous place that with water and be able to view mountains, weeping willows whisk coast idle land, residents around the palace and former residence are required to elaborate the history of Beijing City and the endless charm.

►More info about must see attractions in Beijing please click: Beijing Attractions

Beijing Must See Shows:

Peking opera, a traditional style of Chinese theatre performance, is regarded as the quintessence of Chinese culture, enjoying a history of more than 200 years. With its unique combination of music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics, Peking Opera is an ideal medium for interpretation and performance of traditional and historic myth and legend.

Acrobatics, a part of Chinese culture since the Western Han Dynasty, over 2500 years ago, is the performance of extraordinary feats of balance, agility and motor coordination. It can be found in many of the performing arts, and in many sports.

Tai Chi Chuan, a slow-moving meditative exercise for relaxation, health maintenance and self-defense. has gained enormous popularity in the rest of the world for its health benefits.

Kungfu Show, a unique Chinese martial art, will be an unforgettable memory of you life. with its international fame, it is performed by many artistes to tell you what is the strong spirit melted in Chinese souls.

Chinese calligraphy, along with Chinese painting, are regarded as two treasures in China. They were also held as a good exercise to cultivate one's temperament and arts to relax the soul.

Traditional Chinese Handiworks, including Chinese Knot, Paper-cut to Flower, Clay figure, etc. whichever will arouse your interest.

►More info about must see shows in Beijing please click: Things to do in Beijing

Beijing Must See Commercial Streets:

Wangfujing Commercial Street, a 700-year-old commercial street in Beijing, has maintained its position as the number one choice for shoppers since the mid-1980s. It has long been acknowledged as the largest, most fashionable one-stop shopping center in Beijing. It is filled with large shops, hotels, specialty shops and its illustrious old-time Beijing shops.

Qianmen Commercial Street, a busy and narrow street, is a flourishing old street with many special time-honored shops passed down from older generations. As the birthplace of many time-honored domestic brands such as Quanjude Peking Roast Duck and the China Bookstore, Qianmen Street has long been the commercial hub of the capital Beijing.

Xiushui Street, the Leading Foreign Trade Market, attracts domestic as well as foreign tourists with commodities at a cheap price. This market can meet you need with variety commodities, including curtains, tablecloths, bedding, earrings, and watches as well as clothes, inexpensive caps, and shoes of excellent workmanship.

Xidan Commercial District, known as one of the three most famous commercial centers in Beijing, together with Wangfujing Dajie and Qianmen Da Zha Lan, is a modern, international, commercial combination of shopping, dining, recreation and culture.

►More info about must see commercial streets in Beijing please click: Beijing Shopping

Beijing Must See Buildings:

Beijing National Stadium (Bird's Nest stadium) , the world's largest steel structure, hosted the spectacular Opening and Closing Ceremonies, athletic events, and football final of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Beijing National Aquatics Center (The Water Cube), one of the most dramatic and exciting venues to host sporting events for the Beijing Olympics in 2008, is a big box of beautiful bubbles.

CCTV New Tower (China Central Television Headquarters), outstanding for its brand-new appearance, serves as headquarters for the China Central Television.

Capital Museum, an architectural artwork integrating both classical and modern beauty, is of distinct national characteristics on one hand and obvious modern feeling on the other.

National Grand Theatre of China, an opera house in Beijing, is said to look like an egg floating on water, or a water drop. It is an ellipsoid dome of titanium and glass surrounded by an artificial lake, seats 5,452 people in three halls and is almost 12,000 m² in size. 

Beijing Must See Hutongs:

Nanluoguxiang, a very ancient streets of Beijing, is not wide and remains the planning of streets of Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368). Hutong refer to the old style alleyways where large numbers of one-story courtyard houses are located in Beijing. It is also an ideal place to eat with plenty of different establishments offering western food such as pizza and coffee as well as Chinese meals.

Yandaixie Street, is Beijing's oldest commercial street which has numerous hotels, inns and other foreign trade stores. This slender and diagonal street just looks like a smoking bar. The architectural style here is simple along with characteristics of the northern part of the Beijing city.

Mao'er Hutong, is a very famous alley among Beijing surviving 25 protected areas in the alley. In the dense avenue, the stylish cars and the old tricycle interlace between the red gate and gray walls, which dimly reveals a remarkable status of Mao'er Hutong.

Guozijian Street, famous for the Confucius Temple and Imperial College, is an east-west Hutong and has 700 years of history which remains the old style Beijing alleys. It is one of the first "Chinese historical and cultural street".

►More info about must see hutong in Beijing please click: Famous Hutong in Beijing

►Highly recommended tour in Beijing: 5 Days Beijing Olympic Site Tour
(Attractions: Tian'anmen Square, the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Badaling Great Wall, Ming Tombs, Beijing National Stadium, National Aquatics Center, Summer Palace)

►More useful travel information in Beijing please click: Beijing Travel Guide
►More tours in Beijing you can click: Beijing Tours