Important Tourist Places in Beijing

If you are planning for a tour in China then your trip starts with Beijing, the capital city of China. It is one of the most populous cities in the world with a population of about 19,612,368 (as of 2010). Beijing is the centre for political, cultural and educational centre, there is a lot to experience in this world's well-known metropolis. There are a lot of touristic attractions in Beijing that one gets confused as where to start with. So for those first time visitors and enthusiastic people who want to know about Beijing, we will discuss the top most touristic spots.

Beijing Forbidden City: This is the first place to start your vacation in Beijing. The Forbidden City is the world largest palace with an area of about 720,000 square meters consisting of 800 buildings and 9000 rooms. Once it was a palace to 24 emperors who ruled China during Ming and Qing dynasty. It is the fifth most attractive palaces in the world and it was nominated by UNESCO as world cultural heritage. 

Tiananmen Square: This is another important and must see touristic place in Beijing.

Tiananmen is the largest city square in the world with about 440,000 square meters which can accommodate one million people. Tiananmen gate is the highlight of Tiananmen Square and it is located on the north side of the square. Mao Zedong declared People's Republic of china on the rostrum of Tiananmen gate which is another highlighting feature of This Square. As a memory of Mao Zedong, a large portrait is hung on the rostrum with two red signs quoting" Long live the people's republic of China" and "Long live the great union of the people of the world."

The Great Wall of China: Needless to say that it is one of the most important touristic places in Beijing. Great Wall of China stretches for about 8,851.78 km from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west. It is listed as one among the wonders of the world and thousands of people visit this historical place every day. Ming tombs: Ming tombs are a tomb cluster of the 13 emperors who ruled Ming dynasty during the period of 1368 to 1644. This touristic place is situated in Changping County and covers an area of about 120 square kilometres.

Summer palace, Yihe Yuan: This is another touristic attraction of Beijing tour. It is the largest and best preserved imperial garden in the world. Highlights of Summer palace include Longevity hill area, Kunming Lake area and long corridor. These are just a few and there are many more touristic attractions such as temple of heaven, Beijing hutongs, Beijing Siheyuan, Beijing Shichahai etc. So, if you are planning for a Beijing tour, make sure that you visit these places.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7305654

History of Beijing Zoo

Beijing Zoo was built at the very site of the Guangshan Temple under imperial order in 1906, and it was initially composed of a zoo, a botanical garden and an experiment farm of agriculture in the Qing dynasty with an area of 1.5 hectares, which boasts the earliest zoo that is open to the public in China.

The zoo was called Wansheng Garden (Ten Thousand Animal Garden) in the Qing dynasty and renamed Beijing Western Park in 1950, where a number of rare animals from all different corners of China were collected, including crossbills, redpolls, brambling, waxwings, eagles, turkeys, gray cranes, deer, wolves and leopards. In addition, 48 animals of 10 species from overseas were kept in the park in February of 1953, including the white bears, the white foxes, American lions and yellow vultures, and Beijing Western Park was officially renamed Beijing Zoo in 1955.

With more and more cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world, Beijing Zoo plays an important role in the international cultural exchange, where the number of animals has doubled and redoubled since 1970s, and many animals sent by foreign government are often exhibited in Beijing Zoo, including the serows from Japan, the lions from Africa, the flamingos from Chile, the beavers and rhinos from South America, the tapirs from Central America, the gorillas from Malaysia and the cowfishes from Caribbean. At the same time, a number of Chinese rare animals are presented to the U.S., Japan, France, the Great Britain, Spanish, Nepal, Australia and Sri Lanka by the Chinese government, including giant pandas, red-crowned cranes, white-lipped deer and white swans.

Now Beijing Zoo occupies an area of 90 hectares and boasts more than 10,000 animals of 500 species, which receive over 5 million visitors from all over the world each year. Based on the principle of "Developing Education and Protection simultaneously", Beijing Zoo functions as an inviting cards for introducing Beijing to the foreigners, and it's also one of the Key Culture Relic Units under State Protection, National Bases for Science Education and National AAAA-Level Scenic Areas in China.

As time goes by, the former experiment farm of agriculture is not what it used to be, and a number of attractions in Beijing Zoo bring out the best in one another, including birds, beasts, fishes, rockeries, bridges, pavilion, rivers and attics. Now it has become a comprehensive zoo with scientific research, education & protection, culture communication, scientific knowledge propagation, cultural relics and tourism combined as one perfectly, where the children seek their simplicity and the adults seek their long lost interests. Now Beijing Zoo opens its arms to welcome visitors from all over the world.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7198225