When planning a vacation to China, you'll want to visit the two top cities in the country, Beijing and Shanghai. Shanghai is located on the coast of the East China Sea, about eight hundred miles from Beijing, which is located northwards. Both cities offer visitors a chance to soak up the history and culture of this amazing city.
The Great Wall of China is probably the most famous of all the sights in Beijing. It is also one of the greatest wonders of the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Spanning over five thousand miles, the Great Wall runs from East China to West China and oozes two thousand years of history.
Most of the highlights along the Great Wall include ruins which date back to the 1300's and 1400's. Thousands of tourists visit the wall each day and it remains one of the top things to see while visiting the city.
Once you've explored the Great Wall of China, you'll want to make your way to the Temple of Heaven. This religious building complex can be found to the south east of central Beijing and dates back to the 1400's. The complex is over two kilometers in size, making it larger than the famous Forbidden City.
The Temple of Heaven is made up of three sections, the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, the Imperial Vault of Heaven and the Circular Alter. The complex is open daily and once you enter through one of the four gates you will be amazed by the magnificent architecture and history that surrounds this spectacular religious complex.
Then there is the Forbidden City, which is a must to anyone visiting Beijing. The Forbidden City is a city center palace which dates back to the 1300's. Today it includes the Palace Museum surrounded by moats and walls. The palace is home to over eight thousands impressive rooms.
You'll notice yellow is used throughout the city, this is because yellow is the symbol of the royal family.
The Palace Museum is a highlight in Beijing, where you can soak up some of the history of this magnificent country. With eight permanent exhibitions and a number of temporary exhibitions, the museum offers a host of ceramics, paintings and clocks to explore, just to mention a few.
Beijing and Shanghai area about eight hundred miles in distance. Getting a Beijing Shanghai train ticket is easy and can be purchased online. Once you have your Beijing Shanghai train ticket you will be able to get on the high speed train. The railway line was completed in 2011 and cuts the over eight hundred mile journey down to just over three hours. The Beijing Shanghai train ticket will give you a comfortable journey where you will pass through number of towns including Tianjin, Xuzhou and Kunshan before arriving in Shanghai.
Once you arrive in Shanghai you'll want to head over to the Yuyuan Garden. This classical garden spans over 20,000 square meters and dates back to the 1500's. The garden is simply magnificent with pavilions, ponds and halls to explore. There are six main areas to the gardens complete with souvenir shops, flowers, rockeries and more. The internal garden is the highlight with ornamental ponds offering a serene and scenic setting where you can just enjoy the tranquility of the space.
Once you've purchased your Beijing Shanghai train ticket and you arrive in Shanghai the Shanghai Museum is an absolute most. The museum houses ancient Chinese art with over 120,000 objects to explore. With eleven permanent galleries and a further three temporary galleries, you can spend a day exploring the paintings, sculptures, calligraphy and coin collection housed in this amazing museum.
Finally the last stop that can't be crossed off your itinerary is the Jade Buddha Temple. The temple is located in western Shanghai and is where you can see the two jade Buddha statues, the sitting statue is a sitting Buddha which is 190 centimeters in height, this Buddha is white jade and finished with gleaming emeralds. The second Buddha is a lying Buddha of 96 centimeters in height, also a magnificent statue that shouldn't be missed.
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