To the southeast of the Tian"anmen Square, the Temple of Heaven was where the emperors paid tribute to the gods of heaven and earth for good harvests. Founded in 1420, the altar features careful planning, amazing structures and splendid decoration. It is considered as the country"s most intricate and beautiful complex of ancient architecture. The treasure in world architecture history is composed of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the Bridge of Cinnabar Steps (a 360-m-long stone walkway), the Imperial Heavenly Vault, the Altar of Heaven and the Hall of Abstinence.
Temple of Sun
At the northern side of Jianguomen Outer Street, the temple was where emperors worshiped the sun among the five imperial altars. It was also built in 1530.
Temple of Moon
At the western side of Nanlishi Street, the Temple of Moon was first built in 1530 as one of five imperial altars with the Temple of Heaven, Temple of Earth, Temple of Sun and Altar of the Gods of Land and Grain.
Yuanmingyuan
In the northwest of Beijing, Yuanmingyuan was first built in 1709. Covering 3.5 sq km, it was called "Garden of 10,000 Gardens". There used to be 140 architectures in the garden, whose land area was the same as that of the Forbidden City. They gathered the cream of ancient Chinese architecture, horticulture and art. French literary giant Victor Hugo once wrote about Yuanmingyuan which he called "Summer Palace", "Imagine some inexpressible construction, something like a lunar building, and you will have the Summer Palace. Build a dream with marble, jade, bronze and porcelain, frame it with cedar wood, cover it with precious stones, drape it with silk…. Suppose in a word a sort of dazzling cavern of human fantasy with the face of a temple and palace, such was this building." But the British and French troops who invaded Beijing in 1860 set a devastating fire to the imperial garden and looted all the treasures.
Summer Palace
In northwestern Beijing, the Summer Palace is formed with the Wanshou (Longevity) Hill and Kunming Lake. Major sights include the Foxiangge (Pavilion of Buddha"s Fragrance), Long Corridor, 17-Hole Bridge and others. Behind the Longevity Hill is the Suzhou Street that models upon the streets of southern China. The architectures in the Summer Palace have a total of some 3,000 rooms. The Long Corridor measures 728 m, with 1,400 colorful paintings telling stories of history and legends. It is the country"s longest corridor, winding along the Kunming Lake. Some ancient scholars praised the imperial garden, saying that "although it is built by humans, the garden seems to be created by heavens."
Ming Imperial Tombs
Located on the southern slope of Tianshou Hill in Changping district, the Ming Imperial Tombs are the world"s biggest and best preserved imperial cemetery. In an area of 40 sq km, 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty were buried with 23 empresses and more imperial consorts, princes and princesses. According to the time they were built, the 13 imperial tombs are Changling, Xianling, Jingling, Yuling, Maoling, Tailing, Kangling, Yongling, Zhaoling, Dingling, Qingling, Deling and Siling. The layout of the tombs was modeled upon the Xiaoling tomb in Nanjing of Jiangsu Province, which used to be the capital of Ming Dynasty before Beijing replaced it. Among the 13 tombs, Changling is the grandest, Yongling is the best designed, Siling is the smallest. On the central axis of the cemetery is the 7 km long Sacred Road.
Ruins of the Imperial City Wall
One can find ruins of the imperial city wall in the Ming and Qing dynasties between the Forbidden City and the Wangfujing pedestrian street. At 2.8 km long and 30 m wide, the park has seven sights such as a huge stone carving of ancient Beijing"s map and the underground base of the city wall.
