Forbidden City & Tiananmen
The Forbidden City was the imperial palace of Ming and Qing dynasty. It was designated as a World Heritage Site in 1987. Tiananmen is a gate located in the south of the Forbidden City. Some people misunderstand it as the main gate of the Forbidden City, but it is actually the southern gate of Beijing.
The two are symbols of Beijing. When I saw Tiananmen and the Forbidden City, I realized I’m really in Beijing. I strongly recommend seeing the Forbidden City at the peak of Jingshan Park located in the north of the palace. You can enjoy the scenery of the Forbidden City at a glance.
Great Wall of China
It is a one of the most outstanding historical sites in China. It was also declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. The Great Wall was built to defend against various nomadic invaders. In the beginning, it wasn’t this long. Qin Shi Huang, the first Qin emperor, joined together each of the castles, and it became a wall. Many dynasties have built and maintained the walls. The current figure of walls had been made during the Ming dynasty.
I went to the Simatai Great Wall even though the Badaling Wall was closer to Beijing because fewer people visit the Simatai than visit the Badaling and nearby the Simatai there is the GuBei Water Town. It was hard to climb up, but the magnificent view made me feel free from any stress. Visiting the Great Wall was really fantastic.
