The Forbidden City (故宫)

is an imperial palace complex used by the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Forbidden City served as the home of emperors and their households, as well as the commanding center of China for about 500 years.

Built from 1406 to 1420, the forbidden city is made of 980 buildings and covers 72 hectares (over 180 acres). It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987, and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.

You can access there easily taking the underground line 1 and exiting at the stop "Tian an men east"

After the visit, do take some time to get to the JingShan park, on the hill located on the Northern Exit of the Forbidden city.

Background photo credit to my friend Sylvain Terret, you can find him here:

Temple of heaven

The temple was built from 1406 to 1420 under the reign of the Yongle Emperor, who also made the building of the Forbidden City possible.

The temple was occupied by the Anglo-French Alliance during the Second Opium War. In 1900, the Eight Nation Alliance occupied the temple and made it its Beijing command center for one year.

The occupation resulted in serious damage to the monument. With the end of the Qing dynasty, the temple was left un-managed, which led several walls and roofs to collapse.

In 1918 the temple was turned into a park and for the first time open to the public.

The Temple of Heaven was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998.

The Great wall of China

The Great Wall of China is a series of fortification systems built across the ancient northern borders of China to protect the country from the Northern tribes. Several walls were built from as early as the 7th century BC and have been improved throughout the centuries. The most famous portions of the walls were built by the Ming dynasty (1368–1644).

The walls built by the Ming dynasty are 8,850 km (5,500 mi) long.

Given the size of the site, it is only possible to visit portions of the wall, with countless choices available.

The most famous and easily accessible is the Badaling portion, but it is far from being my favorite. It is indeed a wonderful place to walk but always crowded. For a simple visit of the Great Wall, I would recommend you go to the less famous Mutianyu portion.

If you have the opportunity to book your own driver for the whole day, I would recommend you visit the Simatai portion (pictured here). You will also have the opportunity to visit the ancient town of Gubei (古北).

There are a bit more tourists than on the Mutianyu portion but the village is worth visiting to have an overview of the traditional small-scale Chinese villages.

Lama Temple (Yonghegong 雍和宫)

the Yonghegong is a temple and monastery of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism.

Building work on the Yonghe Temple started in 1694 during the Qing dynasty. It was then converted into the residence of Yinzhen (Prince Yong), one of the Kangxi Emperor's sons. After Prince Yong ascended the throne as the Yongzheng Emperor in 1722, half of the building was converted into a lamasery, a monastery for monks of Tibetan Buddhism. The other half remained an imperial palace.

Houhai

Houhai is a lake in XiCheng district, surrounded by countless bars and shops.

In its areas is the Prince Gong's Mansion, really worth visiting.

Dongyue temple:

The Dongyue Temple was founded in 1319. Zhang Liusun, a Yuan dynasty official raised money and acquired the land for the temple, but died shortly afterwards. In 1322, the main halls and the main gate were completed.

The temple was repaired and given its present name in 1447 during the reign of the Zhengtong Emperor in the Ming dynasty.

During the Qing dynasty, the temple was rebuilt twice, in 1698 and again in 1761 during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. The temple also underwent expansion during the Qing dynasty.