Wangfujing: Beijing’s main shopping street

Arts & Culture

Tiananmen Square, also known as the Square of Heavenly Peace, in Beijing is filled with superlatives. This vast 880-metre-long and 500-metre-wide square can hold a million people and is the 4th largest square in the world. The Gate of Heavenly Peace, the Tiananmen Gate, provides access to the Forbidden City. Above the entrance hangs a portrait of Mao Zedong, the founder of modern China.

Arts & Culture

The Great Wall of China twists through deserts and plains, over mountains and plateaus like a Chinese dragon. The structure’s length is estimated at 8,852 kilometres. Not all parts of the Great Wall have been preserved in good condition and thousands of years of history have obviously left their mark. Beijing is a great starting point for a visit to both the restored and the more authentic segments of the Great Wall.

Arts & Culture

The Chinese used to view the Forbidden City as the centre of the universe, and with good reason! While Europe was still stuck in the Middle Ages, Beijing saw a huge palace complex arise with thousands of alcoves, rooms and halls. Not only was the Imperial City forbidden to commoners, it was also invisible, hidden behind walls that were 8 metres thick and 10 metres high.