Beijing, China

In early 2008, I had the opportunity to go to Beijing in China. Beijing is one of the most populous cities in the world, and is the capital city of China. Its capital city’s history stretches back three millennia, and it hosted the 2008 Olympic Games at the time.

Beijing has several UNESCO World heritage Sites, which I visited: the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, and the Great Wall of China.

The Temple of Heaven was constructed from 1406 to 1420 during the reign of the Yongle Emperor. The building was used as a Daoist temple and as well as in Chinese heaven worship. The Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties used the complex for sacrifices and prayers for good harvests, on behalf of the nation. Internally and externally, the temple is imbued with symbolism in its architecture. The temple has repeated motifs of squares and circles, symbolising Earth and Heaven respectively. The blue tiles on the ceiling symbolise Heaven.  

The next place I visited was the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City is a large imperial palace used by the emperor and was constructed in 1406. The Forbidden City is surrounded by a city wall and a 6 metre wide moat and has 980 buildings within its walls.

The last attraction I visited was the Great Wall of China. The Great Wall has origins from 220-206 BC, its construction started by Qin Shihuang, the first Emperor of China. The wall that is currently visible originates from the Ming dynasty and was built to keep Mongolian and barbarian tribes from entering China. The wall consists of over a million steps, so any tourists walking on the wall will feel extremely tired and the wall stretches over mountain ridges.

Chris