When the wall was originally built 2000 years ago by the Qing dynasty it was
a sturdy 'No Trespassing' sign directed at neighboring kingdoms. Today it's a
tourist attraction, a Wonder of the World, but to many Chinese it's just a
wall. They seem to reserve for it, and the foreigners who come to marvel, a
kind of bemused tolerance. The majority of visitors climb the wall at Badaling,
70 kilometers northwest of the center of Beijing.
The wall of Badaling has a total length of 3,741 meters with an average height
of 8 meters. The highest part is 15 meters. The top of the wall can permit five
horses to be ridden abreast. There are arched doors at the inner side of the
wall with very little distance between each two doors. The arched doors lead
one to the top of the wall by stone stairs. Near Badaling, there is a
large-scaled Great-Wall-of-China Museum
as well as the Great Wall National Theater from which one can get a full and
complete view of the Great Wall.
Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square is located at the center of Beijing,
where one can visit the Monument to the People's Heroes, Great Hall of the
People, and Mao Zedong Memorial Hall. The square entered the history of infamy
in 1989 when Chinese troops and tanks crushed a peaceful pro democracy
demonstration, killing many.
The granite Monument
to the People's Heroes is just at the center of the Tiananmen
Square. Built in 1952, it is the largest monument in China's
history. Eight unusually large relief sculptures show to the people the
development of Chinese modern history. Two rows of white marble railings
enclose the monument.
The Great Hall of the People is west of the Square. This building,
erected in 1959, is the site of the China National People's Congress meetings
and provides an impressive site for other political and diplomatic activities.
Twelve marble posts stand in front of the Hall, which has three parts; the Central
Hall, the Great Auditorium and a Banqueting Hall. The floor of the Central Hall
is paved with marble and crystal lamps hang from the ceiling. The Great
Auditorium behind the Central Hall seats 10,000. The Banqueting Hall is a huge
hall with 5,000 seats.
Mao Zedong Memorial Hall is at the south side of the Square. This
Hall is divided into three halls. Chairman Mao's body lies in a crystal coffin
in one of the halls surrounded by fresh bouquets of various famous flowers and
grasses.
Another important place is the China National Museum at the east side
of the Square. It just opened in 2003 and is a combination of Chinese
History Museum and Chinese Revolutionary Museum. Inside the Chinese
Revolutionary Museum
are a lot of material objects, pictures, books and models to present the
development of modern China.
The Chinese History
Museum displays a large number of
cultural relics illustrating the long history and enduring culture of China
from 1,700,000 years ago to 1921 when the last emperor left the throne.