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Located at the center of Beijing City is Tiananmen Square, where you can visit Tiananmen Tower, Monument to the People’s Heroes, Great Hall of the People, Mao Zedong Memorial Hall and see the national flag raising ceremony. Thousands of people come to the Square every day. It is the must place to visit in Beijing City.

Tiananmen Tower
At the north end of the Square is Tiananmen Tower. Initially built in 1417 during the Ming Dynasty (1368 A.D.- 1644 A.D.), the Square was the front door of the Forbidden City. The most important use of it in the past was to declare in a big ceremony to the common people who became the emperor and who became the empress. Until 1911 when the last feudal kingdom was over, no one could enter the Tower except for the royal family and aristocrats.

Monument to People’s Heroes
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. ‘ The People’s Heroes are Immortal’ written by Chairman Mao is engraved on the monument. Eight unusually large relief sculptures show to the people the development of Chinese modern history. Two rows of white marble railings enclose the monument, simple and beautiful.

Great Hall of the People
West of the Square is the Great Hall of the People. 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 are infront 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.

Memorial Hall of Chairman Mao
Memorial Hall of Chairman Mao is at the south side of the Square. This Hall is divided into three halls and our dear Chairman Mao’s body lies in a crystal coffin in one of the halls surrounded by fresh bouquets of various famous flowers and grasses.

National Museum of China
Another important place for the tourist to visit is the China National Museum at the east side of the Square. It just came into existence in 2003 and is a combination of Chinese History Museum and Chinese Revolutionary Museum. This National Museum faces the Great Hall of the People. 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 shows a large number of cultural relics illustrating the long history and glorious culture of China from 1,700,000 years ago to 1921 when the last emperor left the throne.

Flag-Raising Ceremony
Five Star Red Flag-the Chinese national flag, flies high in the sky above the Square. To see the guard of honor raise the Flag is a must for the tourist visiting Beijing City. You have to get up very early and arrive at the Square before sunrise. Only by doing so can you see the ceremony clearly as there are crowds of people attending the ceremony every day.

Click for more details on 2010 Timetable for Flag-Raising Ceremony:    January – June   July – December

The present Tiananmen Square has an area of 440,000 square meters and has become a relaxing place for the common people to fly kites and walk. On a holiday, the whole square is covered with fresh flowers.

Introduction to the Belarus Travel Guide

Belarus travel can be a wonderful experience. Belarus is rich in culture and history, relatively inexpensive and not yet over-run by tourists. However, because English is not common and information is not widely available, Belarus travel can be challenging for the first-time visitor. This Belarus Travel Guide goes into depth to give Belarus travelers much of the information necessary to get here and get as much from the visit as possible. The pages of this Belarus Travel Guide offer information about visas, accomodation, sightseeing and transportation for Minsk and the rest of Belarus. On the bottom of each page of the Belarus Travel Guide you will find a comment box. Your suggestions will help us to develop the Belarus travel guide to be an important source of travel information for Belarus travel.

Arriving in Belarus
Belarus travel allows you to experience a different world. Belarus still clings to the Soviet past and has a very different atmosphere compared with neighboring countries, such Lithuania. In fact, a trip to both Lithuania and Belarus, two ex-soviet states and very close neighbors, is a remarkable experience. Lithuania has rapidly become very Western-oriented while Belarus is still very much Eastern-oriented and you feel the difference instantly. (The contents of this website are copyrighted by TravelsWise.com, the Europe Travel Guide).

Clearing customs and the border to Belarus can be stressful, but foreigners usually have an advantage: Belarusian boarder guards rarely speak English. Most of the time, they look quickly at your passport and leave you in peace.

Checking into your hotel may be unpleasant. You may not feel the warm welcome you would expect at a hotel reception desk. Don take it as a sign that you are not welcome. Most hotels in Belarus are state owned and customer satisfaction is not the priority on their minds. However, enter a restaurant and the attitude is very different.You will be welcomed at the typical restaurant and treated with a high level of service. Why the difference? Most restaurants are privately owned and their survival depends on customer satisfaction.

Beijing is not only the political center of China, but it is also the most strategic city in the north. Many dynasties in Chinese history actively built walls in this area. Among many historical ruins of the Great Wall in Beijing, the wall built during the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644) is the most often seen and best preserved, running over 373 miles and containing about 827 city wall platforms, 71 passes and countless towers. The famous Great Wall sections include the Badaling, Huanghuacheng, Mutianyu, Jiankou, Gubeikou, Jinshanling and Simatai great wall.

If you want to experience the culture and enjoy the beauty of the Great Wall, meandering along the bricks of the Badaling Great Wall is your first choice. It is famous for its deep-rooted culture, magnificent sights and complete military facilities – the essence of the Great Wall. You may find many pictures of it in magazines and guide books and printed on stamps. Being the must-see section of the Great Wall, it is sometimes flocked with visitors especially during holidays.

You may want to avoid the peak seasons or visit the Mutianyu Great Wall instead. It is even more beautiful and has fewer tourists. If you are nostalgic for old times, the Simatai and Gubeikou sections should be on your itinerary. These two sections are well maintained in their original states. The strong, primitive walls enhance the beauty of the wilderness.

If you are energetic and daring, adventures on the Huanghuacheng and Jiankou sections await you.
Beijing Great Wall
Beijing Great Wall
The steep peaks and broken bricks will challenge your courage and curiosity. Remember to bring complete a mountaineering outfit, food and water. Water is unavailable on the wild sections.

Different sections of Beijing’s Great Wall can satisfy many different interests. Come and explore your favorite one!

Beijing, capital of the People’s Republic of China, is the nation’s political, economic, cultural, educational and international trade and communication center. Located in northern China, close to the port city of Tianjin and partially surrounded by Hebei Province, Beijing also serves as the most important transportation hub and port of entry in China.

Beijing, Jing for short, is one of the six ancient cities in China. It has been the heart and soul of politics and society throughout its long history and consequently there is an unparalleled wealth of discovery to delight and intrigue travelers as they explore Beijing’s ancient past and enjoy its exciting modern development. Now it has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, with about 140 million Chinese tourists and 4.4 million international visitors in a year.