Upon the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, the Hongwu Emperor moved the capital from Beijing in the north to Nanjing in the south, and ordered to burn down the Yuan palaces. When his son Zhu Di became the Yongle Emperor, he moved the capital back to Beijing, and the construction of Forbidden City began in 1406. The construction lasted 15 years, and required more than a million workers. Material used include whole logs of precious Phoebe zhennan wood found in the jungles of south-western China, and large blocks of marble from quarries near Beijing. The floors of major halls were paved with "golden bricks".

　　The Forbidden City, situated in the very heart of Beijing, was home to 24 emperors of the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) Dynasties. In ancient times, the emperor claimed to be the son of Heaven, and therefore Heaven’s supreme power was bestowed upon him. The emperors' residence on earth was built as a replica of the "Purple Palace where God was thought to live in Heaven". Such a divine place was certainly forbidden to ordinary people and that is why the Forbidden City is so named.

   The Forbidden City is the world's largest surviving palace complex and covers 72 hectare . It is a 961 meters from north to south and 753 meters from east to west. It consists of 980 surviving buildings with 8,707 rooms. The Forbidden City was designed to be the centre of the ancient Beijing. It is enclosed in a larger, walled area called the Imperial City. The Imperial City is, in turn, enclosed by the Inner City; to its south lays the Outer City.

      The Temple of  Heaven is located in the Chongwen district in the southern part of  Beijing. It was built in 1420 during  a time when many other important buildings were constructed in Beijing. Tiantan served as a place of ceremonies and rituals for the Ming and Qing emperors.

　　The Palace of  Abstinence is located near the western entrance of the temple. Before each  ceremony, emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties held a three-day fasting period during  summer and winter festivals. The emperors spent two days fasting in the Forbidden City and completed the last day of fasting in the Palace of Abstinence.

　　South of the  Echo wall stands the Altar of Heaven, built entirely of white marble. The altar  has four entrances and a flight of nine steps leading down in every direction.  At the center of the upper terrace lies a round stone surrounded by nine  concentric rings of stones.

Even the numbers  of the carved balustrades on these terraces are also multiples of nine. When you  stand in the center of the upper terrace and speak in a low voice, your voice  will echo back much louder to yourself than to others, as the sound waves are  reflected back by the marble balustrades to the focal point at the center.

　　The main  building in the compound is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. The entire  structure was joint by wooden bars, laths and brackets, without using steel and  concrete. The four large pillars in the center are known as the Dragon Well  Pillars with each pillar representing one of the four seasons.

Temple of Heaven tour experience the sacred past of the capital

Temple of Heaven is a place of worshipping for Ming and Qing emperors.

Take a tour to explore the hall of prayer, the dragon walls and the stunning greenery around the temple. Enjoy the play of colors and of number 9. Book your tour to learn more! 　　

The Summer Palace, located ten kilometers to the northwest of Beijing, used to be a summer residence of Qing Dynasty emperors. It is an imperial garden known far and wide for its architectural grandeur and stunning natural beauty. It is one of the Four Most Famous Gardens in China. The construction of the Summer Palace started in 1750.

　　The northern part of the Summer Palace is the 60-meter-tall Longevity Hill. Its southern part is a wide expanse of water called Kunming Lake. The whole garden covers 290  hectares, with the lake taking up four-fifths of its total area.

　　Along the northern bank of Kunming Lake runs the Long Corridor with a total length of 728  meters and 273 sections.. The crossbeams of the Long Corridor are decorated with more than 8,000 color paintings with Chinese landscape and historical stories.

 The 17-arch bridge on the  southern bank of Kunming Lake is more than 150 meters long. Carved stone lions, of different sizes and postures, sit on top of the bridge's stone columns. An octagonal pavilion stands at one end of the bridge and near the pavilion lies a bronze ox with its head raised toward the lake. On the back of the ox is engraved a line from Emperor Qianlong stating that the ox is used to control flooding of the lake.

　　A Ming-style street winds along a stretch of water on the back side of Longevity Hill. The Suzhou Street, 300 meters long, is lined with more than 60 shops and decorated with archways and gateways. The shops, of different shapes and sizes, are built with bluish gray tiles and bricks. The marketplace lends a folksy flavor to the imperial garden.

Summer Palace is a fascinating ensemble of gardens, lakes and palaces

Book a tour to the Summer Palace and experience a stunning ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces in Beijing. It remains to be a popular tourist destination to this day!

The  buildings are positioned in a fashion that creates a sharp contrast to the hilly backdrop. Enjoy walking through these splendid halls and pavilions, admiring the construction and natural beauty all at once!