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BEIJING
Beijing, literally meaning the Northern Capital, is an impressive Asian metropolis. It allows you to “shop-till-drop” without missing out the cultural extravaganza of Chinese art, culture and history. Beijing is China's capital and the political, economic, cultural, technological centre of the country. This ancient city has a long history of over five thousand years and witnessed the rise and fall of 34 emperors. It has enjoyed the privilege of being the capital city of Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties and so, possesses great aesthetic and cultural values. In fact, Beijing is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China and is the second largest city in the country after Shanghai. Administratively, it is one of the four municipalities of China that are granted equivalent status to a province.
Tian An Meng
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In last few decades, Beijing became a famous tourism city following the reform and opening up of China. It is spread over an area of 6,564 sq miles (17,000 sq km) and provides accommodations to approximately 7,240,700 people. Apart from the scenic mountains that surround the city, there are ancient imperial palaces, imperial gardens, temples, monasteries, imperial tombs, heritage houses and pagodas in Beijing. The most fascinating aspect of the city is the world's largest public square at Tiananmen. The east-west main road of Beijing, Chang an Avenue, divides the city into north and south halves and passes the Tiananmen Square. This thoroughfare along with other motor vehicle lanes and a bicycle/pedestrian lane makes transportation easy. Several elegant hotels and chic bed and breakfasts have come up along Chang an Avenue or near to it. Visitors with planning of long stay in Beijing can opt for the affordable hostels or take any apartment for rent to suit the limited budget. The Forbidden City, the Great Wall, Zhoukoudian, the Summer Palace, Jingshan Park, Beihai Park, the Lama Temple and Tiantan (Temple of Heaven) are some of the famous tourists spots of Beijing.
The Forbidden City Hongyi pavilion
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The Summer Palace as seen from the lake
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The temple of heaven
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