Beijing Tourist information. Welcome to Beijing, China!

Welcome to my virtual presentation of Beijing! With its many tourist sights and its long history, the capital of the People's Republic of China is one of the most attractive cities in the world. Even more so since Beijing hosted the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, the Summer Olympic Games of 2008.

Beijing is the second biggest city in China, and thanks to its excellent transport facilities, it is the main gateway to the country of 1.3 billion citizens.

Beijing is huge and has many attractions. Among them there are four that no tourist should miss: the Forbidden City, Tian an Men, The Summer Palace and the Great Wall. We will start our virtual video tour in the Forbidden City. Click on the picture for the first tourist video.

The Forbidden City is a giant complex. With more than 180 acres of land (almost 78 hectares), it can take several days to visit. If you do not have much time in Beijing, spend at least half a day here. If you are going to stay in Beijing for several days, you should visit the place more than once.

There is an entry fee which gives you access to the main courtyards and palaces, but if you want to visit the site in detail, you will have to buy the optional tickets. You can buy them at the main ticket office (next to the Forbidden City Gates), or inside the complex. If you are going to visit the City only once, buy the complete ticket at the main ticket office and get a discount.

The main Gate to the Forbidden City is on Tian an Men Square, where you can buy the audio guides and/or hire a local guide. I absolutely recommend taking one of the guides. If you do not want to rent a guide, at least bring a good travel guidebook. There is another entrance on the North side.

Although I had visited royal palaces in Europe and Asia before coming to Beijing, I had never seen anything so big!

The Forbidden City, with its 9,999.5 rooms, several dozens palaces and courtyards, is the biggest royal palace in the world. More than half a mile long and almost half a mile wide (1 Square km), it looks more like a city than a palace complex.

The name of the place comes from the fact that nobody except the Emperor, the Empress, the Emperor's concubines, the eunuchs, the servants and the King's guests was allowed inside the Forbidden City. Even the local firefighters were not allowed inside the complex. In case of fire, the king's servants had to put the fire out. This happened frequently, because most of the constructions were made of wood.