Beijing is the present day capital of China with a population of approximately nine million people and is the country's second largest city. The municipality of Beijing, including the nine counties under its jurisdiction covers a total area of approximately the same size as Belgium. Lying on the north-western edge of the North China Plain, within the barrier of the, great Wall, Beijing was the bastion of Chinese imperial power for almost 700 years In more recent times it was from the Tian An Men, gate (the gate of Heavenly Peace) that Mao Tse Tung proclaimed "liberation" and the foundation of the People's Republic on the 1st October 1949.

Tian An Men square is a modern creation and covers an area of 98 acres. Until the mid 1970's the square was used for massive rallies and parades. In the centre is the Memorial Hall of Chairman Mao, with his embalmed body on display. Nowadays, the square is often sealed off with access only from subway entrances.

The yellow roofs of the Forbidden City- sometimes called the Imperial Museum or Palace Museum, dominate the centre of Beijing. Under the Ming and Qing, Beijing was divided into a number of walled sections or cities - the Forbidden City was the innermost and most important, for it was the residence of the Emperor and the Imperial Family, the focal point of the empire and the middle of the Middle Kingdom. Entry was strictly forbidden to all but those on imperial business until 1911 when the last emperor was unseated. It occupies 720,000 square metres, and there are 9,999 rooms (a room is considered an area enclosed by four posts). A moat and a ten metre high wall surround it.

The Yangtse River Is China's great waterway although navigation on it was fraught with difficulties until the latter half of this century. Since 1949 the Chinese government has undertaken major hydraulic schemes to keep the waters in check although the rapids of the Three Gorges are still an unpredictable force, they are no longer threatening. A voyage along the Yangtse River offers a glimpse of rural communities previously unknown to foreign visitors The Three Gorges Dam Project is due to be fully completed in the year 2009. However the first stages of flooding will commence in the summer of 2003. There is currently a huge relocation project underway moving entire towns higher up the valley sides.

The Great Wall is China's traditional defensive line against the people of the north: it stretches some 3700 miles from the Gulf of Bohai to the west in Gansu Province. Originally built in small sections by individual feudal states in the 5th century BC, the wall was later linked together by China's first great emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi at the end of the 3rd century BC when he unified the whole of China. It has been rebuilt and renovated many times since then, and is one of the true wonders of the world, it is reportedly the only man-made structure visible from space.

The Summer Palace lies some 7 miles north west of Beijing: it was a wonderful, if rather expensive dream of the notorious Empress Dowager Cixi. With the money that had been intended for the building of a naval fleet she constructed the Garden of Cultivated Harmony, or Summer Palace. As in every classical Chinese garden, water and mountains (or rocks) determine the landscape. Kunming Lake covers three quarters of the total area of more than 12 square miles. There is a short trip across the lake.

The Temple of Heaven is a masterpiece of Ming architecture the Temple of Heaven was built by the third emperor as the setting for important rituals designed to perpetuate the rule of the Ming Dynasty. Symbolizing heaven and earth, the enclosure of the temple is rounded at the north but square at the south. The structure is entirely made of wood, the tall round building being supported by 28 huge wooden pillars. The place is also very popular with retired Chinese. There are many activities going on.