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Great Wall - Badaling
Locates 11km away from Juyongguan Pass and 60km north of Beijing, Badaling, which means "giving access to every direction", is the best-preserved section of the Great Wall. First built in 1505 with an elevation of 600 meters, the wall average 7.5 meters high, 4 meters thick, 6.5m wide on the base and 5.8m at the top.
Tretching out for 4,770m among the rolling mountains, Badaling section of Great Wall is dotted with 19 strategically located watchtowers, which were used to protect the capital against attack in ancient times, bringing Badaling the name of "key to the north gate."
Badaling, the essence of the Great Wall, in 1987, was listed as the "World Cultural Heritage" by UN. In recent years, this section of Great Wall was repaired and Great Wall Museum, Badaling Great Wall Cableway and other tourism facilities were built near the wall. So far, about 80 million visitors from all over the world, including 300 heads of state and other celebrities from foreign countries visited there. The wall, as the witness of the history, today serves as the friend bridge between the Chinese people and people from other countries
The Ming Tombs
The Ming Tombs lie in Changping County, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) northwest from the urban area of Beijing. It is actually a tomb cluster of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), including thirteen emperor's mausoleums, seven tombs for concubines and one grave for eunuchs. This cemetery is world famous because of the thirteen emperors buried here. Sitting at the foot of Mt. Yan and occupying an area of more than 120 square kilometers (29,653 acres), it appears extremely spectacular. It was listed in the World Heritage List in 2003.
Each emperor's tomb was constructed at the foot of a separate small hill, but they all share a main road called the Sacred Way. The thirteen emperor's mausoleums are similar in their architectural style and overall arrangement, only differing in size and complexity of their structures. They used to have a forecourt where memorial ceremonies and sacrifices were held and a tomb mound at the back. Comparatively speaking, Changling (Chang Tomb) is the most grand, Yongling (Yong Tomb) the most delicate and Siling (Si Tomb) the smallest.
Nowadays, the Sacred Way, Changling (Chang Tomb), Dingling (Ding Tomb) and Zhaoling (Zhao Tomb) are accessible to visitors.
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Great Wall
Ming Tomb
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