South of the city center between the Second and Third Ring Roads lies the Tiantan (Temple of Heaven) Park, an imperial shrine designed for an annual ceremony to appease the heavens. Constructed in 1420, this perfect embodiment of Ming architecture is rich with symbolism and is considered by most Chinese to constitute the center of the universe. Northwest of the city lies the magnificent Summer Palace (Yiheyuan) a royal playground first constructed in 1750 that contains over 3000 halls, pavilions, towers, and courtyards as well as the vast Kunming Lake. The 728-meter-long Long Corridor wings around most of the sights and offers stunnig views of the lake. Northeast of the Summer Palace lie the ruins of the Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan), which was pillaged by French and British troops during the Second Optium War of 1860. Farther out of town lie several remnants of the Great Wall, which once extended more than 6400km across northern China ? greater than the width of the continental USA. The skeleton of the Wall was first joined together by the first emperor of the Qin dynasty, but most fortifications and reconstructions date from the more recent Ming dynasty. Three sections of the Wall are open to tourists: Badaling, Mutianyu, and Simatai. Badaling is the best preserved, but Mutianyu is less overrun with tourists. Simatai is the most dangerous, and most inaccessible, and hands-down the most impressive portion.
Mausoleum of Chairman Mao: open M-Sa 8:30-11:30am; free. Great Hall of the People: open daily 8:30-11:30am; Y30. Chinese Revolutionary History Museum: open Tu-Su 8:30am-4:30pm; History museum Y5, Revolution museum Y3. Forbidden City: open daily May-Sept. 8:30am-4:30pm; Oct.-Apr. 8:30am-5pm. Palace museum Y30; Palace Museum, Jewelry Hall, and Clocks Hall Y50. Audio tours Y30 plus Y200 deposit. Jingshan Park: open daily 6am-10pm; Y0.30. Beihei Park: open daily 6am-10pm. Entrance only Y5, including White Dagoba Y10. Tiantan Park: open daily 6am-8pm; Y10. Summer Palace: open daily 8:30am-5pm; Y30. Old Summer Palace: open daily 9am-6pm; Y10. Badaling: open daily 8am-8pm; Y30. Mutianyu: open daily 9am-4pm; Y20. Simatai: open daily 8am-5pm; Y20.
