Beijing

9,596,960 km²
(231x the Netherlands)

UTC +8

Mandarin-Chinese, Kantonese, Shanghai, Fuzhou, Hokkien-Taiwanese

Mount Everest (Sagarmatha or Chomolungma) - 8,848 m

The flag of the People's Republic of China was hoisted by Mao Zedong on the Square of Heavenly Peace on October 1, 1949. The colour Red represents communism. The five stars: Chinese communist party (big star) and the four social classes (the workers, the farmers, civilians and the patriotic entrepreneurs.

Yuan (renminbi). The Chinese renminbi (people's money) has been in use since the communist revolt in 1949. Many ethnic minorities are depicted on Chinese banknotes. This 5 Jiao (0.5 Yuan) banknote shows the Miao on the left which live in Guizhou-, Yunnan-, Hunan-, Sichuan provinces and the Guanxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. On the right is the Zhuang, which are spread over the autonomous Guangxi Zhuang Region and Yunnan Province.

The Forbidden City in Beijing was built by Yongle, the third Ming Emperor, between 1409 and 1420. It took 10 years of preparation and 10 years to build. It was the spiritual center of the Ming and Qing dynasty for a long time. The last emperor, Pu Yi, was forced to leave the forbidden city in 1911. The site measures 961 by 753 meters and there is a 10 meter high wall surrounding it. At the entrance you'll find the only portrait (in public) of Mao. Approximately 1/3 of the complex is open to the public.



Ping'An is a village on the flanks of a long mountain ridge named Longyi (the back of the dragon). The Zao and Zhuang minorities manage vast rice terraces. it's a beuatiful sight when the terraces are filled with only water

Yangshuo is located on the Li Jiang River in the middle of the karst mountains. The mountains are the remains of a sea, 300 million years ago. The city is a tourist hub but when you take a tour on the river between the karst mountains, you quickly forget that fact. The village of Fuli is a place where you can buy beautiful fans. The market is located in the center of the village. You can also rent a bicycle (mountain bike) and make a nice trip to Moon Hill. A climb over a landscaped path leads to a large hole in the hill. Even more beautiful is a balloon flight over the karst mountains. The basket reaches to your waist and the pilot sits on the edge of the basket.

Xi'an is famous for it's Terracotta Army. The museum and the three wells with the life-size pottery soldiers which are all unique only comprise a small part of the huge grave complex of the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huangdi. He lies on a burial mound 1.5 km from the place where a farmer discovered an underground complex with the terracotta army in 1974. 1,100 soldiers from an estimated total of 7,000 soldiers have been uncovered. The first hall contains the most soldiers. The second hall is not worth a visit (in 2008) and the third hall contains a small number of soldiers.

Simatai is a half day's drive to the north of Beijing. It's a village at a reservoir that divides the great wall of China in two. This part of At the right side of the reservoir you can climb towards watchtower twelve To the left of the lake, the wall runs to Jinshanling, a scenic route that runs over a large piece of wall that is largely decayed. You pass thirty towers until you arrive in Jinshanling. The current wall largely dates from the 15th century and is 4000 km long. The great wall is actually a combination of a large number of walls with a total length of 50,000 km. The first emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi, connected much of those walls together in 220 BC. After the Ming defeated the Mongols in 1368 there was over 200 years of building activity on the wall. After the mid-18th century the wall fell into disrepair.