China can be counted as the curator of the world’s oldest continuous civilization. This beautiful country has a large number of historic attractions to offer such as the famous Great Wall, Forbidden City and the Terracotta Army. During latest years, this country has modernized quiet rapidly however as the Communist Party decentralized making of economic decision and opened the country’s economy to increase foreign trade. The ambitious skylines of Shanghai city and many other Chinese cities are a proud statement of this process. Traveling around is getting increasingly easier although visiting all of the top tourist attractions in China is arduous rather than difficult in view of the large size of the country. In the following write-up, we have mentioned some of the popular tourist attractions that you must visit when in China.
Great Wall of China
A major landmark of China, the Great Wall of China constructed, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire from the invaders and attack of nomadic tribes from the north. The majority of the existing wall was constructed during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD). The most famous area of the Great Wall is at “Bādálǐng”. Also, renovated but lesser known places on the wall are Jīnshānlǐng and Sīmǎtái.
Potala Palace
Located 130 meters above the Lhasa valley, the Potala Palace is the greatest monumental structure in all of Tibet. The construction of the present palace started in the year 1645 during the reign of the 5th Dalai Lama and by the year 1648 the Potrang Karpo (or White Palace) was completed. The Potrang Marpo (or Red Palace) was later added between the year 1690 and 1694. The Potala Palace served as the residence of the Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India, post the Chinese invasion in the year 1959.
Forbidden City
Situated right at the center of Beijing, the Forbidden City is renowned as the largest palace covering 72 hectares area of land. Constructed from 1406 to 1420, this palace complex consists of 980 surviving buildings with 8,707 rooms bounded by a ten meter (33 ft) high wall and a six meter (20 ft) deep moat. A total of twenty-four emperors reigned over the country for around 5 centuries from the Forbidden City until the abandonment of the last Emperor of China- Puyi. However, now the Forbidden City is a museum and one of the most famous tourist attractions of China.
Terracotta Army
The Terracotta Army is a fine collection of terracotta sculptures representing the armies of Qin Shi Huang (221 BC-206 BC), the first Emperor of China. This place is the most popular tourist attraction in Xián and in all of China. It is noted that the three pits contains the Terracotta Army including over 8,000 soldiers, 150 cavalry horses and 130 chariots with 520 horses, the majority of which are still buried in the pits.
Some of the other popular tourist attractions of China that you shouldn’t miss include Victoria Harbour, Li River Cruise, Leshan Giant Buddha, Mount Huang, Mogao Caves and Pudong Skyline.