The most interesting places in the Middle Kingdom

China impresses tourists with its versatility. The regions located in the east of the country are radically different from the western ones. But wherever you go, you can always find a lot of interesting historical, architectural and natural objects. We offer you to get acquainted with the most amazing places in the Middle Kingdom.

the great Wall of China

Its construction began in the 220s BC. Thus, Emperor Qin Shihuandi tried to defend himself against regular raids by nomads. In those days, China was an incredibly prosperous and strong country. The length between the extreme points of the wall is 2450 km, but given its many branches and bends, the total length of the wall is 8852 km. The construction of this facility was attended by more than 1 million people. For the entire time of the construction of the fortification, tens of thousands of people died here, whose bodies were walled up in the wall.

Forbidden city

The attraction is located in the heart of Beijing. The place for its construction was chosen by astronomers, according to whose calculations, it is here that the center of the Earth is. The area of ​​the palace complex is 720 thousand square meters, which makes it the largest in the world. Construction construction began in 1406 and ended in 1420. During its existence, 24 imperial families from the Qing and Ming dynasties lived in the palace. Forbidden, this city is called because in ancient times not a single stranger could get here, and the death penalty was waiting for the too curious. Today, anyone can visit this place.

Shilin National Park

The total area of ​​the park is 350 square kilometers. It appeared about 200 million years ago on the site of a shallow ancient sea. The height, rocks, which are also called stone forest, reaches 40 meters. In total, the national park is divided into zones, including: lakes, a stone garden, waterfalls, caves, grottoes and meadows. Every year in Shilin, a grand torch festival is held.

Li River

The river, whose length is 426 km, is considered one of the cleanest in the country. River landscapes often inspire painters and poets to write their creations. The banks of the river are composed of beautiful karst sediments. During the rafting on the river, tourists can see the Raven Cave, the mountains of the "Yellow Canvas" and "Nine Horseshoes", the Buffalo Gorge and the picturesque town of Sinping.

Potala Palace

This is not only a very beautiful palace, but also the center of Buddhism, which is located in Lhasa. Its construction began in 637 by the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo. To do this, he chose the place where he himself liked to conduct meditation. Later, he decided to make the capital here and after marriage he began the construction of the palace, which to this day has practically not been preserved. What we can see here today was built by the Dalai Lama.

Tiger Leaping Gorge

This is the name of the canyon, which is located on the Blue Tibetan mountains. Its length is 15 km, and peaks in some places reach 2 thousand meters in height. At the bottom of the gorge, the Yangtze River flows. The name of the gorge was given by the legend of the tiger, which was able to jump over the river.

Honghe Hani Rice Terraces

The agricultural miracle located in the south of Yununan province has a man-made origin and covers an area of ​​16,500 hectares. Rice terraces are a self-cleaning system and are located on the slopes of Mount Ailo near the Yellow River. Today, they are already about 1300 years old. Hani became the creators of the fields.

Xihu Lake

Hangzhou fresh water lake is called one of the most beautiful places in China. Sikhu is divided into 5 parts by dams and tiny islets. From 3 sides it is surrounded by mountains.According to local legend, the lake appeared as a result of the fall of pearls on the ground.

Summer Imperial Palace

The construction played the role of the summer residence of the Qing Dynasty and is located in Beijing. In the park, which covers an area of ​​290 hectares, in addition to the palace, temples, living quarters and lakes of artificial origin are located.

Terracotta Army Qin Shi Huang

When Qin Shi Huang was 13 years old, he began to build a tomb. In those days, there was a tradition after the death of the emperor to bury him along with a living army. But the Shihuandi advisers persuaded him to replace the living people with their clay copies. In 1974, peasants accidentally discovered a tomb containing statues of thousands of soldiers.

Suzhou Gardens

Gardens are located in the city of Suzhou. The beginning of it was laid in the XIV century by wealthy Chinese. Each of the gardens has lakes with elegant bridges, galleries, gazebos, stone slides, collections of dwarf trees and ponds on which lotuses grow.

Buddha statue in Leshan

A 71-meter-high Buddha statue is carved in the Lingyushan Rock. She is one of the oldest and tallest in the world. The head of the statue is directed towards Mount Emeishan, which the Chinese consider sacred. Work on the statue began in 713 and lasted about 90 years.

Zhouzhuang

The colorful and romantic city is 30 km from Suzhou. It is also called Chinese Venice. Zhouzhuang was built on the Jinghan Canal and is fully built up with villas of the local intelligentsia and small white houses of ordinary people. The most impressive building of the city was the house of one millionaire, whose area is 2 km square and consists of 100 rooms.

Longmen Cave Temples

Here they were built in caves in the years 495-898. The exact number of temples carved in limestone rocks is unknown, but no less than 43. In total, more than 100 thousand statues were built in the temples. During the reign of Emperor Sui, many of these statues were beheaded.

Jiuzhaigou National Park

In the park you can see multi-level waterfalls and colorful lakes. This amazing place is located in the north of the country in the province of Sichuan. The national park consists of 3 valleys covered with deciduous trees.

Yungang Cave Grottoes

A unique complex of 252 caves of man-made origin is located 16 km from Datong. Here you can see 51 thousand various Buddha images, some of which reach 17 m in height. In addition to these statues, there are sculptures of Apsars, ornaments and Buddhist scenes.

Hanging Monastery of Xuancun-sy

The monastery is located in Shanxi province, which is famous for its rich history, culture and architecture. It was from here in China that the spread of Buddhism began. The construction of the monastery, combining 3 religions at the same time, began in 419. The monastery stands on wooden stilts and consists of 40 pavilions and halls.

Mogao Caves

This is a grand cultural monument of the country. It is located in the province of Gansu. The cave complex includes 492 sanctuaries. The walls of the caves are decorated with sculptures and frescoes. The construction of the temple took place in the IV century, and at least 1,000 years were spent on its decoration.

Panda Nursery

In the wild, there are already very few of these funny cubs. To remedy the situation, in Sichuan, it was decided to create an artificial nursery, where the optimal environment for their life was completely created. Little pandas live here until they seem ready for independent living in the wild.

Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple

One of the oldest buildings in the southern part of the country that have survived to this day is 3 pagodas in the Chongshen Temple, which are located near Lake Erhai near the city of Dali. They are built in a unique architecture for Buddhist buildings. To build them, they used brick and white clay, and on the outside they decorated it with patterns. And the roofs of buildings are made of copper.

China can be called a champion not only in terms of population, but also in the number of attractions. In each province you can find a lot of interesting places that are definitely worth a visit.