Overview
China's main attractions include:
- Great Wall of China
- Forbidden City
- Terracotta Army
- Li River
- Huangshan
Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China is a large series of forts that are all connected by a wall with a walkway on top. It was originally built to defend against invading forces as far back as the 7th Century BC. It was built over the course of multiple dynasties and helped China to become such a powerful empire in the ancient times. The Great Wall is located here, in China, and some of the wall even extends into Mongolia.
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City was the imperial palace from 1420-1912 and was built in 1420. It has 980 buildings and covers over 180 acres. The city is a rectangle and surrounded by a moat, with a few gates to enter and exit. It ended up housing 24 emperors over the course of almost 500 years. In 1925, it was retired and turned into the Palace Museum, offering guests tours of the ancient city. It is located here, in Beijing, China:
Terracotta Army
The Terracotta Army is a large collection of terracotta (baked earth) sculptures that were used as a form of funerary art that was buried with the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. These statues were meant to protect Emperor Qin in the afterlife, so they were buried with him in his tomb. Terracotta literally means "baked earth" or ceramic, and the Chinese name for this army (兵马俑) means "Soldier-and-horse funerary statues." Each statue has a unique face and has actual weapons and armor. They were discovered in 1974 by local farmers in Shaanxi, China:
Li River
The Li River is a 52mi (83km) long river that flows from Guilin to Yangshuo. All along the river, there are these tall, skinny mountains that make for a beautiful sight while one is sailing on a cruise. At one point, the river runs through a cave called Reed Flute Cave which has many unique rock formations inside. A Chinese cruise line offers a cruise that sails down the entire river, or just a one day hike down a portion of it. It's located here, in southern China:
Huangshan
Huangshan is a mountain range with very uniquely shaped granite rocks and mountains. It's highest elevation is 6,115ft (1,864m) above sea level. Here, people can see clouds touching the peaks more than half of the year, and there also many waterfalls that flow down these mountains. This is a very popular place for locals and tourists to go hiking. It's located here, in southeastern China: