China - Beijing

Being a Chinese, I'm proud of China for its development. Its natural scenery is among the best I would say. I have been to quite a few parts of China. They are Guangzhou, Qingdao, Beijing, Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Zhuhai, Wuxi, Xiamen and Quanzhou.

The Great Wall of China - "Bu deng chang cheng fei hao han", so now I can be considered as a "hao han"!!! Can see the snow? Damn cold sia!!! Minus 10 degree celsius! But what really causes the cold is the wind chill.
The Great Wall is definitely not to be missed. Not every part of the Great Wall is opened to public. This Great Wall is not built in the Qin Dynasty, which is a misconception by many people. It is actually constructed in the Ming Dynasty if I'm not wrong. The 1st Great Wall has already been broken down due to thousands of years of weathering.

For those who are interested to go there, please go when you are young and fit. This is because the steps are very high, about knee level. Besides, the steepness has to be overcome. Lastly, though it looks beautiful during winter, it is not advisable to go at this time, but rather autumn. The snow in winter would cause the ground to be very slippery. In fact, I slipped 3 times but luckily merely lost a bit of balance. I witnessed a tourist fell flat.......

Tian An Men Square - Though it was only minus 2 degree celsius, but it was very cold due to the strong winds blowing across the unobstructed Tian An Men Square.

The Forbidden City - As the name suggests, it forbade commoners in the past to enter. It was actually the palace of the emperors in the Qing Dynasty. It is one of the few in the world that is being conserved so nicely. Also, visitors or tourists would get to know how well the emperors lived. The architecture is magnificent. It is almost unbelievable that there can be such good architecture with ancient technology. Sometimes it leaves you wondering why no screws are needed. In fact, I observed that the buildings consist mostly of joints which are cut to pinpoint accuracy. However, I'm still unable to decipher how they keep the joints together.

Tian Tan - By right, I did not remember the name wrongly. This is where the emperor "communicate" with heaven.

The Emperor's Throne - This is the seat/throne that countless people had died fighting over it. It is made of solid gold. Besides this, I don't see the point fighting over it. Some people say, a modern sofa is definitely more comfortable than it. Just a joke......anyway, the throne is a symbol of prestige and power.

Summer Palace - This is the place where Cixi Empress, also known as Empress Dowager, came to during summers. It would be very hot in the Forbidden City during summers, hence she would come here to escape from the intense heat.
Above is the stone ship built by her. She spent a huge amount of funds building this stone ship, instead of spending on the modernizing navy at that time. That was why it was always an irony felt by the commoners. She could have spent this huge sum of money to strengthen the navy to fend off the foreigners.

Frozen lake - If only Singapore has winter, I bet many of us would love to skate on the frozen lakes or rivers.

Chang Lang (Long Corridor) - This is known to be the longest corridor in the whole world. I can't really remember the exact distance, but I think should be close to or around 1km. It is even colder here in winter and its even more tormenting as you walk along the corridor, with freezing air blown over the frozen lake to you. Wonder if it was a coincidence, my camera broke down when I was here. Moral of the story: Always have a backup camera, which I did. :) The special part of this corridor is the carvings at the ceiling. Can you imagine carvings along the whole stretch? Wow! I wonder how long it took to carve them. Btw, it does not consist of wood alone.......I saw many types of materials. What a lavish life the royals had in the past.....