Beijing, China

China is a great country to travel. Around Beijing, there are some cities or towns which are great to visit even if just for a weekend or a couple of days. 

The Great Wall 

The Great Wall is without a doubt the most famous symbol of China. It’s also the main reason why many tourists visit Beijing – people come from all over the world to admire one of the seven wonders of the medieval world. 



While the “long wall” as it’s known in Chinese actually stretches all the way from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Lake in the west, many famous sections can be visited from the capital on a day trip. 


The wall was originally built of stone, wood, grass and earth. In the Ming Dynasty bricks were produced in kilns set up along the wall. The bricks were transported by men carrying them on their backs, donkeys, mules and even goats had a brick tied to their head before being driven up a mountain.

Bird Nest and Water Cube
As Beijing dazzled the world with the spectacular Olympic Games in 2008, the impressive Olympic structures, Bird's nest and its neighboring Water Cube, have become popular attractions ever since.



The water Cube Water park is a great place for families to cool off. The former home of Olympic swimming has been transformed into the water park with slides and attractions enough to entertain the whole family.

The Bird's Nest, officially known as the National Stadium, is the main track and field stadium for the 2008 Summer Olympics, and gained the nickname for its innovative grid formation.

The twig-like structural elements and the bowl-shaped roof are the masterpiece of the project, yet they pose great challenges for technicians and workers to make the building stand on its own feet.

The ground was broken in 2003, and the construction took more than four years to complete. It was built with 36 kilometers (22.37 miles) of unwrapped steel, with a combined weight of 45,000 tons. The stadium has some 11,000 square meters (1.1 hectares) of underground rooms with waterproof walls. The stadium can seat as many as 91,000 spectators.

What located right next to the National Stadium is the Beijing National Aquatics Center, also colloquially known as the Water Cube.