Beijing - 2008 Olympic Destination

All the travel industry gurus predict that by 2010, China will be the number 1 travel destination in the world. After eons of social isolationism, the Chinese seem to have finally figured out that they can preserve their culture and share it with the world at the same time. As one of the featured host cities for the 2008 Olympic Games, Beijing is right in the middle of this stunning turn around.

The name of Beijing's famous imperial Ming Palace, "The Forbidden City," pretty much sums up the antiquated isolationist viewpoints that have dominated China for much of it's history. Now the major cities of China are embracing technology, and welcoming the world as tourism soars throughout a country that has a more or less remained the same for the last couple thousand years.

As the capital of the People's Republic of China, Beijing is the nation's political, economic, cultural and educational center as well as being the China's most important center for international trade and communications. It has been the heart and soul of politics and society throughout its long history and consequently there is an unparalleled wealth of discovery to delight and intrigue travelers as they explore Beijing's ancient past and enjoy its exciting modern development.

The major highlights of a visit to Beijing should include the following:

Great Wall of China - the longest man-made architecture on
earth, which can even be seen from space. This should be your number one destination in Beijing.

Forbidden City - the former palaces and offices of Ming and Qing
Dynasties. It is currently a museum with countless treasures and consists of almost 9,000 rooms.

Summer Palace - the most well preserved royal resort of Qing
Dynasty. Beautiful waterfront gardens are the highlight of spring tours.

Temple of Heaven - the 600 year old Taoist temple where Ming and Qing emperors demonstrated their devotion to Heaven.

Other things to enjoy include a classic Peking duck dinner, Peking Opera, shopping and browsing in old Beijing, Tiananmen Square, The Ming Dynasty Tombs, Temple of Azure Clouds, or a visit to the National Museum of China.

The best way to see the sights is to walk. Make sure you plan to allow yourself plenty of time to see everything there is to see. Prime times for travel to Beijing are May and September, when the weather is milder. If you do plan to travel as a spectator for the 2008 Summer Olympics, be sure to plan your trip as early as possible. Be aware that some events are scheduled for early morning hours rather than in the afternoon to accommodate live western television brodcasting. Opening Ceremonies begin August 8, but there are actually soccer matches scheduled to begin on August 6, so be sure you are also aware of the scheduling of the events you're planning to attend, when scheduling your travel plans.

Most vacation trips to China are planned for multiple cities and also include Xian, and Shanghai, among others. Yangtze River tours are also a great way to see the vibrant central China provinces, where you can see everything from archaic terrace farming to the very modern Three Gorges Dam. The average vacation into China lasts about two weeks and includes four stops. With new air lanes opening up between the US and China, air service is also more readily available, which makes the planning of these visits to the other side of the world even easier.

Among destinations on the lifelong to-do list, China remains popular. And as the country continues to welcome western tourists, more and more travelers will be able to look to far east and say, "been there, done that, bought the t-shirt."

GoTravel.com's Destination guide for Bejing