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GREAT WALL |
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In about 220 B.C., under Qin Shin Huang, sections of fortifications
which had been built earlier were joined together to form a united defence
system against invasions from the north. Construction continued up to the
Ming dynasty (1368-1644), when the Great Wall became the world's largest
military structure. Its historic and strategic importance is matched only
by its architectural value. |
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TEMPLE OF HEAVEN |
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The Temple of Heaven, founded in the first half of the 15th
century, is a dignified complex of fine cult buildings set in gardens and
surrounded by historic pine woods. In its overall layout and that of its
individual buildings, it symbolizes the relationship between earth and heaven
- the human world and God's world - which stands at the heart of Chinese
cosmogony, and also the special role played by the emperors within that
relationship. |
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SUMMER PALACE |
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The Summer Palace in Beijing - first built in 1750, largely
destroyed in the war of 1860 and restored on its original foundations in
1886 - is a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design. The natural
landscape of hills and open water is combined with artificial features such
as pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges to form a harmonious ensemble
of outstanding aesthetic value. |
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FORBIDDEN CITY |
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Seat of supreme power for over five centuries, the Forbidden
City, with its landscaped gardens and many buildings (whose nearly 10,000
rooms contain furniture and works of art), constitutes a priceless testimony
to Chinese civilization during the Ming and Qing dynasties. |
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SINANTHROPUS PEKINENSIS |
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Scientific work at the site, which lies 42 km south-west
of Beijing, is still underway. So far, it has led to the discovery of the
remains of Sinanthropus pekinensis, who lived in the Middle Pleistocene,
along with various objects, and remains of Homo sapiens sapiens dating as
far back as 18,000- 11,000 B.C. The site is not only an exceptional reminder
of the prehistorical human societies of the Asian continent, but also illustrates
the process of evolution. |
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ROYAL TOMBS OF MING DYNASTY |
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In July 2003, the Thirteen Tombs of Ming Dynasty was just listed in the
World Heritage as a supplement to the Royal Tombs of Ming & Qing Dynasties.
Almost all emperors' tombs of the Ming Dynasty are there except the first
emperor buried in Nanjing and second emperor missed in a palace revolution.
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