China Travel Reference

Martial Arts Tour
	Hebei is a cradle of Chinese martial arts. Practising martial arts is a local obsession for both Cangzhou city, a famous land of martial arts, and Yongnian County in Handan, where the Yang and Wu styles of taiji boxing were originated. And Baoding is famed for its wresting. Large numbers of martial arts studious and classes in these places have attracted numerous visitors and martial arts fans from around the world.

Qinhuangdao Beach Holiday tour
	Lying by the Bohai Sea and 270 km east of Beijing, Qinhuangdao was the oldest beach resort in China. Major attractions: Laolongtou, Shanhaiguan(“No,1 Pass Under Heaven”), Great Wall Museum, Wildlife Zoo, Marine World, Wanbo Cultural City. Among the beach resorts are Beidaihe, Nandaihe, and Changli Golden Coast International Sand-Sliding Center. Beidaihe, where top Chinese leaders run state affairs in summer, is also ideal for bio-tourism and bird watching. Seventy percent of the beach is covered with forests, which are home to 405 kinds of birds, including 68 world- or national –class species under state protection. In summer Beidaihe is the venue of Great Wall Cultural Festival, the Sea Tour Carnival, and Seaside Bird-watching Festival.

Emperors’ Summer Resort
	The Chengde Mountain Resort, known as Bishu Shanzhuang in Chinese, located in the northern part of Chengdu City and was the biggest imperial summer resort built in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). In order to consolidate the unity of the multi-national state and pacify the frontier area, Emperor Kangxi, the second emperor of the Qing Dynasty, made many inspection tours in North China. Durng his inspection torurs, he found the Chengde with its proximity to the capital of Beijing was beautiful in scenery and pleasant in climate. Therefore, in 1703 hedecided to have a summer resot built here. Construction of the project was completed in 1790, lasting 87 years. Within the Mountain Resort, there are more than 20 building complexes cattered throughout the park, consisting of more
than 100 individual halls, pavilions, studios, pagodas and terraces. Each of these complexes has its poetic name. Every year both Qing emperors Kangxi and Qianlong spent about six months in the park to enjoy the coolness while handling state affairs. Because the Qing rulers could not accustom to Beijing’s hot and dry summer and sought relief by traveling north of the Great Wall. The Mountain Resort takes an area of 5,64 square kilometers with a wall about 10 kilometers long enclosed it. The Mountain Resort is divided into two parts –the palace area and the scenic area. In the southern part of the lake area are the palace buildings where the Qing emperors lived, conducted state affairs and held grand celebrations. The main buildings are: Zhenggong (Front Palace), Skonghezhai (Pine Crane Hall), Donggong (East Palace) and their annexes. The buildings in the palace area are unique in style, quite unlike other gorgeous palaces. Their foundations just like those of ordinary people’s house, they are simply furnished, unembellished, austere and elegant, harmonizing well with the simplicity of the whole Mountain Resort. In 1994, this large imperial summer resort, together with the Outer Eight Temples was listed on the List of the World Cultural Heritage.