Ecotourism in Beijing, China (Essay Sample)

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Eco-tourism in Beijing, China
Beijing is the most familiar travel destination and center for the nation’s economic, political, communication, educational, cultural and international trade being the capital of China people’s Republic. The city is situated near the Tianjin port city and partly surrounded by Hebei province. In addition, the City serves as a key transportation port and hub of entry. The place is popular with various things that make it a major travel destination like the Great wall, Summer palace, Forbidden city and Ming Tomb. Beijing also has good transportation means which make it easy for people to move easily from one place to another to deliver them to their attraction sites by buses, taxis or subways among other methods (Brahm, 2001).
Tourism has become more and more crucial to Beijing people and economy with visitors being attracted to cultural and historical attractions around the city and also to numerous sites within the municipality rural places. Maybe the Great Wall is the most well-known attraction which people can view from various designated places northeast and northwest of Beijing. Other common locales are the Ming emperors and tombs to the north of Beijing and the Zhoukoudian archaeological sites to the southwest where pre-historic hominin fossils are found. The services of tourists provided in Beijing have been enhanced steadily since 1980s. Various hostels and hotels have been established while the old ones have been enlarged and renovated to cater for the rising demand (Brahm, 2001). For instance, a great construction campaign was taken when Beijing was given the 2008 Summer Olympics award.
Beijing is among the six old China cities and has been the soul and heart of society and politics in the entire long history. Due to that, there has been discovery wealth to intrigue and delight travelers while they explore the old past and exciting contemporary development of the city. Currently, Beijing is one of the leading popular tourist destinations in the world attracting almost 140 million Chinese and 4.4 million worldwide visitors every year. Hence, the city is among the most visited cities in the globe.
Beijing Vacations
The country’s bustling capital has gardens, temples among other long-lost dynasties’ relics alongside the contemporary entertainment and architecture. That embraces the sensory historical, cultural and political overload of the capital with over 20 million people being the most familiar city in China following Shanghai. Beijing is situated within the northeast of China and is geographically and culturally away from other Western capital cities though easy to reach by air (Brahm, 2001). While in the city, you can utilize great public transport systems or rent a bike and get around.
Some of the best Beijing views entail climbing the Jingshan Park hill and hang around over the old City. Then go down into the Tiananmen Square and have a look at the Qianmen Gate (Front Gate) before visiting the great palace complex neighboring it. You can travel to the city during all seasons since you can normally get something that interests you. For instance, there are normally numerous historical sites and scenic spots in Beijing. There are those you can walk while others maybe a little bit away from the city center. It takes some time to enjoy various things that the Beijing provides. Thus, if you have some days to spare, you may highlight the Beijing trip by visiting some of the key attractions within Beijing. Through that way, you may have a taste of the city for those who spend only some days there. There are 51 regions and countries where passport holders are offered with visa-free settlement up to a maximum of 72 hours when having the world transfer through the Beijing capital airport (Linda, 2003).
Transportation
Beijing is the northern China’s key transportation hub with frequent flights, rail, and modern roads that make it simple for visitors to reach various destinations. Also, crisscross roads ensure the urban transportation is usually convenient and fast even though at times you may encounter a traffic jam from the city’s numerous vehicles.
Dining
For those interested in having the taste of the local food, Imperial Court Food and Roast Duck are there to enjoy. There is nowhere in the world where you can get such varieties of gourmet restaurants providing the best of western and Chinese dishes.
Shopping
Also, whether planning to purchase tourist souvenirs and curios with conventional Chinese flavor, or keen to seek quality items from the globe’s world famous brands, you will realize the city being a real shopper’s paradise. The most common and famous destinations are Guomao and Yansha Shopping Malls, Streets nearby the Tiananmen Square like the Qianmen and Wangfujing streets and the Xidan Street (Linda, 2003).
Nightlife
After touring for a day, nighttime can have other excitements for you. These may vary from contemporary performances like the traditional acrobatics, opera and martial arts to conventional ones like pubs, concerts and clubs. Also, the Laoshe Teahouse and Tianqiao Area are appropriate venues for where tourists can have some enjoyment in Chinese folk culture while the nearby embassy area and the Sanlitun Bar Street are ideal places for those who are party-loving night owl.
Beijing also referred as Peking is the metropolis within northern China. It is controlled as a municipality under direct central government administration. It edges Hebei province to the west, north, south and small session in the east and the Tianjin municipality in the southeast part being among the four major old capitals of China. Beijing is split into 16 suburban and urban two rural counties and districts (Linda, 2003). It is a great transportation hub with various railways, motorways and roads going through the city. Also, it is a destination for various international flights that come to China. For centuries, the city has been a great major part of China’s history. Thus, many buildings in Beijing have at least some national historical importance. Its universities and treasures made the city a cultural hub and art in China.
Culture
The native people to urban Beijing use Beijing dialect as their language which is associated with the Mandarin subdivision of Chinese. The language is key for Standard Mandarin, which is the spoken language applied in the mainland Taiwan, China and among the four official Singapore languages. The rural Beijing areas within the municipality have their dialects akin of Hebei province which neighbors the Beijing municipality. Peking opera or Beijing opera is common throughout the nation and is familiarly lauded as among the greatest achievements within the Chinese culture (Shu, Hong and Wang, 2004). Peking opera is conducted via a combination of spoken dialogue, song and codified action sequences like movement, gestures, acrobatics and fighting. A lot of Beijing opera is conducted within an archaic stage dialect which varies from the contemporary Standard Mandarin and Beijing dialect.
Alleys or Siheyuans line hutongs which link the Beijing interior old city are normally straight and lay east to west while the doorways face south and north during the Feng Shui purposes. They differ in width with some being narrow sufficient for just some few pedestrians to go through each time. After being everywhere in Beijing, hutongs and siheyuans are currently and quickly disappearing as the whole city hutongs blocks are replaced and leveled with high-rise buildings. Hutongs residents are entitled to dwell in new buildings within the apartments of the same size as their previous residences. However, residents have limited management over their own properties while the government normally owns them. Some picturesque or historic neighborhoods of hutongs are restored and preserved by the government.
Tourists can enjoy the local cooking style by using Beijing cuisine. Perhaps, peking duck is the most familiar dish. While the Manhan Quanxi is a non-common contemporary banquet that is originally meant for Qing Dynasty ethnic-Manchu emperors which remain very expensive and prestigious (Shu et.al, 2004). Also, the Fuling Jiabing is a contemporary Beijing snack food (pancake bing) made from fu ling, worlf or “tuckahoe” which a substance common within the contemporary Chinese medicine. Likewise, teahouses are popular in Beijing whereby Chinese tea comes in numerous varieties with some expensive Chinese tea said to cure ailing bodies extraordinarily.
On the other hand, the cloisonné (blue of Jingtai) metalworking technique is a specialty within the Beijing cultural art and is among the most respected old crafts in China. Making of cloisonné requires complicated and elaborate process which entail base-hammering, soldering, copper-strip inlay, enamel-firing, soldering, gilding and surface polishing. Likewise, Beijing’s lacquerware is familiar for its intrinsic and sophisticated images and patterns that are carved into the surface and numerous decoration methods of lacquer which include the “engraved gold” and “carved lacquer." Younger Beijing residents have been more attracted to the nightlife which has thrived within the recent decades, breaking earlier cultural traditions that practically limited it to a higher class (Shu et.al, 2004).
National Geographic
At the core of Beijing’s historical centre is the Forbidden City, the big place compound that was home for Qing and Ming dynasties’ emperors. Likewise, the Forbidden City also has the Palace Museum, which has imperial gatherings of Chinese art. Neighboring the Forbidden City are numerous former imperial parks, gardens and scenic areas notably the Zhongnanhai, Schichahai, Beihai, Zhongshan and Jingshan...