The Summer Palace and the lama Temple in Beijing

The Summer Palace was built during the Qing Dynasty and has a large park which splendid imperial architecture, with also a lake and rolling hills and lovely gardens. This was the family's summer residence. Make sure to see the Precious Clouds Pavilion, as well as the Buddhist Temple of the Sea of Wisdom. There is also the great 17 arch Bridge and the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity to be photographed.

The Temple of Heaven was built by the Ming Dynasty and was held as a sacred site. The Emperor performed many ceremonial rites in honour of the Gods, to ensure that the harvest would be good. The architecture here is outstanding with the upper parts of the Temple being circular and the bases all being square to symbolise the idea that heaven is round and earth square.

The Lama Temple This has to be the most significant Buddhist Temple outside Tibet. It is so beautiful, and it has a gigantic statue of Buddha sculpted from Sandalwood, that is considered to
be the largest in the world. The 5 Halls here are well worth seeing. The Hall of the Wheel of Law, the Wan Fu Pavilion, the Yong You Dian, the Yong He Dian, and the Lokapala, which are well worth the time and effort to go and see them.