The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the centre of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost 500 years, it served as the home of emperors and their households, as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government. Built in 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings and covers 720,000 m2. The palace complex exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture, and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987, and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.

The Summer Palace is a vast ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces in Beijing, China. The Summer Palace is mainly dominated by Longevity Hill and the Kunming Lake. It covers an expanse of 2.9 square kilometers three-quarters of which is water. In December 1998, UNESCO included the Summer Palace on its World Heritage List. It declared the Summer Palace “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.” It is a popular tourist destination but also serves as a recreational park.

Beihai Park located in central Beijing, is one of the oldest and most authentically perserved imperial gardens in China. It has a history of 1000 years. Beihai was opened to the public in 1925 and in 1961 it was one of the first important cultural sites placed under protection by the State Council. The park occupies an area of 69 hectares including a 39-hectare lake. In the garden, pavilions and towers nestle amid the beautiful scenery of lakes and hills,grass and trees. Carrying on the traditions of garden landscaping of ancient China Beihai is a gem of garden art.

The building with some describing the arts complex designed by French architect Paul Andreu as out of keeping with its near neighbor, the Forbidden City. Others hail it as a futuristic, signature building. The certer, which is to the west of Tian’anmen Square, boasts three large halls — a 2,416-seat opera house, a 2,017-seat concert hall and a 1,040-seat theater. Construction of the National Grand Theater began in December 2001 and was completed in late September 2008. Total investment was 2.69 billion yuan.

Mutianyu is a section of the Great Wall of China located in Huairou County 70 km northeast of central Beijing. The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall is connected with Jiankou in the west and Lianhuachi in the east. As one of the best-preserved parts of the Great Wall, the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall used to serve as the northern barrier defending the capital and the imperial tombs. Built mainly with granite, the wall is 7–8.5 meters high and the top is 4–5 meters wide. Compared with other sections of Great Wall, Mutianyu Great Wall possesses unique characteristics in its construction.

Tiananmen Square is a large city square in the center of Beijing, China. Tiananmen Square is the third largest city square in the world. It has great cultural significance as it was the site of several important events in Chinese history. Outside China, the square is best known in recent memory as the focal point of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, a pro-democracy movement which ended on 4 June 1989 with the declaration of martial law in Beijing by the government and the death of several hundred or possibly thousands of civilians.

Temple of Heaven is located in the south-east of the Forbidden City. It covers an area of 273 hectares which is four times larger than the Forbidden City. It was used to hold a memorial ceremony for the God in Winter Solstice Festival and to pray for harvest in the first month of the lunar year by the emperors in Ming and Qing dynasties. It is China's existing largest structure for sacrifice to heaven.

Affectionately known as Bird's Nest, it is situated in Olympic Green Village, Chaoyang District. It was designed as the main stadium of 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The Olympic events of track and field, football, gavelock, weight throw and discus were held there. Since October, 2008, after the Olympics ended, it has been opened as a tourist attraction. Now, it's the center of international or domestic sports competition and recreation activities. In 2022, the opening and closing ceremonies of another important sport event, Winter Olympic Games will be held here.

The National Aquatics Center, also known as the Water Cube, is located on Olympic Green, with the Bird’s Nest Stadium, on Beijing's north-south axis. It was built as the main natatorium for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and became known as one of the Games' iconic structures. This is where American swimmer Michael Phelps got eight medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. It is now a multi-functional center for sports, recreation and fitness.