Fifty kilometers northwest from Beijing lies the Ming Tombs – the general name given to the mausoleums of 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644). The mausoleums have been perfectly preserved, as has the necropolis of each of the many emperors. Because of its long history, palatial and integrated architecture, the site has a high cultural and historic value. The layout and arrangement of all thirteen mausoleums are very similar but vary in size as well as in the complexity of their structures.

The Temple of Heaven is a complex of Taoist buildings situated in southeastern Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest. It is regarded as a Taoist temple, although Chinese Heaven worship, especially by the reigning monarch of the day, pre-dates Taoism.

The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the mid-Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in Beijing and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost five centuries, it served as the home of the Emperor and his household, and the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government. Built from 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 surviving buildings with and covers 720,000 square meters. 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.

Madam Song Qingling was the wife of Dr. Sun Yat Sen, considered by many Chinese as the founding father of China. Her large residence has been converted into a museum which contains personal items and pictures of historical significance.

Jingshan Park offers a magnificent view of the Forbidden City. On the east side of the park is a locust tree where Chongzhen, the last Ming emperor, hung himself in 1644 after discovering that the peasant rebels were storming the city.