Peking also known as Beijing is a metropolis in northern China, and the capital of the People's Republic of China. "Beijing" means "Northern Capital", Described it as "one of the world's great cities," Peking is renowned for its palaces, temples, and huge stone walls and gates. Its art treasures and universities have long made the city a centre of culture and art in China. Be part of a unique experience in Peking with FlightsFlights! Log on to www.FlightsFlights.com.au and find out more. Three styles of architecture predominate in urban Peking. First, the traditional architecture of imperial China, perhaps best exemplified by the massive Tian'anmen or Gate of Heavenly Peace, which remains the People's Republic of China's trademark edifice, the Forbidden City, the Imperial Ancestral Temple and the Temple of Heaven.

Visit the Forbidden City hosts, the Palace Museum, which contains imperial collections of Chinese art. Surrounding the Forbidden City are several former imperial gardens, parks and scenic areas. These places, like the Beihai Park are described to be masterpieces of Chinese gardening art, and are popular tourist destinations with tremendous historical importance; From Tiananmen Square, which is located right across the Forbidden City, there are several notable sites, such as the Tiananmen, Qianmen, the Great Hall of the People, the National Museum of China, Monument to the People's Heroes, and Mausoleum of Mao Zedong. The Summer Palace and the Old Summer Palace both lay at the western part of the urban city of Beijing; the Summer Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, displays a comprehensive collection of imperial gardens and palaces that functioned as the summer retreat for the Qing Dynasty emperors.

Among the best known religious sites in the city is the Temple of Heaven or Tiantan, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, located in the opposite direction of the Temple of Heaven at the northern part of the city are the Temple of Earth, and the Temple of the Sun and Temple of the Moon , both respectively located in the eastern and western parts of the urban area. Other well-known temple sites located in Beijing include the Dongyue Temple, Tanzhe Temple, Miaoying Temple, White Cloud Temple, Yonghe Temple, Fayuan Temple, Wanshou Temple and the Big Bell Temple. The city also has its own Confucius Temple.

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception was built in 1605, and is the oldest Catholic Church in Peking. The Niujie Mosque is also the oldest mosque in Peking, with a history over a thousand years old. Peking contains several well-preserved pagodas and stone pagodas, such as the towering Pagoda of Tianning Temple, which was built during the Liao Dynasty and the Pagoda of Cishou Temple, during the Ming Dynasty. Several historically important stone bridges are also located in Peking, including the 12th century Lugou Bridge, the 17th century Baliqiao Bridge and the 18th century Jade Belt Bridge. The Peking Ancient Observatory displays pretelescopic spheres dating back to the Ming and Qing dynasties.

The Fragrant Hills is a popular scenic public park that consists of natural landscape areas as well as traditional and cultural relics. The Peking Botanical Garden exhibits over 6,000 species of plants, including a variety of trees, bushes and flowers, and an extensive peony garden. The Taoranting Park, Chaoyang Park, Haidian Park and Zizhu Yuan are all popular recreational parks that consist of a variety of natural landscapes. The Beijing Zoo is a centre of zoological research that also contains rare animals from various continents, including the giant panda of China. There are over one hundred museums in Beijing, and aside from the Palace Museum in the Forbidden City and the National Museum of China, other major museums include the National Art Museum of China, the Capital Museum, the Beijing Art Museum, the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution, the Geological Museum of China, the Beijing Museum of Natural History and the Paleo zoological Museum of China.

Located at the outskirts of urban Peking but within its municipality are the thirteen tombs of the Ming Dynasty, the lavish and elaborate burial sites of thirteen Ming emperors, which have been designated as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The archaeological Peking Man site is another World Heritage Site within the Peking municipality, and it contains a wealth of discoveries, including one of the first specimens of Homo erectus, and an assemblage of bones of the gigantic hyena Pachycrocuta brevirostris. There are several sections of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Great Wall of China located in the municipality, most notably Badaling, Jinshanling, Simatai and Mutianyu.

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