ASIA-PACIFIC EMC WEEK
2010 Asia-Pacific Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility &
Technical Exhibition on EMC RF/Microwave Measurement & Instrumentation

12 - 16 April, 2010  Beijing

 

Optional Tour Program 

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One-Day Tours during Conference

Beijing is an ideal place to explore ancient China's magnificent civilization and stately history, which has many buildings still standing from the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties like the Imperial Palaces, the Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven.

Tour 1: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Old Beijing Hutong and Prince Gong's Mansion

Tiananmen Square     Forbidden City

Old Beijing Hutongs     Prince Gong's Mansion

The Tiananmen Square is the large plaza near the centre of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen (literally, Gate of Heavenly Peace) which sits to its north, separating it from the Forbidden City.  It has great cultural significance as it was the site of several key events in Chinese history.  Tiananmen Square is the largest city square in the world.
The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty.  It is located in the middle of Beijing, China, and how houses the Palace Museum.  For almost five centuries, it served as the home of the Emperor and his household, as well as the ceremonial and political centre of Chinese government.
Built from 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 surviving buildings with 8707 bays of rooms and covers 720000sqm (7800000sqft)  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.  Since 1925, the Forbidden City has been under the charge of the Palace Museum, whose extensive collection of artwork and artifacts were built upon the imperial collections of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Hutongs are a type of narrow streets or alleys, most commonly associated with Beijing, China.  In Beijing, hutongs are alleys formed by lines of siheyuan, traditional courtyard residences.  Many neighbourhoods were formed by joining one siheyuan to another to form a hutong, and then joining one hutong to another.  The word hutong is also used to refer to such neighbourhoods.  Since the mid-20th century, the number of Beijing hutongs has dropped dramatically as they are demolished to make way for new roads and buildings.  More recently, some hutongs have been designated as protected areas in an attempt to preserve this aspect of Chinese cultural history.
The Prince Gong's Mansion was constructed in 1777 for minister He Shen during the Qianlong-reign in the late Qing Dynasty.  Consisting of large mansions in the typical "siheyuan" layout and gardens, it is known as one of the most ornate and extravagant residence compounds in all of Beijing.
The Wangfujing, a seven hundred-year-old commerical street located to the east of Tiananmen Square, will also be visited
 


Tour 2: The Badaling Great Wall and the Ming Dynasty Tombs

Great Wall of China     The Ming Dynasty Tombs

The Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in northen China, built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire during various successive dynasties.  Since the 5th century BC, several walls have been built that were referred to as the Great Wall.  One of the most famous is the wall built between 220-206 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang.  Little of that wall remains; the majority of the existing wall were built during the Ming Dyansty.
Badaling is the site of the most visited sectino of the Great Wall of China, approximately 50miles (80km) northwest of urban Beijing city.  The portion of the wall running through the site was built during the Ming Dyansty, along with a military outpost reflecting the location's strategic importance.  It was here that President Richard Nixon visited on 1972 during his historic journey to China, and President Obama visited last year.  It was also the part of the Wall climbed by Mao Zedong and other hunderds of international dignitaries and celebrities.
The Ming Dynasty Tombs are located some 50 kilometers due north of urban Beijing at a specially selected site.  The site was chosen by the third Ming Dynasty emperor YongLe (1402-1424), who moved the capital of China from Nanjing to the present lcoation of Beijing.  He is credited with envisioning the layout of the ancient city of Beijing as well as a number of landmarks and monuments located therein.  After the construction of the Imperial Palace (the Forbidden City) in 1420, the Yongle Emperor selected his burial site and created his own mausoleum.  From the Yongle Emperor onwards, 13 Ming Dynasty Emperors were buried in this area.



Tour 3: The Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace

The Temple of Heaven     The Summer Palace


The Temple of Heaven, literally the Altar of Heaven is a complex of Taoist buildings situated in the southeastern part of central 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 Summer Palace started out life as the Garden of Clear Ripples in 1750 (Reign Year 15 of Emperor Qianlong) and was rebuilt in 1886 and 1902.  In 1888, it was given the current name, Yihe Yuan, and served as a summer resort for Empress Dowager Cixi, who diverted 30 million taels of silver into the reconstruction and enlargement of the Summer Palace.  Artisans reproduced the garden architecture styles of various palaces in China.  Kunming Lake was created by extending an existing body of water to imitate the West Lake in Hangzhou.
The Summer Palace is mainly dominated by Longevity Hill (60 meters high) and the Kunming Lake.  It covers an expanse of 2.9 square kilometers, three  quarters of which is water.  The central Kunming Lake covering 2.2 square kilometers was entirely man made and the excavated soil was used to build Longevity Hill.  In the Summer Palace, one finds a variety of palaces, gardens, and other classical-style architectural structures.  In December 1998, UNESCO included the Summer Palace on its World Hertiage 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 paviliions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges to form a harmonious ensemble of outstanding aesthetic value."




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Tours around China after Conference

Tour 1: Xi'an (3 - 5 Days)
As one of the oldest cities in Chinese history, Xi'an is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China because it has been the capital of some of the most important dynasties in Chinese history, including the Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui and Tang Dynasties.  Xi'an is the starting point of the old "Silk Road" and crowned with more than 20 cultural sites of importance, including tombs and architectural relics that are still being unearthed.  The Terracotta Warrior Tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, with thousands of clay warriors, is one of the most stupendous sights in the world.





Tour 2:  2010 Shanghai World Expo (3 - 5 Days)
Shanghai is the largest city in China, and one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world, located on China's central eastern coast just at the mouth of Yangtze River.  The city is a tourist destination renowned for its historical landmarks such as the Bund and City God Temple, its modern and ever-expanding Pudong skyline including the Oriental Pearl Tower, and its new reputation as a cosmopolitan center of culture and design.  Today, Shanghai is the largest center of commerce and finance in mainland China, and has been described as the "showpiece" of the world's fastest-growing major economy.
During May 1 to Oct 31, 2010 Shanghai World Expo will be held there.  The theme of Expo 2010 is "Better City, Better Life", representing the common wish of the whole humankind for a better living in future urban environments.  Moreover, Hangzhou and Suzhou, two of the most beautiful cities in China, are neighbors of Shanghai.



   



Tour 3:  Kunming, Lijiang and Shangri-La in Yunnan Province (5 - 7 Days)
The special geological and climatic conditions, numerous ethnic groups and long history and splendid culture have created the exceptionally rich tourism resources in Yunnan.  The whole province enjoys 11 state-level tour routes, 57 state and provincial scenic areas, 22 states and provincial forest parks, 5 nature reserves, 9 state and provincial famous cities of history and culture and 187 relics units under key protection.  A batch of tourism development zones have been preliminarily formed, which are featured with mountain gorges, modern glaciers, plateau lakes, stone forest, Karst caves, volcanoes and geothermal phenomena, primitive forest, tropical rain forest, flowers, relics and historic sites, traditional gardening and ethnic folklores etc.

   

   

   


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Last update: 11th January  2010 by APEMC webmaster