Beijing (Xingang)

THE CITY OF XINGANG (BEIJING)

Xingang port (or Xingang Pier) is an International cruise port located 170 km from Beijing. Xingang is the fourth largest port in China.

Most visitors who arrive in Xingang book tours and visits to Beijing, which is, of course, more important than the Port of Xingang.

Beijing is a metropolis in northern China and the capital of the People's Republic of China. The city has always been part of the history of the great country of China and has always left its marks on that history. Many of the major buildings of any era or century in Beijing have some national historical significance. Visitors to Beijing marvel at the rich and opulent palaces, sacred temples, and huge stone walls and gates. The art treasures and universities of Beijing have long made it a powerful centre of culture; art and history in China.

The city itself was founded more than 3.millennia ago as a frontier garrison town. Its purpose was to defend the country against northern barbarians. Much later Beijing became China’s cultural, political and administrative capital for more than 700 years. The Mongols turned the city into the capital of Kublai Khan’s “Empire of the Great Khan”. Around 1266 construction of the Imperial City was begun. Mongol power, however, was short lived. The oppressive Mongol regime was first pushed north and finally semi-absorbed by the Ming Dynasty in 1368. The third Emperor of the Dynasty recognized the importance of Beijing as a frontier defence. Consequently, in 1404, he made Beijing again the capital of the Chinese Empire. Sites still present in today’s Chinese capital still bear witness to that period.

Today, Beijing is China's second largest city after Shanghai, with more than 17 million people in Beijing's area of jurisdiction. Beijing is a major transportation hub, with dozens of railways, roads and motorways passing through the city. It is also the focal point of many international flights to China. Beijing is recognized as the political, educational, and cultural centre of the People's Republic of China, while Shanghai and Hong Kong predominate in economic fields. The city hosted the 2008 Olympic Games.

THE PORT OF XINGANG (BEIJING)

Because of the distance between Xingang and Beijing, most visitors book tours or excursions from Xiangang Port to do sightseeing in the Chinese Capital

TRANSPORT IN XINGANG (BEIJING)

The distance to:

- Tianjin Binhai International Airport is about 40 km
- Tianjin Main Railway Station about 50 km
- Beijing International Airport: 180 km
- Beijing: 140 km

WHAT TO SEE AND DO IN XINGANG (BEIJING)

Many international cruise ships dock at Xingang Port each year. This offers travellers a chance to take a Beijing tour from Xinang Port.

Some tourist highlights to make a choice of when visiting China’s great capital:

Wangfujing  Street is now considered the central heart of the city. The street has two major shopping malls and is also home to a number of large department stores, souvenir stores, and whole side streets full of food stalls, Chinese painting stores and other goodies.

The Forbidden City is a 250-acre complex of palaces, pavilions and courtyards was the home of China’s emperor, the fabled "Son of Heaven," from 1421 to 1911.

The Great Wall was first built over two millennia ago to protect the frontier. It runs for some 3600 miles. Sections of the wall have been restored.

Tiananmen Square has even recently been the dramatic scene of political struggle and unrest. It is the largest public square in the world and can accommodate a million people.

The Summer Palace was constructed as a place of rest and recreation for the emperor of old. The focus of the Summer Palace is a huge lake with a long walkway circling it. To the one end is built a series of towers, halls and temples climbing the hillside. The park is accented by many small architectural features such as the beautiful 17 arch bridge which leads to a small island and the pagoda on the hill of the far shore.

The Temple of Heaven is a large park and temple complex situated in more or less the south central area of Beijing. The park is filled with more than a thousand species of tree, some of which are hundreds of years old, despite their relatively small size.

Beijing zoo is famous, naturally, for its large selection of pandas. It was initially named Ten Thousand Animal Garden which was built in 1908, proving that it already has had a history of more than 90 years. The Zoo was originally the imperial manor in the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644).