Chinese

1.Shaolin Monastery (Chinese: 少林寺; pinyin: Shàolínsì; "monastery of the woods near Shaoshi peak" ) is a Buddhist temple, located in Henan province of the People's Republic of China, famous for its long association with Chán (Zen) Buddhism and martial arts[1], and is perhaps the Buddhist monastery best known in the Western world.

History
The Shaolin Monastery was originally founded in AD 495 by the Buddhist monk Batuo, an Indian dhyana master. [1] Batuo went to China to preach Buddhism in AD 464. The Shaolin Temple was built thirty-one years later, by the order of emperor Wei Xiao Wen (471–500).

Martial Arts
Main article: Shaolin kung fu
The Shaolin monastery is the only temple in China that combines martial arts and Chan Buddhism.


2. The Great Wall of China (Traditional Chinese: 長城; Simplified Chinese: 长城; pinyin: Chángchéng; literally "long wall") or (Traditional Chinese: 萬里長城; Simplified Chinese: 万里长城; pinyin: Wànlǐ Chángchéng; literally "The long wall of 10,000 Li (里)¹") is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in China, built between 5th century BC and the 17th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire during the rule of successive dynasties. Several walls, referred to as the Great Wall of China, were built since the 5th century BC, the most famous being the one built between 220 BC and 200 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang; this wall was located much further north than the current wall built during the Ming Dynasty, and little of it remains.

The Great Wall is one of the existing megastructure and the world's longest man-made structure, stretching over 6,352 km (3,948 miles) from Shanhai Pass in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia.

Watchtowers and barracks

The wall also has watch towers at regular intervals, which were used to store weapons, house troops, and send smoke signals. Barracks and administrative centers are located at larger intervals.

Mao Zedong had a saying, "You're not a real man if you haven't climbed the Great Wall". (Traditional Chinese: 不到長城非好漢; Simplified Chinese: 不到长城非好汉; pinyin: Bú dào Chángchéng fēi hǎo hàn)

3. The Forbidden City (Chinese: 紫禁城; pinyin: Zǐjinchéng; literally "Purple Forbidden City") was the Chinese imperial palace during the mid-Ming and the Qing Dynasties. The Forbidden City is located in the middle of Beijing, China. It is now known as the Palace Museum.

Its extensive grounds cover 720,000 square meters (approximately 178 acres). The Forbidden City has 800 buildings with 9,999 rooms.

The Forbidden City is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987 as the "Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties."

2007-03-10 23:32:20 補充：
10 must-sees in the Forbidden City:- The imperial palace- Imperial palace staircase- The northwest tower- Rooftops of the Forbidden City- Tourists inside the Palace Museum

2007-03-10 23:32:34 補充：
- Architectures inside the Palace Museum- Bedchamber guardian lions- Ceiling of one of the buildings in the imperial garden- Nine Dragons screen- The emperor's throne