Capital Culture

Cultural life in Beijing became more colourful in 2004. Sixty cinemas provided 180,000 films, attracting an audience of 8.144 million. Box-office receipts reached 185 million yuan (US$22.3 million). During the year, a BTV-Cartoon Channel was launched, and Beijing TV programmes increased by 10 channels.
Broadcasting and TV were available to 99.5 percent of Beijing's population. Cable TV was available to 62.1 percent of households in Beijing. The trial use of mobile digital TV broadcasting was successfully launched.
In Beijing, 51 kinds of newspapers, 168 magazines, and 4,713 books were published by municipal publishing units.
Beijing continued to protect its cultural relics. Thirty cultural relic protection projects were under construction in 2004, 16 of which were completed.
Since 2003, six "world cultural heritage" sites have been  renovated. There were 127 museums with 2.26 million items under the city's care. In 2004, 200 exhibitions and more than 400 temporary exhibitions were held, attracting 25 million visitors.

Tradition and Heritage

Those parts of the national culture that have survived artificial or natural disruption in history are most valued in any society. In China these are marked by their longevity and the strength for which they continue to be loved.

Tradition
Tradition Values
People in the Chinese capital, Beijing, support the preservation of traditional Chinese values, including national pride, moral integrity, and, most important of all, harmony between man and nature and between countries and peoples.
Beijing youths now participate in an educational curriculum that helps them foster traditional values. For the same purpose, traditional calligraphy, painting, opera and martial arts are featured in the school curriculum.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
Traditional Chinese Medicine or TCM is a complete system of healing that emerged in China about 3,000 years ago and has changed little over time. Based on the idea that laws of nature are used to listen to and understand the inner workings of the body, health, like the universe, is subject to the constant stress of opposing forces. These are such things as hot and cold, male and female, joy and sadness that exert themselves too much or too little in particular human organs. An imbalance between any of these forces causes a blockage in the flow of vital qi energy travelling through the body along invisible pathways known as meridians. TCM practitioners typically use acupuncture and herbs to help unblock qi and bring the body back into harmony and health.

Festivals
Spring Festival
Usually occurring in January or February, the Spring Festival is the most significant festive holiday for the Chinese people. It falls on the first day of the first lunar month, and lasts 15 days, ending with the Lantern Festival.
Lantern Festival
The Lantern Festival or Yuanxiao Jie, marks the end of the Spring Festival and falls on the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar. 
Dragon Boat Festival
The Dragon Boat Festival, Duanwu Jie, is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar.
Mid-Autumn Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival falls exactly seven months from the 15 day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar. The moon's orbit is at its lowest angle on the horizon, making it appear brighter and larger than any other time.
National Day
October 1st is National Day and celebrates the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
(Source: Beijing Official Guide 2004)

Heritage
Of central importance to Chinese life and its traditions are the facts, memories and artefacts of China's ancient heritage. As a globally celebrated historic and cultural centre, Beijing has a history of over 3,000 years, nearly 890 of which have been as China's capital. It is a city rich in cultural relics seen at the Forbidden City, Great Wall, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Peking Man Site and Ming Tombs. All these sites are listed as World Cultural Heritage Sites.

Forbidden City
A testament to grandiosity, the Forbidden City is among a few sights in the world that promises to take your breath away and lives up to its reputation. It has an extraordinary history and is well worth reading up on before going.

Temple of Heaven
Lying south of Tian' anmen Square and the Forbidden City, the park's circular Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests has become as much a symbol of the city as other celebrated landmarks.
This near-perfect example of Ming architecture is set in a 267-ha park and marked by four gates at the points of the compass. Emperors visited the park in the winter to offer sacrifices and prayers for good harvests. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is the apex of the park and is mounted on a three-tiered marble terrace, dating back to 1420.

Summer Palace
While it is understandably one of the city's most visited sites, the Summer Palace is a great place to escape Beijing's hustle and bustle for a day.  This is where the residents of Forbidden City would decamp in summer, escaping the summer heat. It's easy to understand the appeal, strolling around its cooling water features, hills and beautiful gardens.

Great Wall
The Great Wall of China is a must-see for any visitor to China. Reproduced everywhere, nothing will prepare you for the thrill of seeing it for the first time. Its serpentine twists and peaks extend as far as the eye can see and will remain one of the treasured memories of any trip to China. There are many sections, all with different points of interest and historical value. Those on a brief visit to Beijing often head straight for the Badaling Great Wall that is only 70 km northwest of the city. Restored in 1957, it's a solid, easy-to-reach section of the wall that includes a theatre, museum and assorted visitors facilities. Also visit the Mutianyu, Simatai, Juyongguan great walls.

Ming Tombs
The intriguing lengths to which China's emperors went to ensure a smooth route to the afterlife is writ large at the extraordinary Ming Tombs outside the city. Extravagant burial chambers are the final resting places of 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

Peking Man in Zhoukoudian
The remains of Peking Man are located at Dragon Bone Hill near the town of Zhoukoudian, in Fangshan District. The town became world famous after the discovery of a human skull on December 2, 1929, which Chinese anthologists called Peking Man. The caves where Peking Man was found were recognized as a World Heritage site by the United Nation in 1987.
(Source: Beijing Official Guide 2004)