Built in 1694 as the residence of the future Yongzheng Emperor, the site was later converted into a Tibetan Buddhist monastery and remains one of the most important of its kind outside Tibet. The complex is a series of richly decorated halls and courtyards filled with incense smoke and prayer wheels. Inside the Falun Dian stands a bronze statue of Tsongkhapa, founder of the Gelug (Yellow Hat) school. The highlight for many is the towering 18-metre-tall Maitreya Buddha carved from a single piece of sandalwood, housed in the Wanfu Pavilion.

Tiananmen Square is where Mao Zedong announced the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. The square is dominated by the red Tiananmen Gate and Mao’s enormous portrait, which you’ll see everywhere. Every morning at sunrise, there’s a flag-raising ceremony, and on the first day of the month, it’s done with a military band. The square is also home to the Monument to the People’s Heroes, a 38-metre granite obelisk in the centre, and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong, where people still queue to pay respects.

The bridge itself might not be the city's main landmark, but the events that unfolded here almost a century ago in 1914 led to the beginning of WWI. See the exact location where Franz Ferdinand (the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne) and his wife Sofia were assassinated on that decisive day.

This is a stunning country house from the 1860's, surrounded by parks. Brodsworth Hall & Gardens shows visitors how a wealthy Yorkshire family and their servants lived for some 150 years. Here, in fact, almost everything has remained the same, so pay a visit and immerge yourself in the enchanting history of this area!