Mutianyu Great Wall is a superb location to appreciate the grandness of the Great Wall as well as to avoid the crowds at Badaling. Mutianyu section, 2,500 meters (2,734 yards) long, connects the Juyongguan Pass in the west and Gubeikou in the east. Rimmed by mountains, it is filled with beautiful flowers in spring; abundantly verdant in summer; charming with red-leafed maple trees in autumn and enchanting covered in pure white snow in winter. Comfortable cable cars are available to facilitate climbing this section of the wall.

The Forbidden City (Zijincheng) also known as the Imperial Palace (Gugong) and the Palace Museum) is the largest and best-preserved collection of ancient buildings in China. This site is an image of China relayed throughout the world on national days and at public events. Today, the Palace is filled with tourists but under the emperors, these "commoners" would have been executed had they dared to enter the complex! Given the popularity of the site, the Chinese government have invested a lot of time and money in the Palace and it is now a fantastic place to wander and dream of times gone by.