The Summer Palace (Yi He Yuan), so named because it served as the summer residence of the imperial households, consists of the Longevity Hill (59 meters high) and Kunming Lake with a total area of 290 hectares. It has a history of over 800 years. In 1153, the Jin Dynasty built an imperial palace on the present site of the Summer Palace. In 1750, Emperor Qianlong spent 4.8 million tales of silver in building the Garden of Clear Ripples and changed the name to Longevity Hill to celebrate his mother's birthday and the lake to Kunming for he wanted to follow the example of Emperor Wudi of Han Dynasty who had trained his navy centuries before in Kunming pool in Chang'an (near Xi'an).

Covering an area of 273 hectares, the Temple is a masterpiece of 15th-century architecture built in 1 420 according to the most advanced principles of mechanics and geometry available at the time. It consists mainly of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the Imperial Vault of Heaven, and the Circular Mound Altar of Heaven. It was the place where emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties worshipped heaven and prayed for good harvests twice a year, on the 15th day of the first lunar month and at the winter solstice.
http://en.tiantanpark.com/newEbiz1/EbizPortalFG/portal/html/index.html

The Lama Temple(Yonghe Palce) is a famous lamasery located in the northeastern part of the old city. It was a palatial residence built in 1694 by Qing Emperor Kangxi for his fourth son, Prince Yongzheng. This magnificent temple consists of five main buildings lying on the north-south axis, with annex halls on both sides. After Emperor Yongzheng moved to the Forbidden City, it was renamed Yonghe Palace( the Palace of Harmony) and green roof tiles were replaced by yellow ones to suit a monarch’s home. The Palace was converted into a lamasery in 1744. In the last hall stands a spectacular 18-meters Maitria Buddha carved from a single sandwood tree.
http://www.yonghegong.cn/

Tian’anmen( the Gate of Heavenly Peace), is located in the center of Beijing. It was first built in 1417 and named Chengtianmen(the Gate of Heavenly Succession). At the end of the Ming Dynasty, it was seriously damaged by war. When it was rebuilt under the Qing in 1651, it was renamed Tian’anmen, and served as the main entrance to the Imperial City, the administrative and residential quarters for court officials and retainers. The southern sections of the Imperial City wall still stand on both sides of the Gate. The tower at the top of the gate is nine-room wide and five –room deep. According to the Book of Changes, the two numbers nine and five, when combined, symbolize the supreme status of a sovereign.
On October 1, 1949, chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed on Tian’anmen Rostrum the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Since then Tian’anmen has been the symbol of New Chine\a. Chairman Mao’s portrait is hung above the central entrance, flanked by two slogans:" Long Live the Great Unity of the Peoples of the World". Today, the splendour of Tian’anmen attracts million of visitors from all over the world. The Rostrum on its top was opened in 1988 to the public for the first time in its history. It offers a panoramic view of the Square and the city proper.
Situated due south of Tian’anmen, the Square has an area of 44 hectares(109 acres) that can accommodate as many as one million people for public gatherings. It has witnessed may historical events in China’s modern history and is a place for celebrations on such festive days as international Labour Day on May 1st and national Day on October 1st.

Beihai Park located in central Beijing, is one of the oldest and most authentically perserved imperial gardens in China. It has a history of 1000 years.
Beihai has existed throughout the Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. Most of the buildings now standing were constructed during Emperor Qianlong's regin in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 A.D.).
Beihai was opened to the public in 1925 and in 1961 it was one of the first important cultural sites placed under protection by the State Council. The park occupies an area of 69 hectares including a 39-hectare lake. In the garden, pavilions and towers nestle amid the beautiful scenery of lakes and hills,grass and trees. Carrying on the traditions of garden landscaping of ancient China Beihai is a gem of garden art.
http://www.beihaipark.com.cn/en/about/index.htm

Located at the southern part of the Olympic Green in Beijing, the National Stadium is the main stadium of the 29th Olympiad in 2008. Occupying an area of 21 hectares, it has a floor space of 258,000 square meters. Its seating capacity amounts to 91,000, including 11,000 temporary seats.
The venue host the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, the track and field competitions, and the football finals. After the Olympics, the stadium will become a large-scale sports and entertainment facility for the residents of Beijing -- an architectural landmark and Olympic legacy.
The main body's elements support each other and converge into a grid formation, just like a bird's nest with interlocking branches and twigs. Being a seven-story shear wall system, the stadium's stand has a concrete framework. The upper part of the stand and the stadium's steel structure are separated from each other, but both are based on a joint footing. The roof of the National Stadium is covered by a double-layer membrane structure, with a transparent ETFE membrane fixed on the upper part of the roofing structure and a translucent PTFE membrane fixed on its lower part. A PTFE acoustic ceiling is attached to the side walls of the inner ring.
http://en.beijing2008.cn/venues/nst/

National Aquatics Center, the landmark building of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, is located inside the Beijing Olympic Green. It is axially related to the National Stadium on the north part of Beijing Central Axis and reinforces the historical and cultural features of Beijing city. The National Aquatics Center is the venue for swimming, diving, synchronized swimming and water-polo final during the Olympic Games. The total seating capacity is 17,000, including 6,000 permanent and 11,000 temporary for Games which will be removed post-Games, then the National Aquatics Center will become the venue for various activities such as aquatic sports, swimming, fitness and recreation.
The international competition-winning scheme is known as "Water Cube" ([H2O]³). It is designed by the design consortium consists of China State Construction Engineering Corporation, China State Construction International (Shenzhen) Design Co., Ltd, PTW Architects (Australia) and Ove Arup (Australia). The design concept of the "water cube" combines the symbolisms of the architecture and the unique water bubble structure, and build an appropriate complement to the National Stadium. The NSC functionally meets the requirement of 2008 Olympic Games and post-games operation.
http://en.beijing2008.cn/venues/nac/