The Forbidden City is also known as the Palace Museum. It lies in the city center of Beijing and     1     (be) once the Chinese imperial palace (皇宫) of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368 -1911) . Listed as a World Heritage Site in 1987, the Forbidden City is one of the largest, best-protected ancient     2     (palace) in the world.

    3     (build) between 1406 and 1420, the Forbidden City was home to 24 emperors and their families and acted as the     4     (politics) center of ancient Chinese government throughout 500 years.     5     the Last Emperor of China left the palace, it later became a museum open to the public in 1925. Since then, the Forbidden City is no longer ‘forbidden’.

Rectangular (长方形的) in shape, the Forbidden City is     6     (terrible) large, covering an area of 72 hectares, and made up of more than 9, 000 rooms. It     7     (divide) into two parts - the Inner Court as living quarters in the north and the Outer Court     8     national affairs in the south. It is not only a great architectural masterpiece, but also a storehouse     9     (house) a unique collection of 1.8 million pieces of art. As    10     must-see in Beijing and the world’s most visited museum, it is worth spending half to one day to visit the Forbidden City and appreciate the precious cultural heritage of China.

The Great Wall

As a symbol of ancient Chinese civilization, the Great Wall is one of the world’s oldest and most magnificent (壮丽的) man-made scenes,     1     has a long history. Given its out-standing architectural achievement and remarkable historical influence, the Great Wall     2     (list) as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site in 1987, the first of     3     (it) kind in China.

The Great Wall was     4     (original) built over 2,000 years ago during the West Zhou Dynasty, and served     5     a functional military defence. It had been playing a crucial role in wars in ancient Chinese history. Therefore, it was continually to be extended in the next 2,000 years, till the end of Ming Dynasty. As a result, the Great Wall was expanded to many places in China and formed a beautiful shape.

Because its     6     (long) is 21,196. 18 km, it is widely named “Wanli Changcheng”. There are Northern Great Wall and Southern Great Wall, according to the locations.

The Great Wall is a place steeped in history and has much     7     (offer) you. For those who are fascinated (入迷的) by it and     8     (greed) for the knowledge of it, you will find massive information about it, the historical development, the background stories and its facts and figures. Whether you are a history-loving traveler     9     a lover of natural landscape, you will never get tired of the Great Wall, one of the seven     10     (wonder) in the world.

The castle,     1    (date) back to the Ming Dynasty, is located in the north part of Shanxi. This region has steep terrain and shallow soil, but is rich in mineral resources. Therefore, at that time it was a top     2    (prior) for local villagers to prevent the minerals here from     3    (plunder) by the outside world and make people and nature coexist in harmony. They invited some experts     4    (design) the castle,     5    had unique structures, with an observatory in it and two     6    (tunnel) leading to the outside. It also had a set of     7    (advance) drainage system, in which case the villagers wouldn’t worry about     8    weather. The castle merged     9    the surrounding valley and became a natural barrier. Since the castle was completed, it     10    (benefit) the people greatly. The villagers have been living and working in peace.