Things to do in Dacheng

Beijing · 92.1 km from Dacheng

34.1k reviews

Located in a vast forest of ten thousand mu by the banks of the Yongding River, Beijing Wildlife Park was established in 2001 and is a large wildlife park featuring immersive experiences. The park is home to rare wild animals from around the world, covering hundreds of species and thousands of animals. It abandons the traditional cage-and-fence exhibition method, allowing visitors to encounter animals up close in an open natural environment. The park features multiple themed exhibit areas, including the self-drive safari, beast kingdom, and cute bear habitat. The self-drive safari is the core visiting area, where visitors can drive their own cars or take a mini train through the animal exhibits, observing various animals roaming freely in their natural environments along the way. The beast kingdom is themed around predators such as lions, tigers, and bears. Brown bears will approach the tour vehicle with a sturdy gait, placing their furry giant paws on the vehicle body. Siberian tigers either lie quietly in the forest or pace around patrolling their territory. White tigers, with their white coats and black stripes, stand out strikingly in the sunlight. Visitors can also interact with the predators through safe feeding ports. The cute bear habitat brings together a variety of adorable animals and is a popular destination for families. In addition to the tram exhibit areas, the park has also created multiple walk-through ecological exhibits. The red panda garden, capybara swamp, Madagascar jungle, gibbon exhibit, and blue town each have their own distinctive features. Every exhibit is carefully designed based on the animals' native environments, emphasizing an open-concept approach with few visual barriers, and visitors can even interact with and feed some of the gentle animals. When visiting, it is recommended to experience the tram areas first, then explore the ecological exhibits on foot. The park is quite large, and the pavilions in the walking areas are spread out, so be careful not to miss popular interactive areas such as the red panda garden and capybara swamp.

Tiananmen Square

4.8/5

16.4k reviews

Tiananmen Square is located in the center of Beijing, with a length of 880 meters from north to south and a width of 500 meters from east to west, covering an area of 440,000 square meters. It can accommodate up to one million people for grand gatherings. Along the central axis of Beijing, there are the national flagpole, the Monument to the People's Heroes, the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, and the Zhengyang Gate Tower standing from north to south in the square. On October 1, 1949, the founding ceremony of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China was held in Tiananmen Square, marking the birth of the People's Republic of China. From then on, a new chapter in Chinese history was opened. On the day of the founding ceremony, 300,000 military and civilian personnel gathered in Tiananmen Square. Since then, Tiananmen Square has become an important venue for the Party and the state to hold major celebrations, grand gatherings, and foreign affairs receptions.

China · Beijing

No. 10 of Global Traveller-Picked Attractions in Beijing

Lama Temple

4.6k reviews

Yonghe Temple was once the residence of Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty. At that time, Emperor Yongzheng was the prince and had not yet stepped up to the throne. It is also the place where Emperor Qianlong, the son of Emperor Yongzheng, was born. Nowadays, the temple is a well-known monastery of Tibetan Buddhism in Beijing. The incense often burns brightly. There are also many precious cultural relics in Lama Temple, such as the 500 Arhat Mountain carved out of sandalwood, the giant Buddha niche carved out of silkwood, and the 18-meter-high Buddha carved out of white sandalwood.

China · Beijing

No. 1 of Global Traveller-Picked Attractions in Tianjin

Tianjin Eye

7.2

4.6/5

14.7k reviews

Tianjin Eye is a Ferris wheel spanning the Haihe River, resembling an eye on the bridge. It's one of Tianjin's iconic landmarks. When night falls and the lights come on, the wheel's soft glow attracts countless visitors who come to capture panoramic views, take a ride, and enjoy a unique romantic experience. There are generally two ways to enjoy the Tianjin Eye: riding it or viewing and photographing it from a distance. The Ferris wheel takes about 30 minutes to complete one rotation. The cabins are air-conditioned, allowing you to leisurely admire the expansive views. It's especially beautiful at night when the city lights up. For the best shots of the Tianjin Eye, head to Jingang Bridge on its south side. Standing on the bridge, you'll have the confluence of three rivers (Haihe, South Canal, and North Canal) right before you. The graceful Tianjin Eye unfolds in your view, surrounded by stunning architecture along both banks of the Haihe River—every shot you take becomes a postcard-perfect photo.

Tianjin · 67.9 km from Dacheng

No. 2 of Global Traveller-Picked Attractions in Tianjin

Porcelain House

7.1

4.3/5

6.5k reviews

This is a peculiar house. It is a French architectural structure made from various ancient porcelains, white marbles, crystals, agates and antique accessories. The walls of the Porcelain House are built from hundreds of ancient porcelain bottles from the Warlord Era and the late Qing Dynasty. On the roof, the dragon made from ancient porcelain pieces creates a circular pattern of the word "China". Behind the dragon is the Bird's Nest, the main stadium of the 2008 Olympic Games, made from porcelain fragments. The whole building has five floors. Floors one to four are open to visitors. There are many precious ancient wooden furniture placed on each floor, and the red walls are covered with porcelain pieces to depict the famous and colorful paintings of ancient and modern China and other countries.

Tianjin · 66.5 km from Dacheng

No. 2 of Fall Viewing Attractions in Tianjin

5 Avenues

7.1

Tianjin · 65.5 km from Dacheng

4.4k reviews

The Five Great Avenues is a must-see for the many visitors that come to Tianjin. Located in the Heping District of Tianjin, the Five Great Avenues is named after the five main roads in the area. There are actually more than 20 streets in the area. It used to be a British Settlement zone. During the Warlord Era era, many officials and celebrities in the Qing Dynasty and the Beiyang government had lived here. The rows of beautiful, elegant Western-style houses seem to tell the glorious past stories of Tianjin.

No. 2 of Fall Viewing Attractions in Shanxi

Wu Tai Shan

4.6/5

8.6k reviews

Wu Tai Shan is located in Wutai County, Xinzhou City. It is named for its five peaks, whose summits are flat like platforms and cluster together. As the sacred site of Bodhisattva Manjushri, it is dotted with numerous temples and is one of China's Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains. It is also a well-known summer resort, with a cool and pleasant climate in summer. What makes it unique is the coexistence of Yellow Temples (Tibetan Buddhism) and Blue Temples (Han Buddhism); visitors can see both Han Buddhist monks and Tibetan lamas, and this pattern of Han and Tibetan Buddhism coexisting is quite rare among China's sacred Buddhist mountains. If the five fingers are likened to the towering "Five Terraces," the palm is Taihuai Town—the geographic center of the attraction, where most temples are concentrated and which serves as the main base for visitors. To the northwest of the town lies a cluster of essential temples, which can be explored on foot or by the attraction's eco-friendly shuttle bus. The Great White Stupa of Tayuan Temple is the landmark structure of the attraction; in front of the gate of Luohou Temple stand a pair of ancient stone lions; Xiantong Temple is the largest Qingmiao (Chinese Buddhist) temple on the mountain; and Pusading is a highly representative Yellow Hat (Tibetan Buddhist) monastery. From Taihuai Town, crossing the Qingshui River to the north, you reach Dailuoding. Ascending the Dazhi Road with over a thousand stone steps, you can pay homage to the Five Directional Manjushri statues, known as the "Little Pilgrimage," or take a round-trip cable car. Heading south along the road, Bishan Temple is a Ten Directions Zen Monastery, housing a Burmese jade Buddha and a statue of the future Buddha Maitreya; Shuxiang Temple contains a tall painted clay statue of Manjushri; Nanshan Temple is renowned for its dazzling array of stone carvings and offers distant views of the South, North, and Central Terraces. Zhenhai Temple is serene and secluded, preserving painted murals within, and local folklore tells of legends related to Emperor Shunzhi's renunciation. In addition to the main temples above, there are also Nanchan Temple, Longquan Temple, Baiyun Temple, and others on the mountain, each with its own distinctive features. If you wish to reach the summit of the five terraces—known as the "Great Pilgrimage to the Terraces"—the East Terrace, Wanghai Peak, is a great place to watch the sunrise, with spectacular views of the sea of clouds and the rising sun; the South Terrace is covered with wildflowers in summer; on the West Terrace on an autumn night, the moon hangs like a mirror above the peak; the North Terrace is a high peak in North China and an excellent spot for enjoying snowy scenery, offering panoramic views of the surrounding mountains after snowfall.

China · Wutai County

No. 1 of Best Things to Do in Tianjin

National Maritime Museum of China

7.7

4.5/5

4.2k reviews

Located on the coast of the Bohai Sea in Tianjin's Binhai New Area, the National Maritime Museum of China is a comprehensive maritime museum integrating collection, exhibition, research, and education, and is known as the "Forbidden City on the sea." The white, streamlined main building stretches out along the coast, resembling a giant ship docked at the shore when viewed from afar. The sea outside the museum is vast and open, and the building itself is a photo spot worth stopping for. The museum's exhibits revolve around the theme of "oceans and humanity," with six major zones and more than a dozen exhibition halls, each with its own highlights. In the "Oceans Today" hall, a whale shark specimen over 9 m long is astonishing in scale, a giant squid plastination specimen stretches out its slender tentacles, and together with a rare pregnant shark specimen and thousands of marine life specimens, the diversity of ocean life is presented with striking visual impact; "Ancient Oceans" starts from the birth of the Earth, with trilobite and ichthyosaur fossils linking the evolutionary thread of hundreds of millions of years; "The Age of Dragons" recreates the sea, land, and air scenes of the Mesozoic era, and the ichthyosaur and pterosaur fossils and dinosaur models are especially popular with children; "Chinese Maritime Civilization" and "From Sails to Star Wheels" trace humanity's journey from ancient navigation to modern scientific research. The "Oceans and Astronomy" hall with its starry dome and the experience hall where visitors can intuitively feel the power of marine disasters are also among the museum's most popular exhibits. The museum has a very high content density, and a thorough visit takes more than half a day. It is recommended to arrange your route from the first floor upward, viewing ancient fossils first and then modern marine life, so that those interested in paleontology, marine life, and maritime history can each find what they need.

China · Tianjin

No. 1 of Family-friendly Attractions in Hebei

Aranya · Qinhuangdao

7.7

4.4/5

512 reviews

Aranya · Qinhuangdao is a seaside community, and its name signifies tranquility and a return to one's true self. The core attractions of this seaside community are its cultural buildings constructed along the coast. It brings together various cultural spaces, including a library, auditorium, art museum, and art center, where the architecture creates a unique dialogue with the ocean, beach, and natural light. Among them, the library facing the sea, the minimalist pure white auditorium, the art museum hidden beneath the sand dunes, and the art center with its circular courtyard each offer unique features, perfect for a leisurely stroll. Beyond the architecture, public spaces like the coastline and beach are also worth exploring. The community's cultural venues host year-round theater, music, and literary performances and exhibitions, weaving an artistic atmosphere into daily seaside life. When the light is soft in the early morning and evening, the silhouettes of the seaside buildings are perfect for photos.

China · Changli

No. 1 of Night Attractions in Hebei

Hetou Old Street

7.7

6.3k reviews

Hetou Old Street is located on both banks of the Tangjin Canal in Fengnan District, Tangshan, covering an area of nearly 2,000 mu. It derives its name from the "river head" where the Coal River and Tangjin Canal converge. In the late Qing Dynasty, coal from the Kaiping Coal Mine was loaded onto ships in Xugezhuang and transported along the newly excavated Coal River to Tianjin for export. The starting point of the canal thus became a bustling water and land port. According to county records, at that time, "merchant ships and passenger vessels were as dense as a forest, and Western-style buildings and flower gardens were too numerous to take in at a glance." Today, the old street has been transformed from the long-dormant antique-style block "Canal Tangren Street." With Tang Dynasty culture as its theme and the canal as its foundation, it has formed a layout of "one river, one lake, two streets, and three islands," serving as an immersive nighttime attraction showcasing the grand Tang Dynasty's performing arts on water. Nighttime is the highlight of the old street: the "Tang"-inscribed lampposts and lantern-lit sky streets along the kilometer-long canal gradually light up, while painted boats glide across the water. The nearly 100-meter-high "Tangshan light" Ferris wheel offers a panoramic night view. NPCs dressed in Tang-style costumes roam the streets, where you can recite poetry with "Li Bai," answer scholarly exam questions from the "zhuangyuan," or win "silver notes" in mini-games like idiom chains and rock-paper-scissors to redeem snacks and cultural products. The lantern-lighting ceremony, water dance show, live performance of "Emperor Tang's eastern expedition," and iron-flower fireworks along the parade route from Tang King Square to Prosperity Pier amplify the Tang dynasty atmosphere as the night deepens. The daytime is perfect for thorough exploration: the large vats at the entrance of the Tai'er merchant banquet floating market correspond to the twenty-four solar terms, recreating the bustling commercial atmosphere of the traveling "Tai'er merchant" trade group. In the east bank art district, old courtyards relocated and replicated from Jiangxi, Anhui, Shanxi and other regions are interspersed with handmade shops, making the silk tree area ideal for photos. Wangzhen square's hitching posts, the Tangshan dialect square themed on local slang, the koi pond, and the old car & persimmon market blending vintage vehicles with persimmon trees each offer unique sights. The old street primarily focuses on nightlife, so it's recommended to enter in the evening. With cool riverside breezes and long walking sections at night, remember to bring a light jacket and wear comfortable shoes. Families with children can check out the indoor Tang Little Lord castle amusement park, while travelers who love hanfu may consider wearing Tang-style attire for more atmospheric photos.

China · Tangshan