Nearly any person you speak to has heard of Beijings most famous site the Great Wall of China. However, Beijing is an intriguing city for many other reasons. Ancient temples stand side-by-side with uber-modern skyscrapers. Some residents live in traditional courtyard homes, while others live in expensive high rises. Perhaps most impressive of all is that Beijing is home to seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites. So, regardless of your reasons for visiting Beijing, its remarkable heritage sites should be at the top of your must-see list.A Home Fit for an Emperor: The Forbidden CityPhotograph of the Forbidden City, by Lan Lin, 2022. Source: UnsplashThe Forbidden City, which sits at Beijings center, was Chinas political center for over 500 years. It was constructed between 1406 and 1420 and was inhabited during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. The former imperial palace features splaying courtyards punctuated by imposing red buildings and surrounded by walls. It was home to 24 emperors, their families, and their servants.The Forbidden City was constructed after a coup detat during the rule of the Ming Dynastys founder, Zhu Yuanzhang. The emperor moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing and built the Forbidden City. When the Qing Dynasty was established in 1644, the new imperial family took over the palace. In addition to daily living, rituals and ceremonies took place there. Thus, it was designed to follow the cosmic order in Confucian ideology.Public and private life were divided in the Forbidden City. State affairs were managed in the huge compounds of the outer court, where only men were allowed. The inner court was the imperial familys domestic space, containing the emperor and empress residences. There were palaces for the emperors consorts and spaces for the retired emperor and empress. It was long claimed that the complex contained 9,999 rooms, though experts have only counted 8,886.Photograph of the Forbidden City taken from Jingshan Park, by Yekaterina Golatkina, 2020. Source: UnsplashThe city was last inhabited by the child emperor Puyi, who was expelled in 1924. During the 1933 Japanese invasion, many treasures were taken from the Forbidden City. Some were returned after World War II, while others were evacuated to Taiwan by Chiang Kai-shek. These artifacts are now displayed at Taipeis National Palace Museum.In 1987, the Forbidden City was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The palace is the most visited museum in China, welcoming around 80,000 visitors daily or 14 million annually. Experts have valued the palace at US$70 billion, making it the most valuable palace in the world. It is also the worlds most valuable property. Interestingly, it is thought to be haunted, but closes promptly at 4:30 pm each day, leaving ghost hunters disappointed.A Modern World Wonder: The Great Wall of ChinaPhotograph of the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall of China, by Max van den Oetelaar, 2020. Source: UnsplashChinas best-known attraction is, of course, the Great Wall of China. The wall, constructed continuously between the 3rd century BCE and the 17th century CE, was one of the largest construction projects ever undertaken and is the worlds largest military structure. The Great Wall was developed as a border fortification to protect the country from invasions and raids.Chinas first emperor, Qin Shihuang (259-210 BCE), unified the country and connected existing defensive walls to create a single wall system around 4,160 miles long. The wall was strengthened during the Han Dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE), the Wei Dynasty (386-534 CE), and the Sui Dynasty (581-618 CE). The greatest changes were made during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), as the Mongol Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) had just ended and another invasion was to be avoided at all costs. The best-preserved sections of the wall date back to this time.The wall is comprised of three components, passes, signal towers, and walls. Passes were strongholds along the wall, often in key positions such as intersections with trade routes. Signal towers were used to send military communications using fire, smoke signals, banners, clappers, or guns. The wall sections generally stand between 23-26 feet in height. Their structure is dependent on the topography and building materials available, such as tamped earth and wooden boards, adobe bricks, or rocks. Around one-fourth of its total length is made up of natural barriers such as rivers and mountain ridges. The wall ends at the Shanhai Pass, where it goes into the water at the Liaodong Bay Coast.Photograph of the Great Wall of China, by Hanson Lu, 2017. Source: UnsplashThe Great Wall, in total, stretches for 13,171 miles. Nowadays, large sections of the wall are in ruins or have disappeared. Despite its cultural importance, sections were removed to build roads or other infrastructure. In the 1970s, one section was dismantled for building materials, though it was subsequently rebuilt. Still, the site has captured the imagination of the world and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987. Some sections of the wall, including Badaling and Mutianyu, have been restored. Other popular (and wilder) sections to visit include Jinshanling, Simatai, Huanghuacheng, and Gubeikou.A Retreat Fit for a King (and Queen): The Summer PalacePhotograph of the Summer Palace, by Zhang Kayv, 2021. Source: UnsplashThe Summer Palace, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) imperial garden. The palace was a summer retreat for the Chinese royal family, who preferred it to the walled-in Forbidden City during the warmer months. The palace features lakes, gardens, and palaces and covers around 1.1 square miles. Though there had been other structures in the area before the Qing Dynasty, the palace that exists today was constructed between 1750 and 1764.It is said that in 1749, the Qianlong Emperor decided to build the palace to celebrate his mothers 60th birthday. A large lake was constructed, called Kunming Lake, inspired by the famous West Lake in Hangzhou. Earth that was excavated in shaping the lake was then used to enlarge the surrounding hills, particularly Longevity Hill, which accounts for around a quarter of the garden area.In 1860, during the Second Opium War, the Summer Palace and the nearby Old Summer Palace were occupied by British and French forces. They sacked both palaces and burned the Old Summer Palace. This was done as part of a British and French effort to persuade the Qing government to negotiate with them. Later on, between 1884-95, Empress Dowager Cixi oversaw the reconstruction and enlargement of the Summer Palace for her 60th birthday. In 1900, forces from the Eight-Nation Alliance seized artifacts and destroyed the gardens. The palace was, however, restored just two years later.Photograph of the Summer Palace, by Zhang Kaiyv, 2023. Source: UnsplashAfter the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the Beijing municipal government took charge of the palace and turned it into a public park in 1914. Large restorations since then have brought the park to the condition it is in today. The Summer Palace is easy to reach via a dedicated stop on the subway. Though crowded, a short walk off the main path provides a more peaceful experience. Those wishing to view the palace from the water can pay for a boat ride on Kunming Lake. You can also walk down the longest corridor in the world (2,388 feet long), as listed in The Guinness Book of World Records.Praying for Good Harvests: The Temple of HeavenPhotograph of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, by Victor He, 2020. Source: UnsplashUnlike the previous structures on the list, the Temple of Heaven wasnt any kind of residence for royalty. Instead, it was visited by Ming and Qing emperors for annual ceremonies. During these ceremonies, emperors would give sacrifices and pray for a good harvest. Prior to the ceremony, the emperor and his entourage would travel through Beijing, starting at the Forbidden City and ending at the temple. Ordinary people were prohibited from seeing this procession. Ceremonies at the temple had to go perfectly, as there was a superstition that one small mistake would be a bad omen for the entire nation in the coming year.The temple complex was initially constructed during the Ming Dynasty, between 1406 and 1420. It was constructed during the reign of the Yongle Emperor, the same emperor responsible for building the Forbidden City. The complex was extended in the 16th century and renovated in the 18th century.The temple was occupied by French and British forces during the Second Opium War and it was occupied again during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, when the Eight-Nation Alliance used it as a command post for a year. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the temple was not managed and fell into disrepair.Photograph of the Temple of Heaven, by Isaac Chou, 2024. Source: UnsplashThe Temple of Heaven was opened to the public as a park in 1988, and in 1998, it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is considered to be the supreme achievement of traditional Chinese architecture and the most representative existing ancient sacrificial building.The grounds of the Temple of Heaven cover 1.05 square miles, an area five times the size of the Forbidden City. There are three main groups of buildings inside. The most famous is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, a circular building that is 125 feet tall. It is built on three levels of marble stone base and was the site of imperial ceremonies. This building was struck by lightning in 1889 and burned down but was rebuilt in the years that followed. Other structures on site include the Imperial Vault of Heaven and the Circular Mound Altar.The Imperial Tombs: Where Emperors are Laid to RestPhotograph of the Ming Tombs, by Haluk Comertel, 2011. Source: Wikimedia CommonsWe havent run out of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Beijing yet the next on this list are the Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. These tombs are a collection of mausoleums built by the Ming Dynasty emperors, and they are clustered in an area 26 miles northwest of Beijing. This site was selected in 1420 by the Ming Yongle emperor after he constructed the Forbidden City. This was to be his burial site, and he chose the southern slope of the Tianshou Mountains based on feng shui. Subsequent emperors went on to place their tombs nearby in the same valley, with a total of 13 Ming emperors buried here.At the time of the Ming Dynasty, the tombs were not accessible to regular people. In 1644, however, many of them were ransacked and burned by Li Zichengs army. Li Zicheng was a rebel leader who helped overthrow the Ming Dynasty. From there, Qing emperors went on to establish their tombs in the area as well, and there are two main sites of Qing tombs. Three of the Ming and Qing tomb sites were added to the UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000 and 2003. In addition to these, there are also Ming and Qing Dynasty tombs in the Liaoning and Jiangsu provinces.Yonghe Temple, a Bustling Religious CenterPhotograph of the Yonghe Temple, by Erica Chang, 2012. Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe Yonghe Temple, known locally as the Lama Temple, is located centrally in Beijing. The temple is one of Chinas largest Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, and it was the most important Buddhist temple in China during the middle and late Qing Dynasty.Construction started in 1694, during the Qing Dynasty, on a site where an official residence for Ming Dynasty eunuchs had once stood. In 1702 it was converted into the residence of one of the Kangxi Emperors sons, who moved in, in 1703. The future Qianlong Emperor, Hongli, was born in one of the temples buildings in 1711.After taking power, the Qianlong Emperor promoted the building to imperial status, replacing its turquoise tiles with yellow imperial tiles reserved for the emperor. In 1744, the emperor converted the building to a lamasery (a monastery).Photograph of incense burning at the Yonghe Temple, by A_Peach, 2017. Source: FlickrIn the years that followed, the monastery became a residence for a sizable population of Tibetan Buddhist monks. These monks traveled to China from Tibet and Mongolia. The Yonghe Lamasery became Chinas center for the Lama administration. Then, in 1929, the temple was involved in a revolt against the Chinese Nationalist government.When the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949, the temple was declared a national monument. From then, it was closed for 32 years. It is believed that the temple survived the destructive Cultural Revolution due to intervention from Premier Zhou Enlai. The Yonghe Temple was reopened to the public in 1981 and is both a popular tourist attraction and an active religious site.The buildings and artwork feature a fusion of Tibetan and Han Chinese styles. Particularly striking is the 85-foot-tall statue of the Maitreya Buddha, which is carved from one large piece of white sandalwood. The statue was gifted to the Qianlong Emperor by the seventh Dalai Lama. It was brought from Tibet to Beijing, a journey that took three years. The temple can be easily reached by subway and has its own stop called Yonghegong Lama Temple Station.Tiananmen Square: A Site With a Sad HistoryPhotograph of Tiananmen Square, by Zachary Keimig, 2020. Source: UnsplashLocated directly in front of the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square is a city square in the center of Beijing. It is named after the gate to its north, famed for its large portrait of Mao Zedong, which separates it from the Forbidden City. In English, Tiananmen translates to Gate of Heavenly Peace. The square contains several buildings, including the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong, the Monument to the Peoples Heroes, the Great Hall of the People, and the National Museum of China.The square is a meaningful place for Chinese people Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of the Peoples Republic of China there on October 1, 1949. This event is celebrated at the square annually. Tiananmen Square covers 53.31 acres and is the 8th largest city square in the world. It was built in 1651 and was expanded fourfold in the 1950s.Besides the squares importance in the founding of the PRC, it is best known internationally as the site of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. The protests were student-led, starting on April 15, 1989, and reflected unhappiness with the countrys government and political structure. Grievances included inflation, corruption, and recent changes to the economy which benefited few at the expense of many.Violent confrontations between demonstrators and the army occurred regularly, and the Chinese Community Party (CCP) decided to clear the square by force. The government declared martial law on the evening of June 3 and deployed troops to occupy the square in the early morning hours of June 4. There were bloody clashes between the military and demonstrators with estimates of the death toll ranging from several hundred to several thousand, with thousands more wounded.Photograph of Tiananmen, the gate between Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, by Yang Yang, 2020. Source: UnsplashAs a result of the demonstrations, the CCP has strictly limited political expression in the country. This situation is ongoing, and the topic of the Tiananmen Square massacre is one of the most sensitive and widely censored in China. Today, the square is open to visitors but heavily monitored. Military parades are held in the area on important dates, including the 50th and 60th anniversaries of the PRCs founding.Zhoukoudian: Traces of our Early AncestorsPhotograph of a statue at the Peking Man Museum, by Xiquinhosilva, 2016. Source: FlickrMoving away from architecture, we have the Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian. This site, located 42 km (26 miles) southwest of Beijing, is a cave previously inhabited by a subspecies of Homo Erectus, an extinct archaic species of human from the Pleistocene Period. The first human fossil, a tooth, was found at the site in 1921 by Austrian paleontologist Otto Zdansky. Between 1929 and 1937, researchers discovered several partial skulls of hominids here from ancient times.The number of findings at Zhoukoudian Cave has made it the most productive Homo Erectus site in the world. These discoveries started a dialogue and supported the Out of Asia hypothesis that humans evolved in Asia, though the Out of Africa theory is more widely accepted today.It has been determined that at the time Peking Man lived, the area was a cool, predominantly steppe region. There were rhinos, elephants, bison, bears, wolves, and big cats, among other creatures. The exact time that Peking Man lived in Zhoukoudian is unclear, but estimates range from 230,000 to 780,000 years ago. Over 100,000 stone tools were also recovered in the cave, and there was also evidence of fire use.During the Second Sino-Japanese War, in 1941, fossils from around 40 individuals were transported by the United States Marine Corps to the SS President Harrison, one of their ships. The aim was to protect the fossils, and they were to be brought to the American Museum of Natural History in New York. However, the ship was attacked by Japanese warships. Many attempts have been made to locate the crates containing the fossils, but they have never been found.Photograph of fossils at the Peking Man Museum, by Xiquinhosilva, 2016. Source: FlickrFollowing the Chinese Civil War, excavations at the Zhoukoudian site resumed and continued off and on for several decades. Excavations of the site are now considered to be more or less complete. A modern museum was opened at the site in 2014, which features over 1,600 relics.

The final years of the Han Dynasty witnessed the emergence of powerful warlords who consolidated into three major powers at the formal dissolution of the Han Dynasty in 220 CE: Cao Wei in the north, Eastern Wu in the southeast, and Shu Han in the southwest. Shortly after vanquishing Shu, Cao Wei was overthrown by the Jin Dynasty in 266. The Jin ruled a unified China until the 310s but survived as the Eastern Jin until 420. China was thereafter divided between northern and southern dynasties until its reunification by the Sui dynasty in 589.Rise of the WarlordsMap showing the Late Han warlords (c. 195 CE) and the extent of their territorial control. Source: Wikimedia CommonsIn 189 CE, after the massacre of the eunuchs, the warlord Dong Zhuo seized control of the government and replaced the young Emperor Shao with his younger brother, Emperor Xian. He soon gained a reputation for being a debauched tyrant, and in 190, Yuan Shao organized a coalition of senior Han officials and generals to challenge Dong Zhuos hold on Luoyang. Many of these men had distinguished themselves in the suppression of the Yellow Turban Uprising in 184.In 191, General Sun Jian, leading the vanguard of Yuan Shu (Yuan Shaos half-brother), marched on the capital with a small force. In response, Dong Zhuo set fire to Luoyang and evacuated to Changan. Sun Jian occupied the deserted Luoyang but quickly withdrew his troops when the coalition began falling apart. Dong Zhuo was killed in 192 by his subordinate L Bu, but Changan and the emperor remained under the control of Dongs followers.In late 191, Sun Jian was killed in an ambush. His teenage son Sun Ce took over his army and proceeded to conquer the Jiangdong region to the southeast of the Yangtze River. Sun Ce continued to serve Yuan Shu until 197, when the latter launched an ill-fated attempt to make himself the emperor of a new dynasty. Although Sun Ce would be assassinated after a private dispute in 200, his 18-year-old brother Sun Quan inherited a powerful state.Red CliffsStatue of Cao Cao in Xuchang, China. Source: Wikimedia CommonsIn 196 CE, Emperor Xian and several followers escaped and sought to return to Luoyang. On the way, they were intercepted by the warlord Cao Cao, who promised to protect the emperor. Cao Cao soon took the emperor to his power base at Xuchang and used his presence to legitimize his conquests. In 200, he defeated Yuan Shao at the Battle of Guandu, enabling him to become master of northern China.A Peking Opera performance of the Battle of Red Cliffs by Shanghai Jingju Theatre Company. Source: Wikimedia CommonsIn 208, Cao Cao was named chancellor and was ready to strike south of the Yangtze. He crossed into Jing Province and accepted the submission of Liu Cong, the second son of the late governor Liu Biao. Liu Biaos elder son, Liu Qi, was determined to resist Cao Caos efforts to conquer his native land and joined forces with Liu Bei, who claimed descent from the founding Han emperor Liu Bang. For many years, Liu Bei and his followers experienced mixed fortunes. He supported Yuan Shao but had to flee south to Jing Province, where he became a key advisor to Liu Biao.Following a plan devised by his strategist Zhuge Liang, Liu entered into an alliance with Sun Quan. Despite being heavily outnumbered, the allied commander Zhou Yu won a dramatic victory at the Battle of Red Cliffs by setting Cao Caos fleet on fire. Following Cao Caos withdrawal north of the Yangtze, Liu Bei quickly seized control of Jing Province south of the Yangtze River.Three KingdomsStatue of Liu Bei, Temple of Marquis Wu (Zhuge Liang), Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Source: Wikimedia CommonsDespite their joint victory over Cao Cao, the Sun-Liu alliance remained shaky as Sun Quan also laid claim to Jing Province. In 211, Liu Bei invaded Yi Province to the west to obtain a secure base for himself and conquered the region in 214. The following year, Cao Cao gained control of Hanzhong and threatened Liu Beis territory from the north. In response, Liu Bei attacked Hanzhong in 217 and emerged victorious after a two-year campaign. In 219, Liu Bei became king of Hanzhong, the same title Liu Bang held before establishing the Han Dynasty.Following Cao Caos death in 220, his son Cao Pi formally assumed imperial power as Emperor Wen of Wei, marking the end of the Han Dynasty. Liu Bei followed by proclaiming himself Emperor of (Shu) Han in 221. He died the following year and was succeeded by his teenage son, Liu Shan. Sun Quan became King of Wu as a vassal of Cao Wei but later assumed his own imperial title in 229.Over the following decades, Shu launched 11 northern expeditions against Wei, all of which were unsuccessful. Zhuge Liang, the Shu chancellor, led the first five, but Wei strategist Sima Yi foiled his plans. Following Zhuges death in 234, Shu general Jiang Wei took command and continued the northern expeditions.The Jin DynastySima Yan, Emperor Wu of Jin from the Thirteen Emperors Scroll by Yan Liben, Tang Dynasty, 7th century CE. Source: Wikimedia Commons (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)In 249 CE, shortly before his death, Sima Yi instigated a coup enabling his family to assume effective control of the Cao Wei state. In 263, Sima Yis son, Sima Zhao, commanded the Wei forces in a campaign that resulted in the conquest of Shu. He assumed the title of King of Jin, but two years later, he died and was succeeded by his son Sima Yan, who forced the puppet emperor Cao Huan to abdicate and proclaimed the Jin Dynasty.During the reign of Sima Yan, who was posthumously known as Emperor Wu, Jin forces reunified the country by eliminating Eastern Wu in 280, bringing an end to the Three Kingdoms period. However, this reunification would prove short-lived. Emperor Wu was succeeded by his son, Emperor Hui, in 290. The new emperor was mentally impaired, and by 291, the empire was torn apart by a vicious civil war among members of the imperial clan. This conflict was known as the War of the Eight Princes.Although the civil war ended in 306 CE with the victory of Sima Yue, Prince of Donghai, and the accession of Emperor Huai in 307, the conflict severely weakened the dynasty and encouraged attacks by the Wu Hu or Five Barbarians in the north and west. In 311, the Xiongnu state of Han-Zhao occupied Luoyang and captured the emperor, who was executed in 313. His nephew and successor, Emperor Min, moved the government to Changan but was forced to surrender in 316.The Eastern JinFragment of the Admonitions Scroll, a Tang Dynasty copy of a painting by Eastern Jin artist Gu Kaizhi (4th century CE). Source: Wikimedia Commons (British Museum)For the next century, northwestern China fragmented into a series of short-lived states known as the Sixteen Kingdoms. The majority of these were ruled by Wu Hu peoples, though several were also founded by Han peoples. In the meantime, the Jin refugees from the north fled to Jiankang (present-day Nanjing), where in 318 CE, Sima Rui proclaimed himself Emperor Yuan, marking the beginning of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.The Eastern Jin would survive for another century and made numerous attempts to reconquer territories lost to the Sixteen Kingdoms. During the middle of the 4th century CE, Jin general Huan Wen achieved notable but temporary successes during his campaigns in the north. In 376, northern China was united by the Former Qin, which invaded the Eastern Jin in an attempt to conquer the whole of China. The invasion was defeated by an outnumbered Jin army at the Battle of Fei River in 383, ensuring the survival of the Eastern Jin and the collapse of Former Qin.During the early years of the 5th century CE, Jin general Liu Yu led a series of successful campaigns against the Sixteen Kingdoms, which saw the dynasty reconquer almost the entirety of China south of the Yellow River. In the process, Liu concentrated power in his own hands and overthrew the Jin Dynasty in 420 CE to establish the Liu Song Dynasty, the first of five southern dynasties.The Northern DynastiesYungang Grottoes near the Northern Wei capital of Datong. Source: Global TimesThe collapse of the Former Qin in the north saw the emergence of the Northern Wei state in 386, ruled by the Tuoba clan from the Xianbei people. In 423 CE, Tuoba Tao came to the throne as Emperor Taiwu with ambitions to unify northern China. These ambitions were realized in 439 when Northern Wei conquered Northern Liang, the last of the Sixteen Kingdoms.In 450, Taiwu invaded Liu Song, but his reign was cut short two years later when he was assassinated by an eunuch. While the early Northern Wei emperors sought to maintain a distinct Xianbei identity, at the end of the 5th century CE, Emperor Xiaowen introduced reforms to assimilate the Xianbei elites into Han Chinese culture. In 493, the emperor moved the capital from Datong in Shanxi province to the ancient capital of Luoyang. With the exception of Taiwu, who persecuted Buddhists, the Northern Wei emperors promoted Buddhism in China and patronized the famous Longmen Grottoes near Luoyang.The Northern Wei began to fall apart in the 520s, and by 535, the empire was divided between the Eastern and Western Wei, ruled officially by members of the Tuoba family but under the effective control of the Gao and Yuwen clans, respectively. In 550 CE, Gao Yang overthrew the Eastern Wei and established the Northern Qi Dynasty. In 557, the Western Wei emperor yielded the throne to Yuwen Jue, who became Emperor Xiaomin of Northern Zhou. In 577, Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou conquered the Northern Qi, but the Northern Zhou was overthrown by the general Yang Jian, who founded the Sui Dynasty in 581.The Southern DynastiesXiao Yan, Emperor Wu of Liang. Source: National Palace Museum, Taipei, TaiwanIn the south, Emperor Wu of Liu Song died in 422 CE, two years into his reign. His death resulted in a civil war, which was won by his third son, Emperor Wen, whose 29-year reign was marked by relative prosperity and stability. However, he lacked the military talents of his father, and his campaigns against Northern Wei were largely unsuccessful, leading to his deposition in 453. The dynasty lasted another quarter century until 479 CE when the nine-year-old Emperor Shun of Liu Song relinquished his throne to the general Xiao Daocheng, who established the Southern Qi dynasty.Seven successive emperors led the Southern Qi, which lasted 24 years until the general Xiao Yan overthrew the teenage Emperor He in 502 and founded the Liang Dynasty as Emperor Wu, whose reign of almost half a century is best known for his patronage of Buddhism. The end of the reign was marred by a rebellion by the general Hou Jing, who occupied Jiankang in 548 and exercised power in Emperor Wus name until the latters death the following year. The rebellion was defeated in 551 by the Liang generals Wang Sengbian and Chen Baxian.In 557, Chen Baxian overthrew the Liang and established the Chen Dynasty as Emperor Wu. The last of the southern dynasties was unable to regain control of its northern and western territories, which had fallen to the Northern Qi and Northern Zhou respectively, and in 589, it was conquered by the Sui, marking the end of the Northern and Southern Dynasties period.

What are the best war games? Its a tricky question to answer since there's been a long history of war titles in the world of video games. Conceptually, it never changes, whether you're fighting in WW2 or you've taken to a future battlefield in, well, Battlefield. Weve chosen some highlights from top-quality war games on PC for your consideration, from calmer free-to-play options to serious strategy games that cover some of history's most serious conflicts.As new releases appear, we're always on the lookout for the best and newest war games to add to the list,so make sure you check back regularly. Thefree PC gamesare up top by default, so if you're looking for somethingto play with zero financial commitment, that's where to look. Continue reading The best war games 2025MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best WW2 games, Best free Steam games, Best FPS games

When isthe Soulframe release date?The upcoming fantasy MMORPG from the creators behind Warframe has been on our minds since it was first announced in 2022. More recently, developer Digital Extremes has revealed story details and gameplay trailers that give us an idea of what to expect from Soulframe's beautiful open world that establishes its themes of climate change and environmental destruction.Soulframe certainly looks and feels very different from its sci-fi sister, Warframe, instead, it takes cues from our favorite fantasy games. However, there are plenty of parallels to delight long-time Warframe fans and new players alikeonce the MMORPG arrives. Until then, here's everything we know so far, including all the latest news surroundingthe Soulframe release date and the upcoming Preludes playtests. Continue reading Soulframe release date window, trailers, gameplay, and newsMORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best MMOs, Best RPG games , Best fantasy games

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is one of the most innovative turn-based RPGs of recent years. It takes the gameplay and flair of the beloved Persona series and combines it with the narrative strength of earlier Final Fantasy games, yet is wholly original in its approach to the genre. Its an easy contender for Game of the Year already. If you want to see what all the fuss is about, you should take a chance to get it for just $7.99 / 7.15. Continue reading Don't miss your chance to get Clair Obscur Expedition 33 for just $8MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best Clair Obscur Expedition 33 weapons, Best Clair Obscur Expedition 33 builds, Best Clair Obscur Expedition 33 Pictos

What are the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 console commands and cheats? Life in Bohemia is tough; in the beginning, you have to fight for every meal, youre forced to use sub-par gear, and your skills are so low that you wont be able to hit a barn door with an arrow at ten paces. Console commands and cheats can change that, though, if youre so inclined.Even with the best KCD2 swords and KCD2 armor, you can struggle on occasion in the sprawling open-world RPG that is Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. Your enemies are numerous, and it can sometimes feel like an uphill battle, even hours into your adventure. With KCD2 console commands, you can turn the tide and get the upper hand with ease. Continue reading All Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 console commands and cheatsMORE FROM PCGAMESN: Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 review, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 mods, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 map

What is the best mini gaming PC? The traditional image of a custom gaming PC is a hulking behemoth of a machine, with frantically spinning fans, blazing rainbow RGB LEDs, and a monstrously large graphics card. However, the best mini gaming PCs can be compact, quiet, and elegant, all while providing performance that can rival full-size desktop rigs.We've tested a wide range of options from ultra-compact ones, which are similar to small laptops in performance, to true powerhouses. Our top choice overall is the Geekom AX8 Pro, thanks to its incredibly small size, decent gaming power, and fair price. For more serious power and stunning design, we've picked the fantastic Corsair One i500, while for a budget option, the Minisforum UM773 Lite is great value for under $400. Also check out the mini gaming PC FAQ section at the bottom of this list to answer all your burning small PC questions. Continue reading Best mini gaming PC 2025: top small form factor PCsMORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best graphics card, Best gaming PC, Best SSD for gaming

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A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers has introduced a resolution to congratulate Pope Leo XIV on his historic election as the first American-born pontiff. The resolution, led by Representative Blake Moore