Whilst there are claims that the game was invented by the Chinese in the tenth century, during the Cultural Revolution, Golf was banned in China for being associated to British colonialism and decadent bourgeoisie. After 1984, however, several courses have popped up around the country. Nowadays there are about 180 golf clubs in China.

Generally, handicap cards are not required to play on courses in mainland China, however they are required within Macau and Hong Kong. As the courses are fairly busy, the main requirement is to keep up the speed of play. Don’t be surprised to be tailed by a marshal if you don’t.

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Located at the exact centre of the ancient city of Beijing, the Forbidden City was the imperial palace and home to 24 emperors during the mid-Ming and the Qing Dynasties.

Known now as the Palace Museum, its extensive grounds cover 720,000 square meters, 800 buildings and more than 8,000 rooms. As such, it is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world, and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987 as the “Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties”. The Imperial Palace Grounds are located directly to the north of Tiananmen Square and are accessible from the square via Tiananmen Gate. It is surrounded by a large area called the Imperial City.

There are unique and delicately structured towers on each of the four corners of the curtain wall. These afford views over both the palace and the city outside. The Forbidden City is divided into two parts:

- The Outer Court, which includes the southern and central sections, centres on three halls used for ceremonial purposes, such as coronations, investitures, and imperial weddings.
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