Beijing – “It’s Forbidden”
Another day in Beijing, another glorious breakfast from Hotel Cote Cour. Seriously, is this real life?
Since the weather was gorgeous, we asked the fantastic lady at the front desk to help us purchase tickets to visit the Forbidden City, the ancient imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties in central Beijing. (Side note: If you want to tour the Forbidden City, tickets must be purchased in advance by someone with a Chinese bank account or WeChat. You cannot buy them at the gate.)
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Forbidden City is a massive complex of 980 buildings with almost 9,000 rooms and countless courtyards. It spans over 180 acres. And that doesn’t include Tiananmen Square to the south and Jingshan Park to the north. So be prepared to spend an entire day in the area. Trust me, you still won’t see it all.
As we passed through Tiananmen Gate under the giant portrait of Chairman Mao Zedong and entered the Forbidden City through the Meridian Gate (Wumen), the history and magnitude of what lay before us was awe-inspiring. Sometimes it blows my mind what mankind is able to create! The Forbidden City is divided into the Outer Court to the south and the Inner Court to the north with those being divided further into the eastern, western, and central axes. The complex is massive and, honestly, to truly see it all, in all its grandeur, would take days. But hey, we were gonna try.
We crossed the River of Golden Water and ascended the first of the many stairs we would climb to the Gate of Supreme Harmony which was flanked by two impressive bronze lions. Through the gate lay another large square leading to a three-tiered white marble terrace and the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the ceremonial center of imperial power. It was truly something to behold!
(Side note: When visiting iconic cultural and religious sites in China during the Chinese New Year, be prepared. There are people everywhere!) As we battled for position with other tourists, of which most were Chinese, we caught a glimpse of the ornate imperial throne housed within. After a few quick pictures, we continued on to the Halls of Central Harmony and Preserving Harmony – each with its own throne, though neither were as large or grand as the one in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
We doubled back to the beginning to explore some of the eastern and western halls in the Outer Court, several of which housed antiquities and artifacts from the imperial dynasties. We took a moment to climb to the top of the Meridian Gate where we were granted expansive views of the Forbidden City. At this point, we began questioning our initial intentions to see the entirety of the complex; this place was absolutely enormous! Onward to the Inner Court and the many MANY more halls and palaces and courtyards!
Passing through the Gate of Heavenly Purity, the Inner Court was where the Emperor and his family worked and resided within the imperial palace complex. The Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Hall of Union, and the Palace of Earthly Tranquility are set along the central axis and were the residences of the emperor and the empress. On either side, you will find the Six Western Palaces and the Six Eastern Palaces, each with its own individual purpose or function. Wow. That’s a lot of palaces.
As we explored the eastern axis, we encountered another smaller palace complex within the complex as a whole – the Palace of Tranquil Longevity. The southern entrance to the palace is marked by an intricate Nine-Dragon Screen wall, which is the largest and often considered the greatest of the three famous Nine-Dragon Screens in China. Composed of 270 glazed tiles, it was absolutely magnificent!
Originally built as the retirement home for Emperor Qianlong, the Palace of Tranquil Longevity area is now home to the Treasure Gallery and other fine arts exhibits. Two of the halls display a multitude of selected painting masterpieces from the Palace Museum’s collection while the other three halls are home to a massive antiquities collection from the Qing dynasty, including gold, silver, and jade eating and drinking utensils, imperial crowns and robes, jeweled ornaments, and an impressive jade sculpture detailing the story of Yu the Great. It costs a few extra yuan to enter the Treasure Gallery, but it was definitely well worth it. Be prepared though, some tourists don’t mess around when it comes to viewing priceless artifacts, so you may have to ‘throw some bows’ if you want to get a good look.
The Palace of Tranquil Longevity also featured some spectacular architecture and unique buildings as well as decorative bronze statues and its own gardens. All in all, this was my probably my favorite area of the Forbidden City to explore!
By this time, we were getting pretty ‘palace-ed out’ if you know what I mean; honestly, it became difficult to truly enjoy the next palace or hall because there were so many of them. And to think they are still restoring many areas of the Forbidden City that are not yet open to the public. Wow. I can’t even imagine how massive this place actually is! So, we set off to finish our tour, and the Imperial Garden located on the northern central axis provided the perfect place to take a final moment to appreciate the cultural and architectural enormity of the Forbidden City.
Through the Gate of Divine Prowess (Shenwumen), the northern exit of the Forbidden City, and across the street lies Jingshan Park, an imperial garden that boasts the central point and highest summit in Beijing. With beautiful landscaping and five pavilions, it is definitely worth taking a few minutes to explore. We hiked to the summit to get some exceptional panoramic views of the city: the Forbidden City to the south, the Drum and Bell towers to the north, as well as the Miaoying Temple in Beihai Park to the west. We were fortunate that it was a relatively clear day (which isn’t always the case) as the city stretched out around us for miles. Beijing had truly impressed so far; with so much culture and history, it was quickly becoming one of my most favorite destinations, and this was only day three!
