Forbidden City...unless you pay
JULY 7TH, 2018
We woke up early to head to Tiananmen Square and try to avoid the crowds. Little did we know that there is no way to avoid these crowds! After getting off the train right next to the entrance, we were ushered across the street and about a block away to the start of the security line. Once we figured out which line we had to be in, we shuffled along and finally made our way in. It was quite the experience.
The Forbidden City
Once inside the square we could really feel the scale of it. We stood in the middle surrounded by Mao’s Mausoleum, the Great Hall of the People, National Museum, and Mao’s portrait greeting us on Tiananmen. While massive and definitely a sight to see, without historical context it is really just a concrete square and we decided to move on to the Forbidden City.
Facing away from Forbidden City. (Closest to furthest) Monument of the People's Heroes and Mao's Mausoleum.
Anna was definitely more popular.
Entering the Forbidden City through Tiananmen was amazing. The gate was massive and really let you imagine being back in time. We entered a courtyard where we spent quite a while figuring out how to buy tickets. This was also the first time (of many more to come) that we were asked to take pictures with people as they aren’t used to seeing Westerners. People especially wanted to have us take pictures with their kids.
One we entered we knew we would be impressed. The city is massive and each new building we approached we knew was only a small portion of the city. Original construction was completed in 1420, which is always mind blowing as we wouldn’t even be a country for over another 300 years. Although it only took 14 years to build, it took over 16 years to restore it and restoring it continues today.
Nine is seen as the biggest number in China, so everything in the Forbidden City was designed in multiples of 9’s. As we looked around at every rooftop, tile, and column we were amazed at the design that went into this. There would be 9 bolts used in the massive doors. Nine figures on the corner of every roof, and building columns would be divisible by nine.
Right to left: Palace of Heavenly Purity, Hall of Union, Palace of Earthly Tranquility.
We walked along the wall on the North Side and could see the moat that surrounds the city, as well as look over all the buildings we had just walked through.
Entrance to BeiHai Park
We found a spot for lunch a few blocks away and were excited when we arrived to only locals, which is always a good sign. While waiting to be seated we became quite the celebrities again this time with a bunch of children trying to practice their English. They were so cute and even brought us cups of water (although we couldn’t drink them). We then had our first truly good Chinese meal and realized that our version of Chinese food at home is nothing like this.
Once we had more energy we decided to keep going and see Jingshan Park. We climbed the stairs to the top of the hill and were able to look down onto the Forbidden City that we walked across earlier. The fog/smog had started to roll in and the views were getting more limited but it was still beautiful.
It began to rain a little but we went on to BeiHai Park since it was on the way back to the hotel. Again, this was another stunning park. The centerpiece is the White Pagoda which was a gift for the 5th Dalai Lama. We walked along the covered walkway and saw the Nine Dragons Wall, built in 1402, which is made up of colorful glazed tiles.
By the end of the day we were exhausted and had logged 27,735 steps!
Nine Dragons Wall
