Calvin’s Hub

To make the most of our Forbidden City tour, we also included the places around it as suggested by my sister. This includes Jingshan Park, Forbidden City, National Center of Performing Arts, Tiananmen Square and Qianmen St.

We started at around 10 AM to go to our first destination, Jingshan Park, and made our way southbound to visit all the places I just mentioned.

Jingshan Park

This is one of the popular parks in Beijing that is being frequented by locals. It sports an artificial hill made entirely from soil excavated from the moats of the Forbidden City which is directly south of it.

GETTING THERE:
The nearest subway station is Dongsi of Line 5 but it’s still a far walk from there so it’s better and faster to take a cab from your place like we did. [Beijing Subway Map]

Jingshan Park consists of five peaks with each peak having a restored pavilion with a nice bird’s eye view of the Forbidden City. This is the main reason why you want to visit Jingshan Park and climb one of its peak.

We entered the park through its east gate and paid the 2 RMB entrance fee. We made our way to the nearest peak and climbed it to see the view from the top.

After taking photos at the top, we made our way down to the southern part of the park to exit at the south gate. Cross the street and you can enter Forbidden City through its North Gate.

Forbidden City

The Forbidden City was the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was completed in 1420 and covers 74 hectares (think 134 American football fields) housing 980 buildings.

GETTING THERE:
If you won’t be coming from Jingshan Park, you can enter the Forbidden City through it’s South Gate. The nearest station is Tiananmen East or Tiananmen West of Line 1. Move past Chairman Mao’s portrait to reach the entrance of Forbidden City.

The place is huge and it’s going to take a long while to cover the whole area. The distance from entrance to exit is 960 meters (about 19 Olympic size pools) and you won’t miss out much if you just go straight and decide whether to visit the Clock Museum (10 RMB) and/or Treasure Gallery (10 RMB). [Map of Forbidden City]

We entered through the North Gate which is also called the Gate of Divine Prowess. There are lots of temples and buildings and gates inside with their cool names but I won’t be listing them down here.

We did the straight path down the middle and visited the Clock Museum just to get out of the cold. Hehehe. Here are some more photos by the way.

There’s a small diner at the Archery Pavilion where I suggest you eat if you’re hungry. The next place where you can have a meal is too far if you forego this one. There’s also a nice lounge near this place with proper toilets!!

We made a mistake of skipping the diner inside the Forbidden City thinking that there are other restaurants just outside. Turns out that the nearest suitable place to eat is at Qianmen farther south past Tiananmen Square.

TOTAL COST:
Cab from our place: 10 RMB
Jingshan Park Entrance Fee: 2 RMB
Forbidden City Entrance Fee: 40 RMB (60 RMB during peak season, April to Oct. 31)
Clock Museum: 10 RMB

Part 9: The Egg, Tian’anmen Square and Qianmen Street

• Touring Beijing in Winter Part 1: The Plan
• Touring Beijing in Winter Part 7: Temple of Heaven
• Touring Beijing in Winter Part 9: The Egg, Tian’anmen Square and Qianmen Street
• Touring Beijing in Winter Part 12: Old Summer Palace

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