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If you only have one day in Beijing for your first visit, where would you spend it? I think the Forbidden City is a must-see. You can never go there enough.
Here’s some helpful information for your first visit to the Forbidden City. The main strategies are as follows:
Basic knowledge of the Forbidden City
Recommended routes
Photography Tips
Recommended unpopular attractions in the Forbidden City
Easter Egg Jingshan Park
Forbidden Citycheck the details
The Forbidden City, formerly known as the Purple Forbidden City, served as the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is one of the largest and best-preserved extant ancient wooden structures in the world. It is not only the pinnacle of ancient Chinese palace architecture but also a symbol of Chinese civilization, carrying over 600 years of history and culture. In 1987, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, which describes it as "a model of ancient Chinese palace architecture, showcasing the unique charm of Eastern civilization." The Palace Museum currently houses over 1.86 million cultural relics in 25 categories, including calligraphy and painting, ceramics, bronzes, gold and silver wares, jades, furniture, and clocks and watches.
Recommended month: All seasons
8492 recommendations, 2988 visits
The Forbidden City, the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties, was once known as the Purple Forbidden City. Located in the heart of Beijing, the Forbidden City is considered the world's greatest palace. It is a national AAAAA-level tourist attraction, listed as a first-batch National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit in 1961 and a World Cultural Heritage in 1987.
Opening Hours:
April 1st to October 31st: 8:20 AM - 5:00 PM (peak hours)
November 1st to March 31st: 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM (off-season)
Closed on Mondays!!! Don’t forget to enlarge and bold!!!
Tickets:
60 yuan peak season
40 yuan off-season
Ticket Purchase Instructions:
The Palace Museum's official website allows you to purchase tickets online or book in advance. You can buy advance tickets for up to 10 days. You'll need to purchase tickets in advance during peak season.
Buying tickets on site is also a way, but it is best to book tickets online in advance;
Centered around its three main halls, the Forbidden City covers an area of 720,000 square meters, with a floor area of approximately 150,000 square meters. It boasts over 70 palaces and over 9,000 rooms. It's one of the largest and best-preserved ancient structures in the world, housing over 1.8 million cultural relics. If you don't take it easy, you'll likely feel overwhelmed.
The key to visiting the Forbidden City is adaptability. Most tour groups enter from the north and exit from the south (from the Meridian Gate and exit from the Shenwu Gate), and their general route is through the six major palaces. Therefore, it's recommended to follow the opposite route to avoid large crowds and ensure proper flow!
We're not elementary school students anymore. We don't need to make multiple-choice choices anymore. We need to take photos, see the scenery, and learn about the country's classics! A visit to the Forbidden City often raises a question: How can we get the best views, the best photos, and the grandeur of the main hall within the vast Forbidden City?
I suggest breaking up your day into smaller sections. For example, if everyone's main focus in the morning is to visit the various palaces, you could do the opposite: rush to the side halls and the red-walled courtyards, quickly snapping photos, and having almost finished by noon. Once the rest of the group has taken a break to admire the flowers and red walls, you can start exploring the six main halls and any other halls that interest you. This way, you can quickly explore the area in the morning and savor it in the afternoon. With fewer people, it's just the right amount of time.
By following the above two steps, you can really avoid a lot of mainstreams. Even in the peak season, you can still take pictures of deserted scenes with red walls and green tiles that have risen and fallen for thousands of years.
How can you capture unique moments at the Forbidden City? The answer is: visit these off-the-beaten-path attractions!
The Treasure House is often overlooked because it requires a separate fee. In addition to jade ornaments from the former palace, the Treasure House also houses headdresses once worn by the concubines in the harem, and each piece is truly amazing.
You can enter several palaces in the Treasure House directly, and you can feel the atmosphere of the past very intuitively. There are also several palaces where taking photos is also very different. After all, there are much fewer people here!
The cats in the Forbidden City are now very popular on the Internet. Legend has it that there are about 200 imperial cats in the Forbidden City, but most of them are active in areas that are not open to the public.
To summarize, the places where cats like to hang out are: *Near Jingren Palace and the corridor of Zhongcui Palace *The Treasure House (I took the photo here) *Yihexuan. I hope everyone is lucky enough to see them~
Jingshan Park - The best photo spot for panoramic views of the Forbidden City
Opening hours: 6:30-21:00
Ticket price: 2 yuan
Jingshan Park is located north of the Forbidden City and west of Beihai Park. Head straight here after leaving the Forbidden City this afternoon. From the park's highest point, you can overlook the Forbidden City and rewind your day's journey.
The ticket price is really too cute. After visiting the Forbidden City, I was still very tired. It was really beautiful to blow the breeze and watch the sunset before going back!
1. Remember to bring a power bank. You won’t be able to rent one in a crowded place after a day of filming.
2. If you want to know more about the history of the Forbidden City, you can rent an audio guide according to your needs. I have personally tested it and it is very useful.
3. It is recommended to watch a documentary "I Repair Cultural Relics in the Forbidden City" before visiting the Forbidden City. It is not boring at all and will help you to have a deeper understanding of the Forbidden City.
4. You can buy some small gifts as souvenirs at the Forbidden City Handicraft Shop. They are inexpensive but exquisite.
5. Coffee shops are now open in the Forbidden City. Don’t worry about running out of water. Rest your legs, have a cup of coffee, and take a look at the red walls before leaving.
Finally, I want to say that I have been waiting for it to snow in the Forbidden City. I have been here twice but have never had the chance. I hope that one day I can hear the sound of snow falling in the Forbidden City.
