Beijing Sights ~ Must-see China attractions

Forbidden City in Beijing, China

The Forbidden City is the popular name for Beijing's Imperial Palace complex that consists of 6 main palaces. The ruling Mongols of the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) chose the site in the heart of the city, some 250 acres surrounded by a moat. It's close to Tiananmen Square and Mao's tomb.

Yong Le, emperor in the Third Ming Dynasty, (1403-1424) had hundreds of thousands of workers totally reconstruct the buildings. All was well for a few hundred years, until 1644, when Manchu armies overthrew the Ming Dynasty, and ransacked and looted the buildings. And so another century passed.

The Emperor Qian Long (1736-1796) restored the complex to its original glory, with more additons made by the Empress Dowager Ci Xi (Pearl S. Buck's 'Imperial Woman'- 1835-1908). The Imperial Palace was the traditional home of China's emperors, and is considered China's most imposing architectural masterpiece.

Most tours allow several hours to tour the complex. However, if you'd like to spend more time wandering through the complex, take a cab from your hotel. Hotel staff can write 'Forbidden City' on hotel cards or brochures that you can show to non-English speaking cab drivers. To return to the hotel, show the driver the hotel name on the same card. For the 2008 Olympics, many of those who interact with tourists are learning basic foreign language phrases.

Courtyard Imperial Palace Complex

If you found your eyes glazing over when reading the dates, dynasties and chronology in the preceding paragraph, be forewarned that was just a small sample of the vast quantity of facts and figures offered on a guided tour of the site.

With a culture dating back some 5,000 years, China's students have to cover, and master, a lot of ground in History class. Knowing I would not remember much of what I was told but could later look it up, I spent more time taking a closer look at the detailing on the buildings. Chinese craftsmen do particularly fine ceramic work, and this complex is a treasure. In this photo, several tour groups converge on one of the palaces.

Inside Forbidden City

This is a detail of one of the interior rooms in the palace. Some areas, like this one, had been recently restored. With some 9,000 rooms in the complex, the work is never done.

At one time, some thought was given to turning some of the complex into hotel rooms for foreign visitors.

Entryways to interior rooms have a threshold that is about a foot high. You must step over it to enter a building. Tradition has it that these high thresholds deterred evil spirits, or demons. Of course, they also block chilly drafts.

Forbidden City work

Maintenance never stops, as these men laying tiles can attest. Most buildings in the complex are two storeys high. The emperors decreed no other buildings could be higher than the palace.

More dates: At the end of the rule of the Dowager Empress (1911), the art and antiques fell into disrepair. Much was looted during the Japanese Occupation of the 1930s, and more went with the Goumindang to Taiwan in 1949. For all that, there's still a good display at the Palace Museum.

Summer Palace grounds in Winter

In Winter, the Summer Palace grounds have a special charm: The summer crowds are gone. The Summer Palace is located 11 kms (7 miles) northwest of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.

The original 'summer palace' dated back to the 12th century. In 1860, to put pressure on the Imperial Court, British and French troops looted it then burned it to the ground.

The Empress Dowager had a new palace built in 1888, using funds set aside for the imperial navy. The grounds cover 280 hectares (692 acres). To the north is Longevity Hill. To the south is Kunming Lake, that covers 3/4 of the park area. In summer, a boat takes visitors across the lake to the palace.

Summer Palace Marble Boat

This second Summer Palace was also destroyed, this time by Western troops during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900. The Empress ordered restorations in 1903, adding this marble boat at the edge of the lake, spending money meant for the Navy.

As it turned out, the Navy really could have used actual boats. Visitors are not allowed aboard, but can view it from the promenade. The lake is popular with boaters and swimmers in summer, and ice skaters in winter.

Long Corridor Summer Palace

We can thank the Empress Dowager for this painted hallway known as the Long Corridor, that that runs along the north shore of the lake. Apparently, some of its fine detailing was lost when it was being refurbished in the late 1970s, but what there is still pretty good.

Young men selling (counterfeit) CDs were banned from the site, but several found a way to get around this. They paid their admission to the Summer Palace, like any other visitor.

Once inside, they sidled up to prospective customers, opened their jackets to show the CDs affixed to the lining, and made their pitch.

Ceiling Detail in the Long Corridor

A closer look at the ceiling in the Long Corridor.

The bat (bottom center) is just one of many animal symbols amid the landscapes.

Vendors Outside the Summer Palace

In the narrow cobblestone alley just outside the north gates, a vendor makes a splash of colour in a grey winter landcape.

In summer, more vendors would be open for business here, selling crafts, books and paintings.

Time didn't permit a climb up Longevity Hill to take in the panoramic views of the Summer Palace, and lake with its the arched bridges, and distant pagodas. I do have one photograph -- a wide shot of the lake that gives an idea of its size -- taken by my guide for the day.

Temple Of Heaven

The Temple of Heaven (Tiantan, built in the 15th century) is further afield, about 6 kms (4 miles) southeast from the center of Beijing.

It was the duty of the emperor to come here every year on the day before the Winter Solstice and stay overnight, performing a series of rituals to ensure a good harvest for the coming year.

Three Echo Stones lie outside the gate of the Imperial Vault of Heaven. Facing the vault, you stand on the first stone and speak loudly: You hear one echo. Stand on the second, then the third, and get back two and three echoes respectively.

And more sound wave fun at Echo Wall, that runs 193 meters (633 feet) around the Imperial Vault of Heaven. The guides have someone stand on the west side, and someone else stand on the east side. When either one whispers, the sound carries clearly to the other.

There's an ancient tree here, too, thought to be 500 years old. It's named Nine-Dragon Cypress because its branches look like nine dragons wound around one other.

A Closer View of the Historic Temple of Heaven

The Temple of Heaven dates to 1420 (Ming Dynasty). It's comprised of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests (shown here, and built without using a single nail).

Its roof has 50,000 cobalt blue glazed tiles topped with a golden sphere. Many of the details pertain to the 12 months and 4 seasons.

The Imperial Vault of Heaven, with its Echo Wall, is a separate structure, and a bit smaller than the Hall of Prayer.

The Circular Mound (built in 1539 and enlarged in 1749) is an altar of three marble terraces.

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