What an impressive piece of history the Forbidden City is. This place is very cool and i bet you will like to go this place too.

The scale of the “city” (or palace) was incredible. 
 

Our Impression - Reasons why to go there

The architecture was amazing, with the Forbidden City containing a succession of huge courtyards flanked by high red walls, with large, ornate bulidings and gates dividing up the sections. Along the way we got to see some of the ancient sculptures, which were carved into stone along the sets of stairs leading down into the courtyards.

During the first half an hour or so of our visit, Sabine and I had trouble finding ourselves on the map in the brochure. We figured we had been walking for quite some time and thought we were probably about halfway down the western side. I finally found our position: we were still in the upper northwest corner and had hardly made any progress at all.

That was ok, but we also realized that we had to pick up the pace if we were to see much during the three or four hours we had planned for the visit.

Tips

The Beijing Forbidden City is located right in the middle of Beijing - in the heart of the city. It is also known as GuGong or as the Palace Museum.

Get there when the gates open (around 8.30am) if you want to walk through the vast and spectacular courtyards in relative peace.

How to get to the Forbidden City in Beijing

You could reach the Forbidden City (Palace Museum, Gugong) in Beijing via subway line 1 in the station of Tian An Men West or Tian An Men East,the bus station in the same name for line 1,4,52 and 728 is also convenient for catch in the Chang An Street. Alternatively, the bus station of “Gugong” for line 101,109 and 810 is sitting in the north gate of Forbidden City.

Additional Infos

The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the mid-Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty.  This is truly the spot to appreciate the might and grandeur of the Imperial Chinese court during the height of its power in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Despite the transformation of the city around it, the Forbidden City remains mercifully relatively untouched. A few years ago there was a lot of local fuss when a Starbucks coffee shop opened in the Forbidden City, some interpreting this as a return to the bad old days of colonial domination. However, in July 2007, Starbucks decided to close the shop as part of the restoration of the Forbidden City, which is in part toning down the commercial locations inside the city walls. There are a handful of other cafes and gift shops. Only 2/5 area of the palace is opened, but some places are under restorations and will be opened before 2008. Current entry fee is ¥60. You can rent an audio guided tour which explains certain temples and their uses for ¥40 with a ¥100 deposit (more than a dozen languages available). The signs posted around and on buildings inside are fairly short and are written in both Chinese and English.

View all our Photos

We postet all our photos of the Forbidden City at findoutwheretogo.com.

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Other usefull resources on the Forbidden City

Shunya’s Notes: Forbidden City
Allowed into the Forbidden City
Blog including a map