Introduction to today's journey
Today's journey takes me through the enormous Forbidden City in Beijing. I hike deeper and deeper into the city to as far as the emperor's most intimate gardens before exploring the wings. I return to Tiananmen Square and walk around walls to explore the Jingshan Park gardens behind the Forbidden City.
Today's Journey
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Crossing Tiananmen Square in the early morning near the mausoleum of Mao Zedong, the former president founding the Chinese Communist Party. |
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Heading into the Meridian Gate entrance of the nearby Forbidden City. Many emperors were based here, but the entrance is now dominated with the portrait of Mao Zedong. |
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The Hall of Supreme Harmony about a third of the way into the Forbidden City. The halls get smaller and more intimate the deeper in you go. |
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A pagoda near the Hall of Imperial Peace in the innermost gardens of the Forbidden City. |
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Exploring some of the many buildings in the western wing of the Forbidden City. |
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Looking into the Palace of Universal Happiness in the Forbidden City. |
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Statues in one of the many temples in the eastern wing. |
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Another temple in the west wing. |
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Heading out of the Forbidden City, I continue heading up the hill of Jingshan Park. From here I look back along the Forbidden City along its row of successive temples. |
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One of the many retreat temples in the gardens of Jinshan Park, considered the centre of Beijing. |
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