Beijing, Winter '23, Day 4 - The Forbidden City

Published: 2023-12-19

Our eldest is old enough now that he remembers the places we take him. He loves making connections between things he sees in books and things he sees when out and about. One of the places that comes up often is The Forbidden City (故宫). We decided that winter would be a good time to take him based on a memory, now decades old, that it was quiet in winter.

As with The Temple of Heaven (see Day 2) booking is essential. We had to email someone the children’s passport details before arriving. It’s worth noting that the area around The Forbidden City is often restricted. You may end up having a fair walk to get to the gates.

A photo of people dressed up in traditional costume heading towards the Forbidden City in China. — As we got closer to the gates of the Forbidden City, we saw more people in costume.

As with any popular destination in China, you can expect to queue to get in. Thankfully these lines were moving and we didn’t have to stand around too long. I’m not sure our youngest would have put up with much more of a wait.

A photo of crowds queueing to get in to the Forbidden City in the dead of winter. — Even whilst queuing to enter The Forbidden CIty, you start to get a sense of how big it is.

The City is home to an array of smaller rooms. Tradition says that there are 9,999.5 rooms, designed to be just short of 10,000. If these all existed, they haven’t survived until today. But, with well over 8,000 rooms you’ll have your work cut out to see them all. With children leading the way, we stuck to the outdoor courtyards. Many of these were still covered in snow.

Looking over the roofs of the forbidden city. The image captures the turned up corner of the closes roof, small figures of animals visible on the resulting ridge. — No two roofs are the same. Each corner must tell its own story.

A snow covered courtyard in the Forbidden City, Beijing. Warmly dressed people are standing around on the snow. — I’m glad that work to clear the snow hasn’t completed. It was nice to see parts of the City still blanketed in white.

A popular route through the City is to enter towards the south and exit at the north. We ruled this out as too far for our eldest to walk. I’m glad we changed our mind. The Imperial Garden towards the North of the city is well worth a visit.

Snowy covered rocks obscure the base of a temple inside the Forbidden City in Beijing. — One of the buildings in the Impreial Garden.

For me, one of the most impressive scenes is not of the City at all. As you leave by the north gate, you can see Jingshan Park in all its glory. Some of the most iconic photos of The Forbidden City are views from the top of Jingshan Park looking south. The framing of the park in the north gate of the city sums up Beijing. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, you realise there is always more to see.

A photo taken through the gates of the Forbidden City looking up at Jingshan Temple in the distance. The image is exposed in such a way that the walls of the gate provide a black frame to the main image of the temple. — Looking up at Jingshan Park from the north gate of the Forbidden City.

It wasn’t long ago that you could find traditional snacks for sale on many street corners. This was especially true around popular tourist sights. These days, you are more likely to find them available at restaurants in one of the many shopping malls. I cannot get enough of the snacks made with hawthorn berries (山楂) and so I was happy to see this lady selling 冰糖葫芦 (sugar coated hawthorn berries).

A street vendor selling candied fruit from a small cart in Beijing. The vendor is wrapped up warm, hands in pockets to protect them from the cold. The street behind them is empty of vehicles. — 冰糖葫芦 for sale.

As we walked west along the north edge of The Forbidden City, the crowds vanished. We had the street to ourselves. This view looking back from the northwest corner of the City gives you a sense of scale (panorama available here).

A photograph looking through trees onto the north-west corner of the Forbidden City in Beijing. The frozen moat is just visible before the city walls. The ground before the moat is completely covered in snow. — The view from the noorthwest corner.

When travelling to a new city, my favourite way to explore is on foot. I love walking around, getting lost, only turning to a map when I need to get home. But Beijing is not a walkable city. It’s not walkable even in the best of weather. I missed the variety that comes from shops, cafes, offices, anything other than long grey walls.

A small motorised tricycle with an open bed removes sheets of snow and ice in Beijing. The driver is wrapped up warm in a blue overall. Their face isn't visible, wrapped up and protected from the cold. — Sheets of snow being removed on the back of a tricycle.

With today’s high of -7ºC and a low of -16ºC the snow has had no chance to melt. Where it has been piled up to the side of footpaths, it has frozen into a solid mound. These mounds are slowly being removed on tricycles. Where they take it, I’m not sure.

A view through the window of a moving bus looking onto a Beijing street. Buildings are grey, alongside them a row of mopeds and bicycles. — A view from the bus as we headed west.

As we took the bus home, we treated to a round of well meaning but unsolicited parenting advice. We shouldn’t have our youngest out in the cold. He should wear a mask to protect his face. He shouldn’t be able to see over the layers of warm blankets that covered him. Sometimes it’s easier to nod and pretend you don’t understand. Preventing a toddler from seeing, smelling, or tasting the world is a losing battle.