The Forbidden City/Yonge Dong

Trip Start Jun 11, 2005
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Trip End Dec 22, 2005


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Tuesday, August 2, 2005

The forbidden city was the home to the emperors of China and commoners would be killed if they entered unlawfully or viewed the emperor as he travelled from place to place. It would have been a tranquil place in those times with many palaces and gardens. These days it is one of the most visited sites in China so you have to try to imagine the tranquility as you share the site with 000's of others. Nevertheless it is still very impressive as you walk from palace to palace, each one getting better than the last.
The palaces are being restored to their former glory in time for the 2008 olympics so will be even better by then.

Afterwards we climbed the hill to a temple in Jingshan Park to get a full view of the city and fully appreciate the size. From the top you got a great view of the palace roofs.

Afterwards we decided to escape the masses and headed for Yonge Dong a really atmospheric Tibetan temple in a nice Hutong area north of the forbidden city. It was very calming with all the incense burning and people making offerings.

We ended the day with a lovely thai meal, taking the opportunity to try some of the other cusuines available in Beijing. It was delicious!!
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