Monday, August 21st. A beautiful Monday morning! Clear skies (as clear as can be in Beijing) and hot sun shining. Our first stop was Tsinghua University. I had some paperwork to submit to my new school, and was so excited to get acquainted with where I would be living in Beijing. The university campus is beautiful with gardens and ponds and students arriving for orientation week. As a foreign student in the Chinese Language Department, my orientation week will not be until Sept. 11, but I was excited to visit campus. After our visit, I am now more excited than ever to study and live at Tsinghua University. After visiting Tsinghua, we were off to lunch before touring the Forbidden City. We had delicious onion pancakes, fried kongxin vegetables, beef and potatoes in a sweet barbaque sauce and fried rice. Food in China, along with transportation, lodging, shopping and everything else, comes in a wide price range and can accommodate any budget. You can buy a delicious, filling plate of steamed dumplings or bowl of noodles for under $1.
Lunch at a popular local restaurant:
The Forbidden City, or Gugong, is known as the Palace Museum. It is amazing to stand inside the walls of the Forbidden City. It was off limits for 500 years. Wikipedia explains that with 800 buildings and more than 8,000 rooms, it is listed by UNESCO as “the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world”. Construction of the city began in 1406 and it took nearly 200,000 men 14 years to complete. The Forbidden City was home to 24 emperors. Covering a total of 720,000 square meters, it is the world’s largest palace complex.
Touring the Forbidden City requires most of the day. There is so much to see and you want to just soak it all in. The location of the Forbidden City marks the very center of the city of Beijing. Admission is $5 and there are headsets for audio tours available at the gates. We decided to explore the city on our own. Every door, every room is enchanting. We enjoyed taking our time wandering and freely exploring and admiring every little detail.
A round doorway on an outside patio:
Ceilings with detailed paintings of golden dragons:
Red and gold doors at the entrances:
Gathering Beauty Hill is a little artificial mountain with a cave located in the Imperial Garden. Yujingyuan, or Pavilion of Imperial View, sits on top of the mountain. Emperors would climb up to the pavilion on the Double Ninth Festival to enjoy the scenery with the royal family.
Standing with Yujingyuan:
Kissing in front of the Love Tree:
Colorful gates frame historic Coral Mountain, Jinshan. The top offers the best overview of the Forbidden City in Beijing.
More favorites from our visit to the Forbidden City:
