Half Day Mini Group Forbidden City Tour, No Shopping

Meeting Time: 9:30am, please arrive 5 minutes earlier.
Meeting Place: At the Gate of Lao She Teahouse (Qianmen Branch), easy to locate on map
Address: Building 3, Zhengyang Market, Qianmenxi Main Street, Xicheng District.
Transportation: Take a taxi there from your hotel, with address in Chinese provided by our travel consultant. Or take the subway line 2, get out of the Qianmen stop from the exit C, and walk a few minutes there.
Waiting Time: 10 minutes

Receive “hello” from your warm-hearted guide and fellow travelers and maybe engage in a small talk to introduce each other, then we will walk a few minutes to the Tiananmen Square. Now you’ve already been able to view the Front Gate at the south end. Before the 1950s, there had once been a complete city wall connecting the tower. It’s a pity the wall was then destroyed, leaving the tower standing lonely before you.

When talking about Tiananmen Square, we are talking about the heart of Beijing, the largest city square in the world, the witness to innumerable historic events, and now the home accommodating many monumental buildings that rose from ashes of history. Fast-forwarding to five centuries ago, this area was still a part of the Ming and Qing Dynasties’ (1368 - 1911) imperial compound in front, forbidden to folks with impenetrable walls around. It was once the sacred area for the civil and military officials to take the imperial edicts. With time, it has been expanded to today’s scale and become the venue for massive rallies and parades.

We will start from south to north and stop here and there to admire the monuments. You will see Chairman Mao’s Memorial Hall, Monument to the People’s Heroes, the Great Hall of the People, and the National Museum of China. Symbols are packed on each building and your knowledgeable guide will reveal what they stand for. Stroll until we reach the Gold River Bridge, which with the delicately-carved ceremonial columns and lifelike stone lions is a scenery of its own. Go through the Gate of Heavenly Peace, keep ahead, and we will arrive at the main gate of the Forbidden City.

Our pre-booked tickets ensure convenient skip-the-line entry to the Forbidden City, allowing you to explore without the hassle of long waiting. Welcome to the former palace of 24 emperors and their family of the Ming and Qing Dynasties! With resplendent architecture and treasures exhibited to tell ancient art and culture, it has been a guest on the UNESCO heritage list.

We will spend three hours or so exploring the main buildings centering upon the central axis, which splits the entire compound into two symmetrical halves. In fact, there are more than 9,000 rooms, so it’s basically impossible to cover them all! It’s intriguing to know that this number was likely to be bigger at the very beginning, since rumor has it the architect once had a dream about the ruler of Heaven, who told him the number mustn’t exceed it of the palaces on the Heaven or it’d be a blasphemy. And such superstitions can be seen everywhere to show the emperor’s secular supreme authority and a wish for peace and prosperity - on the layout, the ornaments, and even the colors. You will see behind the iconic yellow roofs and red walls to feel the charm of oriental aesthetics.

Generally, the Forbidden City is composed of outer court and inner court. You can take the former as the office realm of the emperors and the latter the living quarters. The grandest palace would be the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the outer court, which is the first coming into our view as we are in. Here, picture the scene of enthronements and marriages of the emperors. The other two most important palaces are one for the emperors to relax before the ceremonies and another to host banquet for officials. To enter the inner court is to enter another world, which is graced with rockery, lushness and serenity, different from the tree-less, solemn outer court. The inner part was once where the mother of the emperor, the empress, and concubines lived.

As we finish touring, we are already near the North Gate. It’s your choice to leave with your guide or take advantage of your ticket to linger inside longer to explore the Imperial Garden for more photos. There are cafes and Beijing snacks sold in the peripheral zone, so you can just tackle your lunch here before continuing your own exploration. Your guide will be glad to provide you ways to get back to your place or assist you in hailing a cab. Safe travel!