Weather in Beijing: Sunny

With whom: friends

Accommodation: Unnamed Courtyard Hotel

Comment: The hotel is located in a alleyway with distinctive Beijing characteristics, with a great geographical location and a unique surrounding environment. The hotel's service is very up to standard, they can help us wash clothes for free, and they also helped us send them by express delivery. The staff has a very good attitude, is very patient and friendly. It is a three hundred year old quadrangle courtyard, said to be the residence of the third rank military official Ren Zan in the mid Qing Dynasty. Qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting are scattered around, making it a very elegant and beautiful quadrangle hotel.

600 year old Bauhinia City

The Forbidden City was the imperial palace of the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties, located on the central axis and covering an area of 720000 square meters. It was first built in the fourth year of the Yongle reign of Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty (1406) and completed in the eighteenth year of the Yongle reign (1420); It is the largest existing palace style building in the world, and is the top of the world's five palaces. The other four palaces are the Palace, Palace, White House, and Kremlin.
In 2019, as a southern girl, I finally set foot on the land of the north and witnessed the Forbidden City that I have seen on TV since childhood. But what I didn't expect was that I had traveled across five continents, but had never set foot in the northern part of our country. Meeting the Forbidden City was really too late. After staying abroad for a long time, the more one can appreciate the beauty of the East. On that ancient land of China, there is a spirit of perseverance that has been alive and well from ancient times to the present.
I stayed in the Forbidden City for more than three hours this time, following the central axis from the Meridian Gate to the Shenwu Gate, and then circling back to the East and West Six Palaces. Although I didn't finish browsing all of them, I still had a good time.

Entering through the Meridian Gate, one can see five Han stone bridges, with the opposite side facing the palace, commonly known as the Golden Luan Hall. This is the main venue for the Ming and Qing emperors to hold their enthronement ceremony and celebrate major festivals. In front of the main hall is a majestic lion, symbolizing the emperor's supreme power.

The sundial was used in ancient times to calculate time, placing the corona on one side of the main hall, demonstrating the emperor's power to control time.

The central axis includes the Hall, Zhonghe Hall, Baohe Hall, Qianqing Gate, Qianqing Palace, Jiaotai Hall, Kunning Palace, Kunning Gate, and Imperial Garden. The Palace, Zhonghe Palace, and Baohe Palace are the main places for the emperor and ministers to handle official affairs, while the Qianqing Palace and Kunning Palace are the sleeping quarters of the emperor and empress, respectively.

You may notice that different animals are carved on the roof of each hall, and the number of sculptures in different halls will also vary. The higher the quantity, the higher the level of the palace, and the people living inside are also very noble. In the palace, hierarchy is strict and symbols of power are everywhere.

The Eastern Six Palaces are neatly located on the east side of the Meridian Line of the Forbidden City, corresponding to the Eastern Six Palaces on the east side of the Meridian Line. The twelve palaces of the East and West, like two armpits, hold the central third palace, thus corresponding to the ancient so-called Ye court. The Xiliu Palace was the residence of concubines in the imperial harem of the Qing Dynasty, including the Palace, Yikun Palace, Chuxiu Palace, Xianfu Palace, Palace, and Qixiang Palace (Tai Chi Hall). Empress Dowager Zeng Cixi resided in the palace.

There are various exhibition halls in the Palace Museum, including the Treasure Museum, Ancient Architecture Museum, Watch Museum, Sculpture Museum, etc. It collects various exhibits from ancient times for thousands of years, with high protection and research value, and some are open to the public for sightseeing.

Jingshan was first built during the Liao and Jin dynasties and has a history of thousands of years. Jingshan Park is also one of the oldest and most well preserved palace gardens in China. It was once an important part of the imperial palace and was not designated as a park until 1928. Walking out of the Shenwu Gate of the Forbidden City, one can look up and see the Wanchun Pavilion in Jingshan, and the people on the pavilion are also gazing at the nearby Zijing City.
Standing at the highest point of Jingshan Park, people can overlook the full view of the Forbidden City. In the vast Forbidden City, many tourists crowded together in a bustling crowd. Regardless of spring, summer, autumn, or winter, the Forbidden City will always be the most popular cultural attraction.
However, the history of Jingshan can be traced back more than 400 years earlier than the Forbidden City. At that time, the Forbidden City did not exist, and it was not established during the Ming and Qing dynasties. All that was left was the scenery and fresh and pleasant natural scenery here. I hope that Jingshan can always be well preserved, so that future generations can also have the opportunity to experience the natural scenery and cultural charm of our ancient capital in Jingshan Park.

In the 17th year of the Chongzhen reign of the Ming Dynasty (1644), Li Zicheng led a 400000 peasant uprising army to attack. In the early morning of the 19th day of the third lunar month, Emperor Chongzhen climbed to Jingshan and, knowing that the situation had passed, hanged himself on Jingshan.
In 1930, the Palace Museum erected a monument at the site of the martyrdom of Emperor Ming Sizong at Jinglu.
In 1944, the Monument to the Three Hundred Years of Martyrdom of Emperor Sizong of the Ming Dynasty was established, making Jingshan Park a famous cultural landscape.

There are five square pavilions in Jingshan, with the central peak being Wanchun Pavilion, which is also the highest courtyard in Jingshan, overlooking the scenery of the Forbidden City; On the east side are Guanmiao Pavilion and Zhouguan Pavilion in sequence; On the west side are Jifang Pavilion and Fulan Pavilion, respectively.

The characteristics of Jingshan gardens include tens of thousands of flowers such as peonies and peonies. The four seasons of the year are different, and the scenic park will hold flower exhibitions for the corresponding seasons. Spring is a peony exhibition, summer is a lotus exhibition, and autumn is a chrysanthemum exhibition. The scene of blooming flowers and evergreen pine and cypress should be breathtaking.

The park is located in the heart of the capital city and has undergone dynasties such as the Jin, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. It is still preserved to this day and has accumulated nearly a thousand years of history and culture. It is the earliest, most complete, and most deeply preserved classical royal garden in existing history. The park was built with inspiration from the fairyland. Therefore, water bodies occupy more than half of the park's area. The pool named Taiye Pool is directly drawn from Yuquan Mountain through the Jinshui River, and its water has been taken from Jishui Pond since the Ming Dynasty.
In the Taihe Pool, there are Qionghua, Tuancheng, and Xishan Terrace, symbolizing Yingzhou, and the Abbot. Lotus blooms on the emerald green lake, and the shadows of nearby trees are reflected in the lake. A Jicui Duiyun Bridge connects the Qiongdao Temple Pagoda and the opposite bank, creating a beautiful and pleasant scenery. The design of water pools and flower courtyards in gardens reflects people's yearning and strong pursuit for the beauty of fairyland.

From Jingmen, passing through a alley leads to the entrance of the park. Old Hutong was originally under the jurisdiction of the imperial city and is now divided for the people to live in. Hu's time flow is vastly different from that of bustling cities, as if preserving the ancient leisure and comfort.