A day at Forbidden city 紫禁城

Forbidden city looks as ominous as it sounds today. What with the grey skies and chilly weather. 

The weather has been forecast to rain for the entire day. It doesn't really help when i wake up with a headache. 

We decide to enter the historical site via Tiananmen East which will pass through Tiananmen Square. 

There were lots of barricades around the area and there are long queues to get into the Tiananmen. But the process is still considered smooth. Just then right before we can pass through the main gate to forbidden city, the guards stopped everyone from entering for no reason. An the crowd started gathering at the square. To make things worse, it started pouring.  

The wait to get in was an hour and the rain didn't stop the entire time. Not the most pleasant experience. 

Alot of interiors are not accessible to visitors, and we can only peek through the doors to for a glimpse. This hall is one of them. 

Despite the weather, there is still alot of visitors to forbidden city. 

The tall and forbidding walls. The weather makes everything feels so dreary. 

While this is one of the major attraction in Beijing, i miss the time when i can freely roam the palaces and look at the main hall etc up close. But of course, that was at least 20 years ago. 

We observe alot of professional photography taken of kids visiting forbidden palace. There are also alot of adults mainly female wearing Han fu. Here are some pictures i've taken with them. 

Tips: 

Prebooking of tickets can be made at CNY 60 (inclusive of access to watch gallery and treasure gallery)

https://gugong.ktmtech.cn/

Website is in mandarin and you will require to furnish your ID and payment using e-wallet.

We got our ticket via the local tour agency at our hotel with an admin fee. 

Mutianyu Great Wall 慕田峪长城

The great wall of china is one of the wonders of the world and of course we'll make a trip there. There are few locations to choose  and we decided on Mutianyu based on the recommendation of a friend.

Other locations for great wall are: Badaling, Jinshanling, Jiankou, Simatai, Huanghuacheng, Gubeikou, Juyongguan, Huangyaguan, Shanhai Pass. 

Located in Huairou District in Beijing. Mutianyu is 70 km away from city centre. The No. 1 Great wall cable car lies at the foot of Mutianyu.

This part of the Great wall was built by General Xuda under the reign of Zhu Yuanzhang during early Ming dynasty and is famed for it beauty. 

Getting there is possible by subway followed by the bus. There are direct bus to the location early in the morning with a few bus trips. But after 9 am, you will need to wait for the regular bus which comes once every hour. 

You can take a taxi ride or wait for the bus. Be aware of taxi operators touting at the bus stop to Mutianyu station. 

Cable car tickets can be purchased 1 way or 2 way. We opted for the 1 way ride as we wanted to take ski lift down. We are informed that the tickets can only be purchased at the specific stop tower.  Another alternative is to take the toboggan down the hillside. 

Here you see the entrance tickets, cable car tickets and the shuttle service.

Indeed mutianyu is a true beauty. And if you are up to the challenge, climb all the way to the top. 

The peak you see is the final tower and the destination. Mister managed to make his way up while i rested at the halfway point. 

We missed the time to take the ski lift. Fortunately for us there are still workers wrapping up things and we managed to get the last ski lift down to the entrance else we will be stuck for a very long walk. There are still at least 6 towers to walk to the bottom. 

View of the sunset while we rest our aching feet.