My second day in Beijing, after I spent the first day at outer ring of the city. Today, I planned to catch up all the iconic places in the heart of the city which are including Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City (The Palace Museum), Jingshan Park, Beihai Park and Finish the day with Houhai Lake. As I did the research before the trip, the most difficult things for this day are….
- Registration to Tiananmen Square : It is free admission actually. But the visitor must register via WeChat App. As you may know, sign up to get WeChat account for foreigner is quite complicated.
- Purchasing the ticket to Forbidden City (Palace Museum) : It is recommended to book online in advance (https://intl.dpm.org.cn/index.html?l=en). But, I visited on Saturday with thousands of visitors.
Therefore, the easiest way is to buy the half-day tour package (walking tour) from Klook.com. The packaging is including registration to Tiananmen Square, admission ticket to Forbidden City and English speaking tour guide. The total cost was only 29 USD/person. It is super convinient for solo-traveler like me. 😎 The tour guide (her name is Icy) did send me Whatsapp message a day before to make the appointment. Actually, the meeting point is stated in the tour details, but she might just want to make sure I would meet her at the same place. 😁
After I had hustle free about 2 important places of the day, on that date, I woke up at 6.30AM to take shower to get sober, get dressed, had easy breakfast and caught the subway to Qianmen Station and used Exit-C to meet Icy at in front of Muji Hotel at 8AM. Today, our group had about 12 persons. The first place of the day was Tiananmen Square which is just 10 minutes walk from meeting point.
Tiananmen Square is one of the largest public squares in the world and an important landmark in Beijing, China. It is located in the center of the city, just south of the Forbidden City. The square was first built during the Ming Dynasty and later expanded in the 20th century. Tiananmen Square has been the site of many important events in Chinese history, including national celebrations and public gatherings. One of the most famous buildings here is the Monument to the People’s Heroes, which honors those who died for the country. Visitors can also see the Great Hall of the People and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong. Today, Tiananmen Square is a popular place for tourists to visit and take photos.
Icy walked lead us to the entrance of Tiananmen Square and gave registration confirmation of each member to the officer to pass the gate. She also explained about history and interesting point of this square along the way as well as spot the interesting and important point. Furthermore, every question I and another asked her, she could reply with very clear and in-depth details.
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We spent about one and half hour at Tiananmen Square. We thought we leave early already to avoid crowded. But as it was Saturday morning, the entrance queue was very long, it caused us the wait for 30 minutes to get in the square. However, during waiting for the queue, Icy did explain about story and important event in the history of this square with very easy to understand word, unlike we were in the history class. 😂
Next to Tiananmen Square, Icy led us to the entrance of the highlight of today, The Forbidden City. It is also known as the Palace Museum, is one of the most famous historic sites in Beijing, China. It was built in 1420 during the Ming Dynasty and served as the imperial palace for 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties. For more than 500 years, it was the political and ceremonial center of China. The palace complex is huge, with more than 900 buildings and thousands of rooms surrounded by high red walls and a large moat. Some must-see places inside include the Hall of Supreme Harmony, where emperors held major ceremonies, and the Palace of Heavenly Purity, where the emperor lived. Visitors should also explore the Imperial Garden, a beautiful place with ancient trees, rock formations, and traditional pavilions.
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Icy led us to see the Forbidden city from Meridian Gate (next to Tiannamen Sqaure) and explained the story and important point to spot as well as told us the secret and good point to take photo. It spent about three and half hours to complete the walking tour at Gate of Divine Prowess, the opposite edge from the Meridian Gate.
At 1.30PM, after I bid farewell to Icy and left her, I grabbed Chinese sausages and coffee from local stores as quick lunch before proceeding my trip to Jingshan Park to climb-up to Wanchun pavilion on the hilltop what can be seen in distance from Forbidden City. During visiting Forbidden City, I met Slovenian guy in fellow member of tour group, his name is Jan Uhelj. He visited Jingshan park yesterday. He highly recommended me go up to such pavilion to see the stunning bird eyes view of the Forbidden City.
Jingshan Park is a historic imperial park located just north of the Forbidden City in Beijing. The park was created during the Ming Dynasty in the 15th century. The hill in the park, called Jingshan Hill, is actually a man-made hill built from the soil dug out when the moat of the Forbidden City was constructed. At the top of the hill stands Wanchun Pavilion, the highest point in the area. From this pavilion, visitors can enjoy one of the best panoramic views in Beijing. It offers a stunning bird’s-eye view of the Forbidden City’s golden roofs and red walls stretching across the city center. Today, Jingshan Park is a popular place for tourists and locals to relax, take photos, and admire the beautiful scenery. The admission fee was just only 2 CNY/person (0.30 USD). It can be paid by Alipay.
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I spent about 45 minutes time at Jingshan Park. The most time wasting thing for me was climbing to Wanchun Park by stairway. It was not steep and easy to walk. But as I just walked inside the Forbidden City for almost 3 km, my legs were tired and I am 40 next year. 😬 However, the breathtaking view of the Forbidden City from here was so fantastic.
From Jingshan Park, I could walk to Beihai Park which is connected by footpath. This is one of the oldest and most beautiful imperial gardens in Beijing and China. The park was first built more than 1,000 years ago during the Liao Dynasty and later expanded by the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. The park is famous for Beihai Lake, which covers most of the area and creates a peaceful atmosphere in the city center. The most iconic landmark is the White Dagoba, a tall white Buddhist stupa located on Jade Flower Island in the middle of the lake. Visitors can walk around the lake, explore traditional temples and pavilions, or enjoy boat rides on the water. Today, Beihai Park is a popular place for both tourists and local people to relax. The entrance fee was only 5 CNY/person (about 0.80 USD).
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I strolled around the lake and, of course, climbed up to the white pagoda amid tired legs condition. 😇 About 3.30PM, I decided to back to the hotel to a rest and wait for sunset before going out again at 6.30PM to enjoy the night life and view at Houhai Lake. This area is a historic lake area located in central Beijing, near the traditional Hutong neighborhoods. The lake is part of a group of three lakes that were built during the Yuan Dynasty more than 700 years ago. In the past, this area was close to the homes of royal families and important officials. Today, Houhai is a popular place for both locals and tourists to relax and explore. Around the lake, visitors can find many small cafés, restaurants, bars, and souvenir shops inside traditional courtyard buildings. I visited there on Saturday night, the atmosphere was lively and colorful. Many people walked along the lakeside, enjoyed street music, tasted local snacks, and watched the beautiful lights reflecting on the water. I took the opportunity to have local food and drink here for dinner too. ☺️
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After I satisfied myself with night ambient and tasty local food 🥰, it was about 8.30PM, it time to back to hotel to take a rest. Today, it was one of my effective day. I woke up since early morning and visited various world most famous places. Even it was tired legs day as I walked more than 23K steps, but it was exhausting in happiness. The happiness from fulfilling my dream. The happiness from admiring the world historic places. And, the happiness to see the world. 🗺️ I still had one more half day to explore another historic places in Beijing on tomorrow before catching the flight back to Bangkok. Hope tomorrow would be a wonderful day !
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Written by : Shipy Siwarit Tiasuwattiseth
Shipy-Ship 