[Itinerary Page]The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
April 23 - Beihai Park and the Forbidden City
In the same way that you really can't be in Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower or not visiting the Colosseum when in Rome, there are several required stops for visitors to Beijing. We will hit most of them before we leave, starting with the Forbidden City. Tian'anmen Square -- the largest public plaza in the world -- is also on the list, but it really isn't much more than a monstrous open space, so "seeing it" doesn't take much exploration.
We started at Behai Park, originally a temporary royal residence back in the eleventh century. A hundred years later, the rulers of the Kin Dynasty dug the lake (by hand, of course!) forming an islet in the middle of the lake where most of the park is now found.
There are dozens of parks like this around Beijing (all with admission fees, of course) and give some idea of how expansive the ruling class once lived. This one, though, offers a spectacular view of the City.
The Forbidden City is impossible to convey -- it must be experienced to appreciate the overwhelming scale of it. Since a picture is worth 1000 words, I will let the photos do most of the talking. The first time I was here (in 2002), it was raining. That gave the place a certain surreal quality, but it was nice to see it again when it was sunny and the weather wasn't sticky hot.
© 2008 Restaurant Doctor