A complete guide to traveling in Beijing with children for 8 days and 7 nights, Day 4. Tour the Forbidden City with "The Big Monster in the Forbidden City"

Going to a place with a purpose is really different from wandering without a purpose!

Ever since I listened to "The Big Monster in the Forbidden City", my brother has been particularly yearning for the Forbidden City! His goal of going to the Forbidden City that day was clear. He wanted to take photos with the big monsters in the Forbidden City, and also with the nine sons of the dragon: Qi Niu, Yasu, Chaofeng, Pulao, Suanni, Baxia, Bifan, Fuxi, and Chi. Kiss and take a photo!

Day4 Palace Museum

Tickets: To visit the Forbidden City, you now need to book tickets online in advance. Tickets are not available on site. When we were queuing up to check the tickets on site, some tourists thought it was a ticket office, but found out that tickets could not be purchased on site. It is basically difficult to buy tickets for the same day online and we could only leave disappointed, so it is best to book in advance. .

We searched for official articles about the Forbidden City on WeChat and made reservations to buy tickets in the articles.

Ticket price: 60 yuan/person.

We bought the tickets two days in advance, but the weather was not very good on the day we went to the Forbidden City. It started to rain halfway through the tour, which was somewhat different from the rainless weather forecast previously.

Transportation: We take Metro Line 1 to Tiananmen East. After exiting the station, we are at Tiananmen Square. Entering from Tiananmen Square is the Palace Museum.

When I came to Beijing more than ten years ago, I remembered that the Tiananmen Gate Tower could be climbed at that time, and the tickets were not expensive. I didn’t remember why I didn’t go up to the Tiananmen Gate Tower at that time. I really wanted to climb the Tiananmen Gate Tower this time, but I found that it was no longer possible to climb the Tiananmen Gate Tower. So I feel a little regretful, this opportunity is too good to miss and will never come back~

At that time, I remembered with emotion that in 2012, our honeymoon trip was to run around Qinghai Lake in Dunhuang, Jiayuguan, Zhangye, Xining, Lanzhou. The biggest motivation at that time was that we were worried that if we didn’t go to Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, we would be able to do it in the future. There are fewer and fewer murals to see. . .

After entering Tiananmen, you will see Duanmen, and from here onwards is the scope of the Palace Museum.

The Forbidden City in Beijing is the royal palace of China's Ming and Qing dynasties. It was formerly known as the Forbidden City. It is located at the center of Beijing's central axis. It is the essence of ancient Chinese palace architecture and the largest and most complete ancient building complex in China.

The Forbidden City was first built in the fifth year of Yongle (1407) and completed in the eighteenth year of Yongle (1420), covering an area of ​​about 780,000 square meters. The existing construction area is about 167,000 square meters and there are more than 8,700 houses. It is surrounded by a city wall about 10 meters high and a moat up to 52 meters wide.

The Forbidden City is divided into two parts: the Outer Court and the Inner Court. The Outer Court is composed of the three main halls of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony, and the Hall of Preserving Harmony, with the Hall of Wenhua and the Hall of Martial Valor as two wings. It is mainly the place where the emperor held grand ceremonies. The Inner Court is composed of the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Hall of Jiaotai, and the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, with the Six Eastern Palaces and the Six Western Palaces as two wings. It was the place where the emperor handled daily government affairs and where he and his concubines lived. The layout is rigorous and orderly. There are exquisite corner towers at the four corners of the Forbidden City, which are exquisitely built and beautiful.

The floor plan of the Forbidden City is as follows. In fact, the route of the Forbidden City is still very clear. The open parts now are: the central axis connects the end gate, the Meridian Gate, the Gate of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Zhonghe, the Hall of Baohe, and the Qianqing Gate. Qianqing Palace, Jiaotai Palace, Kunning Palace, Imperial Garden to Shenwu Gate, West Sixth Palace, East Sixth Palace, Cining Palace, Fengxian Palace (Watch Hall), Ningshou Palace Area (Treasure Hall, Opera Hall), but Later, I walked to the Sixth Palace in the West and the Sixth Palace in the East. As I walked, I didn’t know where I was going.

Our route that day was from the central axis to the Imperial Garden, then to the West Sixth Palace, East Sixth Palace, and finally out through the Shenwu Gate.

Between Duanmen and Meridian Gate, I also saw the Tiananmen National Flag Guard training. It was really cool!

The first big monster found is the bubble-blowing Jiaotu! The elder brother touched the doornail and wondered if it was the hollow bubbles blown by Jiao Tu. Bi'an in the Nine Sons of the Dragon is also the patron saint on the door knocker. My brother asked me, is the big monster on the door knocker Jiao Tu or Bi'an? I had an idea and said, they are good friends and work together.

After passing the Jinshui Bridge, you will reach the Gate of Supreme Harmony.

Jinshui Bridge

My brother was also very excited when he saw the bronze lion in front of the Taihe Gate. This is the bronze lion with flowers on its head! Vigorous and mighty, the momentum is extraordinary!

My brother said this is Chiki, one of the nine sons of the dragon, with a dragon head and a fish body, and can spit water.

I kept in mind all the photos I took of the Nine Sons of the Dragon, and kept in mind the ones I didn’t take. At the end of the visit, I felt that I still lacked Ya Cani, and I didn’t take any photos of Pulao and Prison Niu, which I felt was a pity. I said it didn't matter. All 9 of the roof beasts on the Hall of Supreme Harmony were included and had been photographed. He said it didn't count and he didn't take individual photos...

As you can see in the photo, many palaces are now surrounded by a circle and entry is prohibited. Hu Xiansen said that when he visited the Forbidden City when he was a child (about 4 or 5 years old), all the palaces could be visited at that time. Except for the throne, you could walk around the house. I said that when I came here more than 10 years ago, , at that time it was still possible to enter under the eaves, but not inside the house. Nowadays, entry is prohibited even under the eaves. Suddenly I feel like I need to travel early~hahaha~

Hu Xiansen said that at that time, there were really not many people visiting the Forbidden City. There were very few people. Now there are really many, many more people visiting than before. If it is not well protected, the cultural relics will be damaged even faster.

One of the nine sons of the dragon, Ba Xia, has a dragon head and a turtle body. There is one outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony and one outside the Palace of Qianqing. My brother said that the one outside the Palace of Supreme Harmony is the male tycoon. In "The Big Monster in the Forbidden City", the turtle eggs were stolen by the weasel and finally cracked by Chaotianhou; The rash was finally cured by Li Xiaoyu using ointment.

The copper lion in front of the Qianqing Gate is the copper lion that lost its copper ring, and then went to the lost and found office to find the copper ring. These two bronze lions are very interesting. One is playing with the baby lion, and the other is playing with a ball. Guess which one is the male and which one is the female? It's easy to guess ~

After that, the rain got heavier and heavier. We took shelter at the military plane. It was almost noon, so we walked to a coffee shop near the ice cellar for a drink and a light meal, and took a rest to hide from the rain.

After that, the rain subsided slightly, and we continued walking along the central axis, passing through the Qianqing Gate and arriving at the Qianqing Palace.

Qianqing Palace

After walking through Jiaotai Hall and Kunning Palace, we came to the Royal Garden and saw this couple tree... They have grown together for hundreds of years. There is me in you and you in me. Love is stronger than gold and will never leave. ...People who say that plants and trees are heartless are wrong. When it comes to feelings, plants and trees are even more affectionate... (Alas, I also read a piece of news today, which made me feel quite uncomfortable, and I felt a little emotional...)

I also found Suanni, one of the nine sons of the dragon. My brother said that Suanni liked smoke, so he would be on the incense burner.

After strolling around the Imperial Garden, we walked to the West Sixth Palace.

I really think that if the weather is good, with blue sky and white clouds, the photos taken in the Forbidden City will be very beautiful!

After visiting the West Sixth Palace, we went around to the East Sixth Palace.

The original concept of this Western-style Yanxi Palace, which is still under repair, was to build a Crystal Palace. It was also the Crystal Palace where Xiao Longnu and Han Xiangzi held their wedding in "The Big Monster in the Forbidden City".

The rain kept falling and showed no sign of stopping, so after visiting the Sixth Palace of Good things and Things, we went out from Shenwu Gate. If you still have the energy, you can go to the Treasure Museum and Clock Museum, which are also places worth visiting. It’s just that the two little ones are not very interested yet. When they grow up, they can visit the Forbidden City again.

After they got out, my brother said, Mom, did we not go to Cining Palace? There is a pool in the garden of Cining Palace that is a cornucopia. In that pool, Li Xiaoyu and the others found the copper ring of the bronze lion in front of the Qianqing Palace. When I thought about it, I didn’t go. I didn’t go to Cining Palace that time more than 10 years ago, and I missed it again this time... leaving some regrets became the motivation to come back next time.

My brother said that he didn’t even go to Arrow Pavilion, where there was a little fox’s family.

Actually, my brother didn’t hear much about this set of books. After I came back, I told him that there are many other stories in this set of books. My brother said that he wanted to read the whole set of books.

"The Big Monster in the Forbidden City" made my brother full of longing for the Forbidden City. After going to the Forbidden City, he liked this set of books even more and wanted to know the stories that happened in other places in the Forbidden City.

postscript:

Go out from the Shenwu Gate of the Forbidden City and across the road is Jingshan Park. Climb to the heights of Jingshan Park and you can overlook the entire Forbidden City. The view is very good. It rained for the second half of the day and it was not suitable for climbing, so we didn't go.

I recommend you that the Forbidden City and Jingshan Park can be arranged together.