Day 9: Sat 8 Sep - Beijing

Today we visited the Forbidden City, Jingshan Park, Silkworm demo and Silk Corporation, had lunch, Temple of Heaven, and then had an authentic Peking Duck dinner at a flash restaurant close to our hotel in the old Peking. This was my first-time eating Peking Duck and have to say I don’t really see the hype – it is just a bit of duck, some sauce, and a few vege wrapped in a small pancake. It did taste good though.

The Forbidden City is a palace complex in central Beijing, China. It houses the Palace Museum and was the former Chinese imperial palace and state residence between 1420 and 1924. The Forbidden City served as the home of Chinese emperors and their households and was the ceremonial and political center of the Chinese government for almost 500 years. Constructed from 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings and covers 72 hectares. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987 and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.

Forbidden City

Meridian Gate (Wu Men)

An ancient sun dial

Jingshan Park is an imperial park covering 23 hectares immediately north of the Forbidden City. The focal point is the artificial hill (45.7m) Jingshan, literally "Prospect Hill". Formerly a private imperial garden attached to the grounds of the Forbidden City, the grounds were opened to the public in 1928. 

The Temple of Heaven is an imperial complex of religious buildings situated in the south eastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest. The temple complex was constructed from 1406 to 1420 and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998.

Silk Factory

Raw silk fabric

Unraveling the silk from the cocoons