Click the map to enlarge it, or go for more Maps of Forbidden City

Forbidden City is a must to see when traveling in Beijing. To make your Forbidden City trip much convenient, we have concluded some useful tips for you to follow.

Recommended Tours including visit to Forbidden City: Beijing Highlights Tour: 4 Days to Forbidden City and other attractions Beijing Hutong Tour: 5 Days to Forbidden City & Hutong Small Group Tour of Beijing: 5 Days Full View of Beijing  Recommended Nearby Hotels: Days Inn Forbidden City, Beijing King Parkview Hotel Red wall Garden Hotel

 Best Time to Visit
The best tourist season to Forbidden City is from late March to early June and from late August to late November. During these periods, choose someday not on the weekdays and holidays to avoid the crowds of people.

 Best Routes
Forbidden City is a very large complex. Tourists should have a clear understanding of its layout and choose a suitable route to touring the palace according to your time and need. please refer to the Virtual Guide of Forbidden City.

Gate of Heavenly Purity

Hall of Supreme Harmony

 Exhibitions List
The Palace Museum (Forbidden City) holds some permanent exhibitions in different halls or palaces. The following is the list of some exhibitions which may arouse your interest. Visit them, and you will know more about the cultural background of this grand Forbidden City.

Ceramics Gallery – Hall of Literary Glory
Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Gallery – Hall of Martial Valor
Treasure Gallery – Palace of Tranquil Longevity area
Timepieces Gallery – Hall for Ancestry Worship
Gold and Silver Wares Gallery – Palace of Great Brilliance in the Six Eastern Palaces
Bronze Ware Gallery – corridor rooms around the Palace of Heavenly Purity
Qing Imperial Opera Gallery –Pavilion of Pleasant Sounds and Hall for Viewing Opera
Jade Gallery – Palace of Gathering Essence (Zhong Cui Gong) in the Six Eastern Palaces

A Golden Plate, Forbidden City

A piano, Puyi Life Exhibition in Lijing Xuan

 Restaurants and Shops
Tourists are suggested to bring their own food when visit the Forbidden City, for there are only few places inside the palace providing drinks and light meals. There is one Forbidden City Restaurant next to the Archery Pavilion, west to the Treasure Gallery. It can be seen through the Gate of Great Fortune in the east side of Qianqingmen (Gate of Heavenly Purity) Square. Another place for food is in the west side of the Qianqingmen Square, besides The Office of Grand Council of State. Dong Chang Fang (East Long Room) is a row of houses about 200 meters east of the Gate of Divine Prowess (north gate of the Forbidden City). It was available for guardians to live in. Now, it is a service area with shops and restaurants for tourists. Additionally, there are shops at the Gate of Heavenly Purity, Hall of Mental Cultivation and the Imperial Garden. On the way from the Gate of Earthly Tranquility to the Imperial Garden, there are two cafes providing coffee and hot drinks.

Food around the Forbidden City
 Quanjude Roast Duck (Qianmen) – Quanjude, almost the byword for Peking Roast Duck is a time-honored restaurant with more than one hundred years old. After leaving the Forbidden City from Tiananmen Gate via the Meridian Gate, tourists can go through the Tiananmen Square to find the way leading to Qianmen Pedestrian Street.

 Donglaishun Muslim Restaurant (Qianmen) – Deriving from the cooking method of mutton when Kublai Khan went out for a battle, the sliced mutton rinsed in chafing dish served in Donglaishun is a feature food in Beijing.

 Dasanyuan Restaurant (Jingshan) – Dasanyuan is a Cantonese restaurant originated in 1919. Its Jingshan branch restaurant is located in Jingshan Xijie, at the center of Jingshan Park, Beihai Park and the north gate of the Forbidden City. Roast Suckling Pig and Buddha Jumping over the Wall are the signature dishes.

 Donghuamen Snack Night Market - Compared with Wangfujing Snack Street, Donghuamen outside the East Flowery Gate (Donghuamen) of Forbidden City has more snacks. Food price here is not cheap, like other well-known snack streets in Beijing on this point. Donghuamen Snack Street is alive with people at night.  

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