Beijing Travel Notes

They all had a dream—the kids at Yonghegong Youth Hostel. Travel eventually simplifies everything, Beijing's Yonghegong

Here is a 4-day Beijing itinerary, excluding the training part. The sightseeing focused mainly on cultural relics and historical sites.

For some reasons, I couldn’t take annual leave in August this year, so the plan to travel with Xiaobao had to be adjusted to July. August has its own freedom...

Yanqing County in suburban Beijing is a great place with a rich variety of natural and cultural attractions. July 10, 2012

During the pandemic, with time at home, I decided to finish writing all my unfinished travel notes, for better memories when I'm old, and to help others too.

That night, I dreamed of Grandma. I greeted her in her lake-blue dress; she winked at me as if she didn’t recognize me, and turned...

The Mongol Yuan Dynasty was mighty on the battlefield, but it didn’t have the right genes for holding onto power. In the first year of Kublai Khan’s Zhiyuan era (1271)...

D1-10.12: Arrive in Beijing, visit Tiantan Park D2-10.13: Revisit Tiananmen Square, before departing from Beijing

Having Beijing, the capital, on my annual travel plan has been a long-standing wish! Yet it never materialized. This year, though I once again added it to my plan, the...

On September 3, 2021, the International Winter Sports (Beijing) Expo (hereinafter “Winter Expo”) opened in Beijing. CPC Central...

My 2021 series of posts on the Forbidden City, the 17-part serial 'Viewing Red Walls and Golden Tiles, Appreciating the Ming-Qing Imperial Palace,' received generous readership.

Gubei Water Town is about 135 km from the city center, a 2–2.5-hour drive. I recommend staying overnight because there are drone shows at night.

My 2021 Forbidden City series, the seventeen-part serial 'Viewing Red Walls and Golden Tiles, Appreciating the Ming-Qing Imperial Palace', has received many readers' generous...

My 2021 Forbidden City post series, the seventeen installments of 'Observing the Red Walls and Golden Tiles, Appreciating the Ming and Qing Imperial Palace,' received generous readership and many readers were not stingy with their time to read them.

My 2021 series of Forbidden City posts, the seventeen installments of "Viewing the Red Walls and Golden Roofs – Appreciating the Ming and Qing Imperial Palace", have been generously read by readers.

My 2021 series of posts about the Forbidden City, the seventeen installments of 'Viewing Red Walls and Golden Tiles: Appreciating the Ming and Qing Imperial Palace,' received generous attention from many readers. Some readers offered opinions and suggestions, pointing out errors. This revised edition, published again, incorporates those earlier suggestions, enriches some content, corrects typos, and updates and adds some pictures. While I dare not claim to have corrected all errors, most should have been set right. A detailed record of the top ancient Chinese palace architecture seen while appreciating the Ming and Qing imperial palace, the imperial relics on display in the Forbidden City, and traces of Qing court life, along with some stories and legends associated with the palace. I cannot say this is 'to feast the readers,' but merely hope to share with them. Thank you.

My 2021 set of posts on the Forbidden City, the serialized 'Admiring Red Walls and Golden Tiles: The Ming and Qing Imperial Palace' with seventeen installments, received generous readership. Some readers offered suggestions and pointed out errors. This revised second edition incorporates those earlier suggestions, adds content, corrects typos, and updates and supplements some images. Though I cannot claim to have corrected all errors, most should be fixed. I record in detail the top ancient Chinese palace architectural art seen in the Ming and Qing palace, some imperial artifacts on display in the Forbidden City, and traces of Qing court life, while also recalling some stories and legends from the Ming and Qing palaces. Not daring to say 'to feast the readers,' I simply hope to share with you. Thank you.

My 2021 Palace Museum series, the seventeen installments of 'Viewing the Red Walls and Golden Tiles, Appreciating the Ming and Qing Palaces,' have been kindly read by many of you.

My 2021 Forbidden City series, the 17-part serial 'Beholding the Crimson Walls and Golden Tiles: Admiring the Ming-Qing Imperial Palace,' has received generous...

The 2021 version of my serialized posts on the Forbidden City, ‘Gazing at Red Walls and Golden Tiles: Appreciating the Ming–Qing Imperial Palace,’ reached its seventeenth installment, and many readers were generous with their time in reading it.