During 2019, I was fortunate enough to have one of my brothers and my sister and niece come visit me in Beijing. Both of their visits were lots of fun. I took them to many of the sights I’ve written about before like the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Bell and Drum Towers, and Great Wall. We went shopping, ate Peking duck, saw pandas, and had a blast together.
I also tried some new things when they were here including two new sections of the Great Wall—Badaling and Jiumenkou—and Prince Gong’s Mansion as well as a couple of new sights at Beihai Park, the Forbidden City, and Hong Kong.
Badaling Great Wall
Badaling is the closest section of the actual Great Wall to Beijing. It is also the most heavily visited by tour groups, which is why I had avoided it for so long. I wanted to experience it though, so when my brother visited, we rode the inexpensive public bus straight there. I think this section of wall is extremely impressive. Unfortunately, due to some haze, we couldn’t see too far. However, the wall climbing the steep mountainsides in both directions leaves quite the impression. Every time I have visited, I couldn’t help but think how truly great the Great Wall is.
Jiumenkou Great Wall
This section of the wall is not very close to Beijing or very easily accessible if you don’t drive or hire a driver. It is technically in Liaoning Province, about 15 kilometers northeast of Shanhaiguan. This part of the wall served as one of the first defenses at the edge of ancient China. The name means nine gate entrance. As the only section of Great Wall built as a bridge, a nine-arched section of wall spans a river with the wall rising up both sides of the pass. It is quite impressive, though not as high as Badaling or Mutianyu. Only the wall on one side of the river has been restored, which is cool because you can see wild wall and several original towers dotting the hills across the river.
Another really amazing feature at Jiumenkou is a tunnel through one of the mountains under the wall that served as barracks, a command center, armory, and prison. At more than 1 kilometer long, this Ming-era tunnel is an amazing feat of engineering.
Prince Gong’s Mansion
Located in the Houhai in Beijing, Prince Gong’s Mansion is spectacular. This former palace showcases some lovely architecture and garden design. I’m kind of sad I didn’t find this gem sooner. I’ll admit though that it was a bit crowded. However, they use some of the halls as art galleries for rotating exhibitions of contemporary art, which were not crowded. The exhibit of glass art was excellent.
Beihai Park – Jingxin Studio
When I last explored Beihai Park, some of the spaces were closed by the time I got around to them. When my sister visited, we explored Beihai and got to experience a couple of these fantastic places. One quickly became my favorite garden in Beijing. Jingxin Studio abuts the northern wall of Beihai. They only allow in a certain number of guests at a time, and it is free, two great qualities.
This beautiful garden has several small halls where Emperor Qianlong and others spent time reading and relaxing. Lovely water features weave throughout the garden with fabulous bridges spanning them. I could spend hours just hanging out in this garden.
Forbidden City Wall and Furniture Hall
Over the past few years, the Palace Museum has been opening more and more of the palace complex to the public. For example, guests can now walk on more than one quarter of the palace wall. This gives excellent views of the palace from several angles. The sea of roofs is quite a sight.
Another recently opened space is a former storage building that now houses a collection of palace furniture. Several spectacular pieces are on view. I want so many of them! Next year, with the 600th Anniversary of the Ming palace, another major section, Qianlong’s garden, will welcome guests after extensive restoration efforts. It is extremely exciting.
