Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine May 2019 | Page 91

Travel / Beijing
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1. The Forbidden City’s Hall
of Supreme Harmony.
2. Stunning interiors – such
as this, the Hall of Heavenly
Purity – are to be found
within the Forbidden City.
3. A boy has the Forbidden
City all to himself at the
start of the day.
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I  t’s certainly a place of exceptional
(sometimes overwhelming) grandeur:
imposing halls, timeless craftsmanship,
countless passages and courtyards.
(en.dpm.org.cn), the six-century-
old imperial palace, now a
museum. Sightseers who arrive
in time for the doors to open at
8.30am often find the first grand
courtyard is almost deserted…
for a few minutes at least.
It’s certainly a place of
exceptional (sometimes
overwhelming) grandeur:
imposing halls, timeless
craftsmanship, countless
passages and courtyards (there
are almost 1,000 buildings).
It’s so vast that visitors can
find themselves alone as they
explore a remote side hall
or tucked-away corridor.
Leaving by the north gate leads
to Jingshan Park, its central hill
providing sweeping views of the
ancient palace complex and the
city, old and new, beyond. From
here the road leads on to
the Drum and Bell Towers.
But it’s time to meander through
Beijing’s ancient hutongs:
those lanes and alleys that once
encircled the Forbidden City
and were home to all the trades
and professions that kept
the city (and especially
the palace) running.
Many of these village-like
districts have been razed
during the past 20 years; of an
estimated 6,000 hutongs that
existed a century ago, just
600 remain. However, those
neighbourhoods that survive
retain a unique atmosphere that
is a refreshing foil to the city’s
traffic-heavy boulevards
and bustling malls.
Look out for Nanluoguxiang
(Nanluoguxiang subway station),
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