Forbidden City has known as the Palace Museum, it located in the center of the city, Beijing, the capital of China. It has regarded as one of the architectural masterpieces in the world and also list as one of the World Heritage List by UNESCO.

History of Forbidden City
Forbidden City built began in 1406 in the reign of Ming Emperor Yongle and took 14 years to complete it. It was used as the palace where emperor and his family lived and handled court business. In 500 years, in total there are 24 emperors include 14 of the Ming and 10 of the Qing, ruled the country from there.

Structures of Forbidden City
Forbidden City in Winter

Situated in the total area of 72 hectares, the rectangular palace city has totally 8,707 rooms. It is divided into two parts, the Inner Court and Outer Court. The Inner Court was the place emperor lived with his family and the Outer Court was where the emperor exercised his supreme power over the country. At past, no one can enter the palace complex without emperor permission.

Almost all the rooftops in the Forbidden City are finished with yellow glazed tiles. This colour was chosen as, at the time, yellow was the official colour of the Chinese emperor. When you come to Forbidden City, you also can see each building’s roof is decorated with a line of small statues, with the importance of the building determining how many it featured. The highest number is ten for the emperor.

Three Great Halls inside Forbidden City
Main Palaces in Forbidden City

In Forbidden City, there are some important historical sites that you should not miss, include Hall of the Supreme Harmony, Hall of Middle Harmony and Hall of Preserving Harmony. Those 3 halls were known as the great hall, the heart of Forbidden City. Hall of Supreme Harmony is the most important and largest structures in the Forbidden City. It was used for ceremonial occasions, such as, emperor birthday, the nomination of military leaders and coronations.

Behind Hall of Supreme Harmony is the smaller Hall of Middle Harmony which was used as the emperor transit lounge. Here he would make last minute preparations, rehearse speeches and receive close ministers.

And the third hall called Hall of Preserving Harmony which was used for banquets and later for imperial examinations. Located in the Outer Palace or also called Front Palace, 3 famous great halls was the major important halls in the ancient times of China.

Transportation
1) Take the subway line 1 and get off at Tiananmen West or Tiananmen East station
2) Take Tourist Bus No. 1 or No. 5 and get off at Qianmen Station
3) By bus include many bus tour lines are able to reach Forbidden City

Gubeikou Great Wall located in Miyun County, 140 kilometers away from downtown Beijing. It was first built in the Ming Dynasty 1368 and has become one of the most important fortress of the whole Great Wall without any repairs. It is one of the original Great Wall sections that always keep its structures without less renovation. It also has known as one of the Wild Great Wall sections which popular for its hiking activity.

Gubeikou Great Wall

The main part of the Gubeikou Wall was first built in the Ming Dynasty 1368. It goes for over 20 kilometers and comprises of the four parts: Wohushan, Panlongshan, Jinshanling and Simatai.

Gubeikou Great Wall Condition
Gubeikou Great Wall stretches about 20 kilometers with 14 beacon towers. In total, it has 143 watchtowers with an average interval of 156 meters and the nearest two are only 30 meters apart. Each tower consists of two floors, six archways, and ten arched doors, allowing garrisoned soldiers to advance and retreat freely. From ancient times, Gubeikou has an important function as a road of strategic importance, connecting the southern and northern parts of the Yanshan Range. The highest point of Gubeikou is Wangjing Tower, 986 meters above sea level.

In Gubeikou, there are two main attraction called Wohushan Great Wall and Panlongshan Great Wall.

Wohushan Great Wall
Wohushan Great Wall

Located in the western section of the Gubeikou Great Wall, Wohushan has a total length of 4.75 kilo meters. Wohu means 'Crouching Tiger' in English with its highest peak measures about 665 meters. Hiking to the peak of Wohushan Great Wall, visitors will see Wuling Mountain hidden in the clouds in the east, meandering Maliling in the west, Miyun reservoir in the south, and Tao Mountain in the north. There are also many historical sites near Wohushan Great Wall, for example, Linggong Temple, Taiping Temple, ect.

Panlongshan Great Wall
Panlongshan Great Wall

The Panlongshan or Coiling Dragon Mountain Great Wall lies between Jinshanling to the east and Gubeikou to the west. With a total length for about 13 kilometers, it has over 40 watch towers and the famous one called “General Tower. West of Wohushan Great Wall, it is located in the middle section of Gubeikou, where used as the most place of the historical wars took place.

A popular hiking trail is to hike from Gubeikou to Jinshanling. Enjoy the wonderful scenery and adventure original hiking trail of Great Wall.

Short Brief about Juyongguan Great Wall
Juyongguan Great Wall or also known as Juyongguan Pass is located in the Changping District of Beijing Municipality, over 50 kilometers from central Beijing. The pass is regarded as one of the three greatest mountain passes of the Great Wall of China. The other two are Jiayuguan and Shanhaiguan (passes). Juyongguan Pass is located near from Badaling Great Wall has a present structures of the Ming Dynasty Wall with a total area of 33,500 square meters.

Juyongguan Great Wall

In total, Juyongguan Great Wall has two passes, one at the south and one at the north. The south one is called "Nan Pass" and the north one is called "Badaling". It lies in the midest of a 20 kilometer long gully; to the north is the important border city of Zhangjiakou and to the south lies Beijing.
Situated in a valley surrounded by mountains, Juyongguan Pass has long been a military stronghold. In the history, Juyongguan Great Wall is a very important strategic place connecting the inner land and the area near the northern border of China.

Juyongguan Pass is also relatively quiet, less crowded with fewer visitors. It might be the best section of the Wall to go which located close from Beijing but also really nice, quite peaceful section to explore. For you who want avoid crowds along the highly popular Badaling section during holiday and peak season then Juyongguan Pass could be the option.

Cloud Platform
Cloud Platform of Juyongguan Great Wall

In the middle of the Juyongguan (pass) and Guangou Valley, there is the Cloud Platform gate, also known as the "Crossing Street Tower". It was built in 1342 during the Yuan Dynasty and made of white marble. Till now, it has more than 500 years of history.

The marble Cloud Platform is nearly 10 meters high, the bottom is 27 meters’ long from east to west and 15 meters wide from north to south. It is one of the most important attractions in Juyongguan which remains its original Yuan design.

Visitors could enjoy the carvings of Buddhist figures and symbols right on the platform. There also written in six languages and scripts of Buddhist texts.

Juyongguan Travel Tips
Open Time: Daily, 8:30 am - 17:00 pm
High Season: from April 1 to October 31 for CNY 45
Low Season: from November 1 to March 31 for CNY 40
Per child: 25 CNY

Besides its strategic significance, Juyongguan Great Wall was also famous for its charming scenery. Come to Juyongguan Great Wall will also not complete if you not explore the famous Cloud Platform. Have fun!