The Palace Museum Half-Day Tour [In-Depth Chinese & English Guided Tour Including Admission Ticket]

▲ Architectural features: The concave-shaped city platform structure is topped with five pavilions, commonly known as the Meridian Gate, which represents the high-level design of ancient Chinese gates. The main building has a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof, with 13 hall rooms extending south on both wings, and corner pavilions at the four corners, creating a majestic appearance.

▲ To capture a panoramic view of the Meridian Gate, stand a little further back on the central axis of the square. If you want to take artistic photos with the "red wall exhibition board," find a good lighting angle to the left of the exhibition hall entrance.

▲ See the treasures: The "Jinou Yonggu Cup" is a golden wine cup made during the Qianlong reign, inlaid with pearls and gemstones. The four characters "Jinou Yonggu" are carved on the cup body, symbolizing "eternal national stability." The Nine-Dragon Wall is a glazed tile mosaic wall. If you look closely, you can see that the belly of the third dragon on the east side was "repaired with wood" (when the glazed tiles were fired during the Qing Dynasty, some were damaged, and artisans used wood as a replacement, traces of which remain to this day).

▲ The "architectural marvels" at the four corners of the city wall feature a complex structure of "nine beams, eighteen pillars, and seventy-two ridges," with layered eaves and shimmering glazed tiles. The corner tower on the east side of the Gate of Divine Might is particularly stunning between 4:30 PM and 5:00 PM, when the setting sun casts golden light on its tiles, reflecting off the moat. This creates an iconic photo opportunity at the Forbidden City.