Jingshan is the park worth knowing about: two yuan, and from the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Springs the whole of the Forbidden City lies below you on the city's axis.
The basics
- Address
- 44 Jingshan West Street, Xicheng. The south gate faces the Forbidden City's Gate of Divine Prowess — you cross one road.
- Tickets
- Two yuan for an adult, one yuan for a student. Book ahead through the Visit Parks WeChat account, or scan and pay at the gate.
Opening hours
- Peak season (1 Apr – 31 Oct)
- 6:00 to 21:00, last entry 20:30.
- Low season (1 Nov – 31 Mar)
- 6:30 to 20:00, last entry 19:30.
- Note
- The interior exhibition halls of the Shouhuang Hall close on Mondays, public holidays excepted.
Getting there
- Metro
- Line 8 to Shichahai or Line 6 to Beihai North, both walkable. Line 1 to Tiananmen East also works.
- Bus
- Routes 101, 103, 109 and 124 stop at Gugong, which is the south gate.
What to look at
- The Pavilion of Ten Thousand Springs (万春亭)
- The high point of the park and the agreed best view of the palace: red walls and yellow roofs to the south, the Drum and Bell towers north, the white pagoda of Beihai west, and the Guomao towers east — old and new in one frame. The cross marked in the paving at its foot is the geometric centre of Beijing.
- The Shouhuang Hall (寿皇殿)
- North of the hill, where the Qing court made its ancestral offerings: the second-largest building complex on the axis after the palace itself. Red walls, yellow tile, upturned eaves, few people, and a quiet visit.
- The five pavilions (五方亭)
- The five pavilions on the ridge — Zhoushang, Guanmiao, Wanchun, Jifang, Fulan — all built under the Qianlong emperor. Walk the run and photograph each.
- Where the Ming emperor died (明思宗殉国处)
- The site of the tree the Chongzhen emperor hanged himself from as the Ming fell — the 'guilty locust' of the old accounts.
Routes through it
- Straight up (about 15 minutes)
- For a tight schedule or children. In at the south gate, up the main path at an easy gradient, ten to fifteen minutes to the pavilion, then back down the same way or out at the east gate.
- The loop with less climbing (about 1.5 hours)
- In at the west gate, up the gentler path on the right past the Fulan and Jifang pavilions to Wanchun, down the western steps past Guanmiao and Zhoushang, then the Shouhuang Hall, out at the east gate. No doubling back, and easier on the knees.
- The history route (about 2 hours)
- In at the south gate for the Qiwang Tower and the Ming emperor's site, up to Wanchun, then down and properly into the Shouhuang and Guande halls — the ancestral rites laid out in buildings — out at the east or west gate.
Photographs, and what to know
- The best hour
- Go in after 16:30. The air cools, the low sun turns the palace tiles gold, and before dark you get the blue hour with old roofs against new towers. The other option is 6:00 at opening, when it is empty and the light is for sunrise.
- Getting a place at the rail
- The south rail of the pavilion is the spot. Weekends and holidays it is crowded — get there 20 to 30 minutes early and hold your place.
- What to bring
- Steps and stone paving throughout, so wear trainers. There is no shop at the top: bring water and something small to eat.
- Putting it in a day
- Jingshan, the palace and Beihai are within minutes of each other. The obvious day: the Forbidden City in the morning, out at the Gate of Divine Prowess, across the road and up Jingshan at midday, then out of the west gate and walk to Beihai in the afternoon.