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Walking the Forbidden City: why the 604-year-old palace was off-limits to commoners, its 1925 rebirth as the Palace Museum, and the story of the last emperor.

The Forbidden City is one of those places you think you know from photos, until you’re standing inside 604 years of history with what feels like half of Beijing around you. We took a full walking tour of the palace, crowds and all, digging into the stories behind the walls.

The story of the last emperor, filmed at the Forbidden City in Beijing. Watch on YouTube

For centuries this magnificent palace complex was completely off-limits to commoners, that’s the “forbidden” part, home to the emperors who ruled China from behind its moats and gates. The film explores why ordinary people could never enter, and how everything changed in 1925, when the palace finally opened its doors to the public as the Palace Museum.

The thread running through our visit is the story of the very last emperor, a boy of just nine years old when imperial China ended around him. Walking the same courtyards, that history stops being abstract very quickly.

The video walks the route chapter by chapter, from navigating the massive crowds to the 604-year-old architecture and the last emperor’s story. No food detours, no filler: pure travel, sights and history. If Beijing is on your list, give the Forbidden City the best part of a day; it needs it.

Photos from Beijing

The camera roll from September 2024 tells the rest of the story: three days of palaces, parks, tea and one very large stadium.

Panorama of the Forbidden City rooftops seen from Jingshan Park, golden halls stretching to the Beijing skyline
The classic view from Jingshan Park: climb the hill behind the palace and the whole Forbidden City lines up below you.
Inga and Dileep in sun hats at the Jingshan Park viewpoint railing, the Forbidden City rooftops spread out behind them
Proof we made it up Jingshan in the September heat. Worth every step.
Bronze guardian lion with a paw on an orb in front of red columns and painted beams in the Forbidden City
One of the bronze guardian lions inside the palace, still on duty after centuries.
Inga and Dileep at dusk in front of the Forbidden City wall and gate tower, with the moat beside them
Back at the palace walls at dusk, when the tour groups thin out and the light turns soft.
Illuminated gate tower of the Forbidden City at night, perfectly reflected in the still water of the moat
The gate tower after dark, doubled in the moat. Our favourite photo of the trip.
Inga and Dileep in matching Levi's t-shirts in front of the round blue-roofed Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests at the Temple of Heaven
The Temple of Heaven, accidentally colour-coordinated with our t-shirts.
Inga and Dileep standing in front of the steel lattice of the Bird's Nest, Beijing's National Stadium
The Bird's Nest from the 2008 Olympics, even more tangled in person than on television.
Dileep watching a hostess in traditional dress pour tea at a wooden tea tray, pastries on the table
A proper gongfu tea service: tiny cups, endless refills, dangerous pastries.
Inga and Dileep at a carved wooden table in a lantern-hung teahouse, lake lights glowing through the window behind
Last night in Beijing: a lakeside teahouse, one more pot, no rush at all.

There’s more from this trip on our YouTube channel, we film the real sights and sounds, no fluff. You’ll also find us on TikTok and Instagram.