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Beijing's Central Axis: Traversing the 7.8km Imperial Way from South to North — Beijing

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Beijing's Central Axis: Traversing the 7.8km Imperial Way from South to North

Full day

6 stops · Full day

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My Trip

A 7.8km straight urban axis piercing the Forbidden City, from Yongdingmen to the Bell and Drum Towers. A traverse course that walks this 'masterpiece of urban design,' inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2024, from the southern end to the northern end, experiencing the emperor's whole city-planning intent.

Full day6 stopsEst. budget 32,000 KRW

Itinerary

  1. 1

    Yongdingmen Gate永定门

    Ruins · 25 min stay

    The southern starting point of the central axis. The outer-city main gate was demolished and restored in 2004, and from here the axis lining up the Forbidden City and Bell and Drum Towers in a straight line to the north begins. The departure point where you confirm with your eyes that 'the city was designed in a single line.'

  2. Transit 20 min
    2

    Temple of Heaven天坛

    Ruins · World Heritage · 90 min stay

    The altar where the emperor prayed to heaven for a good harvest. The circular wooden Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, built without a single nail, and the echoing Echo Wall are the highlights. The core of the southern axis, embodying the 'round heaven, square earth' cosmology in architecture.

  3. Transit 15 min
    3

    Zhengyangmen & Qianmen Street正阳门·前门大街

    Ruins · 50 min stay

    The inner-city main gate Zhengyangmen and the Qianmen commercial street before it. The imperial road by which emperors processed to the Temple of Heaven and old Beijing's largest downtown. It shows the axis was also the center of city life.

  4. Walk 10 min
    4

    Tiananmen Square天安门广场

    Square · 50 min stay

    A vast political square where the 20th century was laid over the imperial way. The Monument to the People's Heroes and the Mao Memorial Hall sit dead-center on the axis, showing a historical layer where the axis of imperial power was reinterpreted as the axis of the people (ID/reservation needed).

  5. Walk 12 min
    5

    Palace Museum (Forbidden City)故宫

    Palace · World Heritage · 120 min stay

    The heart of the central axis. The Meridian Gate, the Hall of Supreme Harmony and the Palace of Heavenly Purity are all aligned symmetrically on the axis. Walking the north-south straight line lets you read with your body the pinnacle of imperial city planning (reservation essential).

    오전 예약 입장

  6. Walk 8 min
    6

    Jingshan Park & the Bell and Drum Towers景山公园·钟鼓楼

    View · 60 min stay

    From the Wanchun Pavilion on Jingshan, opposite the palace's north gate, take in at a glance the spectacular view of the Forbidden City and the central axis stretching south. The Bell and Drum Towers further north are the axis's terminus. A finish looking down from above after walking the full 7.8km imperial way.

    일몰 무렵 만춘정

Sources · Freshness

  • ownTrip Pagoda 큐레이션

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