When the palace moat around the Forbidden City was dug about six hundred years ago, all that dirt had to go somewhere.  Well, here it is: a mound piled nearly fifty meters high north of the Forbidden City, now called Jingshan Hill and the main feature of Jingshan Park.  This view from Beihai Park is of the Wanchun Pavilion atop Jingshan Hill.  This used to be the tallest spot in Beijing; now that honor belongs to the Jingguang Center, the tall tower appearing in the background on the left.  In the right foreground is Jifang, another of Jingshan Park’s five pavilions.

Jingshan is a perfectly fine little park, though Beihai Park to the west and the Forbidden City to the south offer far more to visitors.  The one reason to come here - and on a clear day, it’s a great reason - is for the magnificent view of the Forbidden City.  This photograph and many of those that follow were taken from the Wanchun Pavilion on Jingshan Hill.

The Jifang Pavilion, along the western path up Jingshan Hill to the Wanchun Pavilion.  Before the palace moat diggings were dumped here, this was already a mound of construction dirt - the by-product of another palace built hundreds of years earlier.  When that old palace was torn down, it too ended up on this mound.

The golden rooftops of the Forbidden City.  As impressive as it looks, this is actually the back of the Forbidden City; the main entrance is on its south side.  It would have been considered bad luck to have the entrance on this north side, as bad things come from the north, such as winter storms and foreign invasion forces.

The white dome beyond the Forbidden City on the right is Beijing’s new Grand National Theater, currently under construction.  Designed by the French architect who designed the wing of the Paris airport that collapsed recently, the theater has been greatly derided in China as a gigantic blob that doesn’t fit in with its surroundings.  Advocates liken it to a pearl, but certainly there’s nothing Chinese about its futuristic design.

Rooftops in the northeastern section of the Forbidden City.  The tall one in the center belongs to the Imperial Supremacy Hall; before it is the Palace of Peace and Longevity.  “Peace”, “harmony”, “longevity”, and “tranquility” appear so often in structure names that, for visiting tourists, the buildings start to become as indistinguishable as the rooftops.

The northeastern section of the Forbidden City, again viewed from the Wanchun Pavilion atop Jingshan Hill.  Jingshan Park has the dubious distinction of being the site where the last Ming dynasty emperor hung himself as the Forbidden City was overrun by peasants below.  The Qing dynasty - led by invaders from the north - took over China soon after.

While many photographers at Wanchun Pavilion focused on the Forbidden City to the south, these looked west...

...to get a view of Beihai Park and the mountains west of Beijing at sunset.  Beijing is heavy with air pollution, and it’s rare to have a day clear enough to see the mountains.  This view is not from the Wanchun Pavilion where those photographers were set up, but from a point somewhat below the pavilion with a better view of the White Dagoba.

A final view before sunset of the Forbidden City from atop Jingshan Hill.  From front to back are the rooftops of the Gate of Divine Prowess (the north gate), the Hall of Earthly Peace, the Hall of Heavenly Peace, the Hall of Protective Harmony, and the Hall of Supreme Harmony.  On those rare days when the Beijing weather is clear, a visit to Jingshan Park is a great way to finish off a visit to the Forbidden City.