Jingshan Park

Artificial hill directly north of the Forbidden City, built from earth excavated for the palace moat. The aerial view from the top is the canonical Forbidden City photograph.

Jingshan — Prospect Hill, also Coal Hill — is a 46-metre artificial mound built in the early Ming dynasty from the earth excavated when the Forbidden City's moat was dug. The hill was positioned immediately north of the Forbidden City's north wall, in line with the imperial central axis, for fengshui purposes: a raised landform to block malevolent influences from the north. Five pavilions sit across the hill's ridge; the central and highest is the Wanchun Pavilion, from which the complete plan of the Forbidden City's golden roofs is visible below.

This view — looking south from Wanchun Pavilion across the concentric rings of yellow-glazed-tile rooftops to Tiananmen Gate and beyond — is the canonical overhead photograph of the Palace Museum complex. It cannot be taken from any other freely accessible position in the city at this angle and elevation. For that single image alone, the park justifies the brief ascent. The entry fee is nominal; the walk to the summit takes about 10 minutes at a moderate pace. The late-afternoon light on the rooftops, before sunset obscures the detail, is the standard recommendation.

The wider park grounds include four subsidiary pavilions at the cardinal points of the hill, magnolia trees (good in early spring), and a memorial to the Mingyue Zhizhang — a Yuan dynasty Buddhist presence on the site predating the Ming construction. The last Ming emperor, Chongzhen, is said to have hanged himself from a locust tree on the eastern slope of Jingshan in 1644 as the Shun rebel army took Beijing, before the Manchu Qing army arrived to suppress the uprising. A memorial marker stands at the approximate site. The park is directly accessible from the Forbidden City's north gate (Gate of Divine Might) by a 3-minute walk.