Ancestral hall
On a marble terrace.
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An imperial compound just outside the Forbidden City, east of Tiananmen Gate, where the Ming and Qing emperors held great ceremonies on the most important occasions to honour the ancestors of the ruling house; today it is also known as the Working People's Cultural Palace. Its plan echoes the Forbidden City's, with three large courtyards divided by walls; at the centre stands the Hall for Worship of Ancestors, one of only four buildings in Beijing raised on a three-tiered marble platform, a sign of its high rank, flanked by two long halls that held the tablets of princes and eminent officials, with two more main halls behind. The park costs CNY 2 and the main halls CNY 15; it is open from 6.30 am to 7.30 pm from April to October and to 5.30 pm in winter, while the halls open from 9 am to 4.30 pm and close on Mondays, per visitor guides. It is far calmer than the Forbidden City next door.
On a marble terrace.
A palace plan.
Next to the crowds.
East of Tiananmen Gate, just outside the Forbidden City, Dongcheng District
Zhongshan ParkA park on the site of an old imperial altar south-west of the Forbidden City, we5 minutes walk
Tiananmen SquareA vast square in the heart of Beijing, named after the Tiananmen, the «Gate of H8 minutes walk4.5
Forbidden CityThe imperial palace complex in the heart of Beijing, built between 1406 and 14208 minutes walk4.7
National Museum of ChinaThe museum of art and history on the east side of Tiananmen Square, in a vast co9 minutes walk
Wangfujing StreetBeijing's best-known shopping street, a broad pedestrian avenue east of the Forb13 minutes walk4.3Yes, it adjoins it east of Tiananmen Gate with its own entrance beside the gate, and an hour or two is enough.