Hello Steem!

I had the pleasure of visiting the enthralling city of Beijing in China. Once in a blue moon, I'll take a trek over to the capital city of China for business or pleasure. Before going to the Canadian Embassy to renew my passport, I had the liberty of becoming an ancient Chinese emperor for a few minutes out of my day!

The destination of the day was Jing Shan Park (known as 景山公园 in Chinese). Jing Shan Park covers 57 acres and is situated north of the Forbidden City. Visitors usually come to this area to get a view of the Beijing cityscape if they climb to the top of the hill.

The Forbidden City | Beijing Imperial City Area

This photo was captured on a fairly polluted day, hence the graininess of the photo.

On the opposing side of the hill is a view of Gu Lou (or Drum Tower) in the distance (the big red building near the top of the photo). This structure was initially built for musical reasons but is now dormant and used as a tourist attraction.

View of the Beijing Cityscape and the Drum Tower

So how'd I become an emperor?

Well, it was simple. There was a photo service provided to visitors at the top of Jing Shan where you can dress up in a traditional costume mimicking the emperor and pay a fee of 35 RMB ($5.45 USD) to have your photo taken and printed for you. Luckily for me, I had my Sony A6300 with me so I could take some additional photos free of charge.

A Pavilion at the Top of Jing Shan

The pavilion at the top of Jing Shan housed a giant Buddha that visitors were prohibited from taking photos of. What I could snap of photo of was the architecture of this pavilion. I like the intertwined beams on the roofs coupled with the paint job that creates a remarkable effect.

Ancient Chinese Architecture

After taking some photos of the cityscape and surrounding environment, my girlfriend and I decided to take some photos. We think the service was well worth it. I have actually been meaning to take similar photos for a long time in China but never got around to it. Now was my chance and for a very reasonable price!

The Emperor and His Empress!

The words above read (from left to right): 正大光明 (Zheng Da Guang Ming) which means Just and Honourable. Upon receiving our photos, we made the trek down the hill and left with smiles on our faces. This was one of the highlights of our trip in Beijing.
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View From the Top of the Hill

Thanks for reading!

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I, Kenan (@kenanqhd), am a Canadian expat, teacher and entrepreneur that has been living in China for over 3 years. I love sharing my journeys in the Middle Kingdom (China) and providing information about this mysterious country to as many people as possible. Thank you for reading my blog posts and interacting. Hope to see you in my next blog post!

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