Thank you for watching our videos - we appreciate that you are here! And we'd like to know: what's the best palace you've ever seen? If you want to see more of Beijing, make sure to subscribe so you don't miss the next China vlog: visiting the Great Wall of China. See you in the next one!!
Hi thanks for sharing, it is informative. It's good to know you're allowed to carry big bags inside. Also, is photographing inside the buildings allowed?
from forbidden city, foreign people can really understand how great China was and why Chinese people say China is just returning its the most powerful position in the globe.
Firefly Firefly what you said was not the point. The point is, through forbidden city and many other mega structures in china, people can see the resource organization capability of china even in ancient times. The same capability can be used to build mega project for people's wellbeing for both people in china and in other parts of the world. And FYI, many generations of emperors were not quite happy to stay inside, because the forbidden city is built strictly following the complicated rules of a typical traditional emperor palace, which is not quite suitable for human to live inside. Actually half of the emperors didn't stay inside often, except for some ceremonies.
My feet still ache from this day haha! So cool that we got to visit one of the most impressive manmade structures in the world though :) the forbidden city is definitely a must to anyone visiting Beijing China!!
Really loved the forbidden city. It's hard to grasp how big it is. Even after visiting it. China is such a great country. Looking forward to more travel adventures there!
I've really enjoyed watching your videos. They show the parts of the famous iconic places not seen elsewhere before. And you're such a jolly nice pair with positive appreciation of China. Thank you for sharing.
Not that big. Kind of a pity the summer palace was torched and looted after invasions, cause that palace was truly beautiful and big. Forbidden city is quite small in Chinese dynastic palaces, Weiyang of Han was largest, then Daming of Tang second. Daming of Tang is 4x the size of forbidden city.
You guys missed jingshan park after getting out of the forbidden city, from the top of a small hill in the park, u can have an overview of the whole forbidden city which is definitely worth paying a visit
If you get out of the forbidden city from the back door, then go across the street, there is a park which just faces the forbidden city, there is a small mountain in the park, get up to the top, you will see the whole forbidden city, that is very beautiful
I visited Beijing last year by overnight train from Shanghai（I'm Chinese from Shanghai），spend the whole day to walk all the opening places of the forbidden city. If you want to understand history rather than walk around, it is recommended to rent an explanation device. In fact, there are many places you haven't visited. Such as jewelry exhibition. Empress Dowager Cixi had a great collection.
Yes we know we didn't do a lot of it. We were planning to see more, but it took us 2 hours just to enter haha. Next time we will visit more parts for sure. We really loved Shanghai, such an amazing city.
I do appreciate you guys did lots of homework before you came to the forbidden city so that you can explore and understand the very detail of the culture.
Thank you! We try to do some research before we go somewhere. It is also nice that some Chinese people have provided some additional information afterwards here in the comments. It is great to learn about the rich history of China.
@@NaickKim as you are in Shanghai, I recommend you two cities HangZhou and SuZhou. Both of them are one hour bullet train to Shanghai. The difference is SuZhou can be one day trip while HangZhou may need two days to explore.
Thanks! We're not sure if we are going to make it there this time. They look really beautiful, but we don't have a lot of time left in China. So much choices to make!
from 3:05, those camera moves and then that beautiful smile followed by the beautiful tiles of the Palace! I've got goose bumps all over me! Excellent ! Excellent!
Next time you really need to climb up to the Jingshan hill behind the forbidden city,from the top of it you can see the whole view of the forbidden city,and the whole view of Beijing,it won’t take a long time(10minutes I guess?
What a great video! The quality, filming and editing skills, and the commentary are amazing! Thank you for making this video! Is it my dream to visit the Forbidden city!
I would also recommend the little hill called Jingshan (景山) next to the North entrance. You can see the entire forbidden city there which is stunning. The last emperor of the Ming Dynasty killed his children and concubines and then hanged himself there after the fall of the capital, sad story.
the forbidden city was built for the emperors, and in the republic there is no emperors anymore so everyone can get into it and have a look, it was said that the last emperor of Qing dynasty Puyi would have to buy a ticket to visit the forbidden city after the republic was established, even though this palace was once belonged to him before the revolution and civil war.
Thanks for this video and information about giant gate lions, i have visited it twice and planing the third time as more area open to the public. Only 30 percent of its areas were accessible by the public in 2012. Definitely need whole day for that.
Accually you can pay 5 yuan to the zhongshan park without waitting such a long time, because the west exit of zhongshan park is another entrance of forbidden city, few people knows that. you can waste a lots of time.
The Forbidden City is actually the Winter Palace where the court would reside. In summer they'd decamp to - you guessed it the Old Summer Palace (not to be confused with the current Summer Palace today, which at only 600 buildings is a fraction of the size). The Old Summer Palace had the world's largest gardens and an even bigger palace complex made up of hundreds of manmade lakes, islands and pavilions (including an Italianate one). That, and much of the Imperial City were destroyed by colonial armies during the various wars and insurrections, which is why China has such a big hang up with it lost treasures now residing in the worlds' museums and estates. www.chinadaily.com.cn/beijing/2013-08/21/content_16938280.htm www.chinafacttours.com/index.php?image-29-imageid-5.html Controversially a city thousands of miles away is rebuilding this lost treasure, which is royally pissing off Beijing and its historians, in what is likely to be the worlds most expensive building complex when all phases are completed. The first opened in 2015: www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-11/controversial-replica-old-summer-palace-opens-in-china/6461138 www.thatsmags.com/china/post/9886/check-out-these-aerial-photos-of-zhejiangs-old-summer-palace-recreation Believe it or these complexes were dwarfed by the ones in Xian, which were the largest complexes ever built, which once had palaces at some time 2.5x, 5x and 6.7x larger than the Forbidden City, and that now sit as empty fields with the building imprints. www.china.org.cn/travel/revitalize_the_silk_road_in_Shaanxi/2013-11/01/content_30469920.htm
Wow, thanks a lot for sharing all this history. It's super interesting. We really appreciate you sharing all this. Can you be our private guide on our trip? haha. It is indeed a problem that a lot of cultural treasures are in museums of other countries, often after it being stolen. This is the case for China, but also Egypt, Inca's, Maya's, etc. We already thought the forbidden city and summer palace were really enormous. I can't imagine palaces that are multiples of that. I can indeed see why it is controversial. On the one hand side it is part of the history where China lost the battles and the palaces. On the other hand, it was a great cultural and architectural feat. So many buildings were reconstructed in the centuries of history, so it is not that abnormal. What do you think about this?
@@NaickKim omg yeah, would love to be a tour guide for y'all, you guys are so much fun! Yep personally I think China should get over it's hangups and just rebuild the damn thing. It's basically an inferiority complex if it can't let go, especially when China has done itself so much disservice in many other buildings destroyed from its own politics. When China gave up the throne and became a republic (and we're not even starting on the Communist era decades later) Beijing had 3,000 temples, shrines and palaces. Ten years later by 1930 that had been reduced already to 300.And don't even start on places like Tibet (which lost 300 monasteries after invasion, though thankfully are now rebuilding). Basically whenever there's a regime change the new dynasty destroys/ reappropriates everything of the old, last seen in the Cutural Revolution. On one hand historians regard it as something that strangely 'renews' the society and has enabled China to become the world's longest surviving civilisation. On the other hand the loss... so much loss, and so much turmoil when it happens. Another result is China unlike other countries didn't build so much on its feats after a while, preferring to keep the balance of society - but status quo often becomes stagnant, which leads to internal rebellions or takeover. One third of China's history has been under foreign subjugation. -Whenever the empire changed hands it would start again, which is why China in the 1000s (when it went through its Industrial Revolution on par with Britain's) was more technologically advanced than in the 1700s etc, or after the 1400s as a colonial power with the largest ever pre-industrial fleets and ships sent round the world, it reverted and burned down its entire navy by mid century. It's gunpowder discovery, and the first modern warfare by the 1200s, was of course kept limited as Asian society began to disintegrate with so much weaponry (Japan did the same, burying the world's most advanced weapons/ armies and adopting the way of the samurai for the next 300 years instead) - so the Mongols took the Chinese tech and armies and took over much of Eurasia. The long history, in short has been a constant dance with the vast hordes of the Steppe beyond the wall - and every time China did try to break its mould it would be subjugated or destroyed (usually by the Mongols - so many died the carbon in the atmosphere actually reduced). The place is fantastic for interesting, eye-opening history, not so much if you actually had to live it ha. The current clime under the new dictatorship of Xi Jinping seems to be more on the same pattern. Basically after the disasters and coups to take down Mao the govt ensured that never again would power fall into the hands of one single person, at the sacrifice of 15 million, so that the head of the Party would always be shared by 6 or 7 experts in their fields (economic, military, academic, political science, sociology and recently, environmental, two of whom would act as the ceremonial figureheads) liable to the Party vote, and replaced every 8 years. With this the country has gone through a surprising period of stability that has seen in the economic rise. But then Xi comes along, imprisons all his detractors on the corruption purges, rewrites the constitution ... and nows starts to imprison the Xinjiangers. History appears to be repeating itself, China obviously got too comfortable for 40 years. omg sorry i write too much, another essay! I get so carried away with history, Im interested not just Chinese but all (you should see me get started on British). Hope you guys have a fab time, I love the rapport you two have and the funny honesty to the camera. It's never boring with y'all even if you were covering a traffic light lol.
Really another great upload of yours! I have seen quiet a few on the Forbidden Palace but yours stands out. You go around to more places within, show us close ups of some features and give background inform that helps a lot and your positive enthusiasm is infectious. Your channel on China deserves a spike in subscriber base and views really. Those who are not aware of your channel is missing out I must say hehehe!
OMG, you two were too hungry to visit the courtyards at both sides of the central axis ... you only saw the buildings, but the treasures of the forbidden city are displayed in those courtyards, which are more interesting in my opinion.
Hi, compared with these Ming & Qing dynasty buildings, there are still many Tang & Song & Liao & Jin dynasties’ buildings located in Shanxi, Hebei, Tianjin etc., and most of them are in Shanxi province. Structures are very different, and look more magnificent! For example, Nanchan & Foguang Temples of Tang Dynasty(618-907), Shanhua & Huayan Temples of Liao & Jin Dynasties.
That's interesting, thank you! We really love the Ming & Qing building styles, I guess they are the ones you can most often still see in China today? Thanks for watching!
@@NaickKim Hahaha, yes, Ming & Qing buildings are the biggest part of ancient buildings~ Thanks for your great videos! Naick looks like a big brother and Kim is really charming~ Here are some photos of Shanhua Temple~ m.baidu.com/sf/vsearch?pd=image_content&word=%E5%96%84%E5%8C%96%E5%AF%BA&tn=vsearch&sa=vs_tab&lid=8344387321434710526&ms=1&from=1001192y&atn=page&fr=tab
there are many Chinese historical shows stories happen in the forbidden city. When Chinese people visited there, they are very interested in visiting certain rooms/halls that some classic drama happen there, lol
@@NaickKim I recommend to Yellow mount (Huangshan) in Anhui Province, the montain scinery/langscape is very like a wonderland. or Jiuzaigou in Zhangjiajie of beautful waterfallsin scenic land., seeing is believing.
If you join a travel agency tour,I think you wouldn't be queuing to the entrance? But the good thing to solo travel is that you have all the time to explore the place and not be time-restricted which is the case if you join a tour with a travel agency.
Yes indeed. We prefer going on our own than going on a guided tour. This way we can explore on our own and enjoy it as we like. It's also difficult to make good videos when on a tour group. And in our experience there are not that many guides who can tell an interesting story.
We bought it at a ticket office across the road from the Beijing railway station. We spent 1 hour looking for an ATM that worked with our foreign bank cards and stumpled upon it haha. Our hostel was also selling the tickets as well. You can also book them online through an agent. You don't need an actual physical ticket (you don't get one), they just register it on your passport number (you need to bring your passport to enter).
@@NaickKim Interesting, I bought my ticket on the spot (just before the security check) , special booth for foreigners and my ticket was my passport. But I was also struggling to find the entrance :D
@@NaickKim not yet unfortunately, I might go there after I move to Japan at the end of the year tho! Are you guys going to explore more parts of the country?
@@AdamRifi Yes we are moving south to Pingyao, Xian, Chongqing, Guilin, Yangshuo, etc. Or at least that is the plan for now. Wow, Japan! That's so cool. We would love to visit. Where in Japan are you going to live?
@@NaickKim Exciting, looking forward to the videos from there! We will be living in Tokyo, if you end up going there, let me know and maybe we can film something together!
@@NaickKim yeah i think so, if u wan to know how tang palace building design look like you can reference to japan traditional building which is inspired by tang culture during tang dynasty.
@@NaickKim Tang dynasty's capital city Chang'an' City--now Xi'an was two times large than Beijing forbidden City. but it was destoryed by war 1000years ago. then Chinese capital city becomed Beijing.
The music is from epidemic sound, a subscription based service for TH-camrs. There music library has 1,000s of tracks and they are incredible. The songs are called: 1. Evidence of truth - by Trailer Worx 2. Go from here - by Hallman 3. Origami sky - by Edward Karl Hanson 4. The flap of a butterfly's wings - by Christian Andersen
@@NaickKim I went to Suzhou at one time, and almost got crowded off a bridge in one tourists area. The bridge had no guard rails, and it was across a deep ravine!!!
It's actually 9999 and a half rooms because only Heaven have 10,000 rooms and the Emperor as Son of Heaven cannot possess the same numbers as Heaven. Lol
If you want to feel closer to those that once lived in the Forbidden Palace, you can watch ancient Chinese dramas like 延续攻略(Story of Yanxi Palace) for a feel of what life was like in the palace. You can also rent 汉服 (hanfu) from rental shops in Beijing to dress up as a concubine and stroll around the huge palace. If you're not sure which hanfu to choose, be sure to ask the staff there! Snow in the Forbidden Palace is also extremely beautiful, and you should definitely explore the 御花园 (Imperial Garden) if you can. Everything is so mesmerizing there!
Naick & Kim all the treasure was stolen by Eight-Nation-Alliance back in last century, the most dark history for China. Some tables, poles used to decorated by gold and gems....... they all gone during that time....
@@samy8897 that's great to hear! We're thinking about going to India in January probably. Taj Mahal is pretty high on the list there then. Any other recommendations in that area?
One big problem with visiting China is that there are way too many Chinese people in all the touristy sights due to the unfortunate policy of encouraging over-reproduction during the Mao era. Still, there are lots of beautiful sights to visit. There are just not many places you can visit without a crowd in the background.
ForbiddenCity in Beijing was built and designed by a Vỉetnamese eunuch named Nguyen An, taken as prisoner by Ming dynasty after destroying Ho dynasty in Vietnam, later became a eunuch and architect. You can search Nguyen An eunuch for further information.
@@NaickKim wow, showtime~~~ I'll subscribe your channel so that I wont miss it! btw, you are from Belgium? I went to Belgium this summer. Ghent is really a beautiful city.
You are making my choice to not go to China difficult. My biggest worry is being an American and all the political issues going on between our countries. Looks like a wonderful time. There is a youtuber RotoRiot that got to flay FPV drones in the city.. so great footage!! Thanks for sharing! #BlueMooseTraveler
Politics are just politics and don't reflect the people and culture in a country. A few years ago we went to Iran and met the most hospitable and friendly people in the world. We're not muslim but we were invited to celebrate in their most holiest holiday. Everywhere we went they stuffed us with tea and food for free. A man invited us to sleep in his home after we met him for 30 seconds. I can tell you countless stories. Yet if you would believe the media, they're portreyed as extremists, terrorrists and religious nutcases. Our interactions with the Chinese have been nothing but positive. Thanks for watching! Where is your next trip going?
@@NaickKim will be heading out to Israel/Palestine for a few weeks. Was going to do the Siberian train but this opportunity came up so I will have to push the train back. I have lived in the Middle East and South West Asia and they are very hospitable. Never refuse tea from a Muslim, and never refuse vodka from a Russian! :)) Can't wait to see your next adventures! I need to try this vlogging thing!! LOL. Your budget vs. splurge video had me laughing! I keep things cheap, but will go all out one night for dinner. :)
@@BlueMooseTraveler we never refused either (tea nor vodka), so we're on the same page there ;) we heard Israel is incredible! We'd love to visit. We can only highly recommend the vlogging by the way, I think we have more fun when we film our activities than when we don't, actually :) it's become such a normal part of our day now haha. We'll probably be doing another one of those budget vs. splurge videos at some point, maybe when we make it to Japan... Some day... Because splurging in Japan sounds hella expensive :D have a great trip man!
Forbidden City is no longer forbidden. The real forbidden city now is Zhongnanhai (Central and Southern Seas), the former imperial garden adjacent to Forbidden City, the current headquarters of the ruling party and the central government.
Thank you for watching our videos - we appreciate that you are here! And we'd like to know: what's the best palace you've ever seen? If you want to see more of Beijing, make sure to subscribe so you don't miss the next China vlog: visiting the Great Wall of China. See you in the next one!!
True! It's sooo impressive. We were fortunate to have a 12h lay-over in Abu Dhabi two years ago. One of our first videos lol.
Oh really? I wasn't aware! We just arrived in Xi'an. Any good recommendations?
@Autumn Leaves thanks for the info! :)
@Gemma Jordan Vlog well it was one of the very first so a completely different style, as you'll see ;) I think we've improved a bit since then :)
Hi thanks for sharing, it is informative. It's good to know you're allowed to carry big bags inside. Also, is photographing inside the buildings allowed?
I've been to Dalian, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Guangzhou,Hongkong in China. These cities are equally beautiful and interesting, which impressed me.
you should go to Shenzhen if possible，which is an amazing city near HK! :)
Yes Canton is amazing!
Our trip to China was an overwhelming experience of kindness, excellent service and friendly people. Beijing, Xi-An and Hong Kong were superb places.
from forbidden city, foreign people can really understand how great China was and why Chinese people say China is just returning its the most powerful position in the globe.
It is very impressive!
It was just for the emperors to enjoy after all back then. How great was that?
Firefly Firefly what you said was not the point. The point is, through forbidden city and many other mega structures in china, people can see the resource organization capability of china even in ancient times. The same capability can be used to build mega project for people's wellbeing for both people in china and in other parts of the world. And FYI, many generations of emperors were not quite happy to stay inside, because the forbidden city is built strictly following the complicated rules of a typical traditional emperor palace, which is not quite suitable for human to live inside. Actually half of the emperors didn't stay inside often, except for some ceremonies.
Firefly 历史是人民创造的，灿烂的文化从来不只属于统治者
@@firefly4784 No you are wrong, that is the central government, that is, the pentagon is a place for officials to work.
My feet still ache from this day haha! So cool that we got to visit one of the most impressive manmade structures in the world though :) the forbidden city is definitely a must to anyone visiting Beijing China!!
Really loved the forbidden city. It's hard to grasp how big it is. Even after visiting it. China is such a great country. Looking forward to more travel adventures there!
I've really enjoyed watching your videos. They show the parts of the famous iconic places not seen elsewhere before. And you're such a jolly nice pair with positive appreciation of China. Thank you for sharing.
wow thank you for the incredibly nice feedback! so happy you're enjoying our videos :)
Not that big. Kind of a pity the summer palace was torched and looted after invasions, cause that palace was truly beautiful and big.
Forbidden city is quite small in Chinese dynastic palaces, Weiyang of Han was largest, then Daming of Tang second. Daming of Tang is 4x the size of forbidden city.
欢迎到中国来玩😎
You guys missed jingshan park after getting out of the forbidden city, from the top of a small hill in the park, u can have an overview of the whole forbidden city which is definitely worth paying a visit
Darn. That sounds pretty cool. Next time! 😊 Thanks for the tip!
@@NaickKim And an emperor hanged himself there...>.< Afterall.. it worth visiting...
If you get out of the forbidden city from the back door, then go across the street, there is a park which just faces the forbidden city, there is a small mountain in the park, get up to the top, you will see the whole forbidden city, that is very beautiful
jingshan park, where the last emperor in ming dynasty hang himself
I visited Beijing last year by overnight train from Shanghai（I'm Chinese from Shanghai），spend the whole day to walk all the opening places of the forbidden city. If you want to understand history rather than walk around, it is recommended to rent an explanation device. In fact, there are many places you haven't visited. Such as jewelry exhibition. Empress Dowager Cixi had a great collection.
Yes we know we didn't do a lot of it. We were planning to see more, but it took us 2 hours just to enter haha. Next time we will visit more parts for sure.
We really loved Shanghai, such an amazing city.
I do appreciate you guys did lots of homework before you came to the forbidden city so that you can explore and understand the very detail of the culture.
Thank you! We try to do some research before we go somewhere. It is also nice that some Chinese people have provided some additional information afterwards here in the comments. It is great to learn about the rich history of China.
@@NaickKim enjoy yourtrip in china.
@@NaickKim as you are in Shanghai, I recommend you two cities HangZhou and SuZhou. Both of them are one hour bullet train to Shanghai. The difference is SuZhou can be one day trip while HangZhou may need two days to explore.
Thanks! We're not sure if we are going to make it there this time. They look really beautiful, but we don't have a lot of time left in China. So much choices to make!
@@NaickKim welcome back anytime. In Shanghai, 生煎包 is one of those must try food. Sheng jian bao
from 3:05, those camera moves and then that beautiful smile followed by the beautiful tiles of the Palace! I've got goose bumps all over me! Excellent ! Excellent!
Wow thanks! Glad you loved it! What a place :)
Next time you really need to climb up to the Jingshan hill behind the forbidden city,from the top of it you can see the whole view of the forbidden city,and the whole view of Beijing,it won’t take a long time(10minutes I guess?
Thanks for the tip 😊👌🏻
What a great video! The quality, filming and editing skills, and the commentary are amazing! Thank you for making this video! Is it my dream to visit the Forbidden city!
Thanks a lot KoopieDoobie. Hope you get to visit it soon! ❤
I missed China so much. I really want to go to forbidden city when I go back again, maybe after university.
You should def visit the forbidden city. One of the most impressive palaces we've ever seen.
I would also recommend the little hill called Jingshan (景山) next to the North entrance. You can see the entire forbidden city there which is stunning. The last emperor of the Ming Dynasty killed his children and concubines and then hanged himself there after the fall of the capital, sad story.
Wow, we'd never heard about that story. Sounds like a great view. We missed it because we were so hungry haha.
my favorite place in Beijing. I love Beijing, a unique city in the world
We love beijing too!
A tip! You don't need to wait the long queue if you enter the forbidden city through the side gates.
Thanks for the tip! We'll remember it for the next time.
the forbidden city was built for the emperors, and in the republic there is no emperors anymore so everyone can get into it and have a look, it was said that the last emperor of Qing dynasty Puyi would have to buy a ticket to visit the forbidden city after the republic was established, even though this palace was once belonged to him before the revolution and civil war.
Thanks for this video and information about giant gate lions, i have visited it twice and planing the third time as more area open to the public. Only 30 percent of its areas were accessible by the public in 2012. Definitely need whole day for that.
You could walk around for days in there. It is soooo big.
Accually you can pay 5 yuan to the zhongshan park without waitting such a long time, because the west exit of zhongshan park is another entrance of forbidden city, few people knows that. you can waste a lots of time.
Incredible the forbidden city. China is so nice. Enjoy 👌
Perfect for your next trip
谢谢😎
The Forbidden City is actually the Winter Palace where the court would reside. In summer they'd decamp to - you guessed it the Old Summer Palace (not to be confused with the current Summer Palace today, which at only 600 buildings is a fraction of the size). The Old Summer Palace had the world's largest gardens and an even bigger palace complex made up of hundreds of manmade lakes, islands and pavilions (including an Italianate one). That, and much of the Imperial City were destroyed by colonial armies during the various wars and insurrections, which is why China has such a big hang up with it lost treasures now residing in the worlds' museums and estates.
www.chinadaily.com.cn/beijing/2013-08/21/content_16938280.htm
www.chinafacttours.com/index.php?image-29-imageid-5.html
Controversially a city thousands of miles away is rebuilding this lost treasure, which is royally pissing off Beijing and its historians, in what is likely to be the worlds most expensive building complex when all phases are completed. The first opened in 2015:
www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-11/controversial-replica-old-summer-palace-opens-in-china/6461138
www.thatsmags.com/china/post/9886/check-out-these-aerial-photos-of-zhejiangs-old-summer-palace-recreation
Believe it or these complexes were dwarfed by the ones in Xian, which were the largest complexes ever built, which once had palaces at some time 2.5x, 5x and 6.7x larger than the Forbidden City, and that now sit as empty fields with the building imprints.
www.china.org.cn/travel/revitalize_the_silk_road_in_Shaanxi/2013-11/01/content_30469920.htm
Wow, thanks a lot for sharing all this history. It's super interesting. We really appreciate you sharing all this. Can you be our private guide on our trip? haha.
It is indeed a problem that a lot of cultural treasures are in museums of other countries, often after it being stolen. This is the case for China, but also Egypt, Inca's, Maya's, etc.
We already thought the forbidden city and summer palace were really enormous. I can't imagine palaces that are multiples of that.
I can indeed see why it is controversial. On the one hand side it is part of the history where China lost the battles and the palaces. On the other hand, it was a great cultural and architectural feat. So many buildings were reconstructed in the centuries of history, so it is not that abnormal. What do you think about this?
@@NaickKim omg yeah, would love to be a tour guide for y'all, you guys are so much fun! Yep personally I think China should get over it's hangups and just rebuild the damn thing. It's basically an inferiority complex if it can't let go, especially when China has done itself so much disservice in many other buildings destroyed from its own politics. When China gave up the throne and became a republic (and we're not even starting on the Communist era decades later) Beijing had 3,000 temples, shrines and palaces. Ten years later by 1930 that had been reduced already to 300.And don't even start on places like Tibet (which lost 300 monasteries after invasion, though thankfully are now rebuilding).
Basically whenever there's a regime change the new dynasty destroys/ reappropriates everything of the old, last seen in the Cutural Revolution. On one hand historians regard it as something that strangely 'renews' the society and has enabled China to become the world's longest surviving civilisation. On the other hand the loss... so much loss, and so much turmoil when it happens.
Another result is China unlike other countries didn't build so much on its feats after a while, preferring to keep the balance of society - but status quo often becomes stagnant, which leads to internal rebellions or takeover. One third of China's history has been under foreign subjugation. -Whenever the empire changed hands it would start again, which is why China in the 1000s (when it went through its Industrial Revolution on par with Britain's) was more technologically advanced than in the 1700s etc, or after the 1400s as a colonial power with the largest ever pre-industrial fleets and ships sent round the world, it reverted and burned down its entire navy by mid century. It's gunpowder discovery, and the first modern warfare by the 1200s, was of course kept limited as Asian society began to disintegrate with so much weaponry (Japan did the same, burying the world's most advanced weapons/ armies and adopting the way of the samurai for the next 300 years instead) - so the Mongols took the Chinese tech and armies and took over much of Eurasia. The long history, in short has been a constant dance with the vast hordes of the Steppe beyond the wall - and every time China did try to break its mould it would be subjugated or destroyed (usually by the Mongols - so many died the carbon in the atmosphere actually reduced).
The place is fantastic for interesting, eye-opening history, not so much if you actually had to live it ha. The current clime under the new dictatorship of Xi Jinping seems to be more on the same pattern. Basically after the disasters and coups to take down Mao the govt ensured that never again would power fall into the hands of one single person, at the sacrifice of 15 million, so that the head of the Party would always be shared by 6 or 7 experts in their fields (economic, military, academic, political science, sociology and recently, environmental, two of whom would act as the ceremonial figureheads) liable to the Party vote, and replaced every 8 years. With this the country has gone through a surprising period of stability that has seen in the economic rise. But then Xi comes along, imprisons all his detractors on the corruption purges, rewrites the constitution ... and nows starts to imprison the Xinjiangers. History appears to be repeating itself, China obviously got too comfortable for 40 years.
omg sorry i write too much, another essay! I get so carried away with history, Im interested not just Chinese but all (you should see me get started on British). Hope you guys have a fab time, I love the rapport you two have and the funny honesty to the camera. It's never boring with y'all even if you were covering a traffic light lol.
@@NaickKim that is called Yuanmingyuan, or old summer palace. mainly ruins left as it was burned by UK/French in 1860 during 2nd opium war.
Really another great upload of yours! I have seen quiet a few on the Forbidden Palace but yours stands out. You go around to more places within, show us close ups of some features and give background inform that helps a lot and your positive enthusiasm is infectious. Your channel on China deserves a spike in subscriber base and views really. Those who are not aware of your channel is missing out I must say hehehe!
Thank you Om Ni! Haha yes if just 1 in 100 Chinese people would subscribe to us we'd be well on our way to a spike hahaha 😁 thanks for watching!
I wish I could visit the Forbidden City one day! Thank you for the vlog!
You are so welcome! It's a really beautiful place.
OMG, you two were too hungry to visit the courtyards at both sides of the central axis ... you only saw the buildings, but the treasures of the forbidden city are displayed in those courtyards, which are more interesting in my opinion.
Hi, compared with these Ming & Qing dynasty buildings, there are still many Tang & Song & Liao & Jin dynasties’ buildings located in Shanxi, Hebei, Tianjin etc., and most of them are in Shanxi province. Structures are very different, and look more magnificent! For example, Nanchan & Foguang Temples of Tang Dynasty(618-907), Shanhua & Huayan Temples of Liao & Jin Dynasties.
That's interesting, thank you! We really love the Ming & Qing building styles, I guess they are the ones you can most often still see in China today? Thanks for watching!
@@NaickKim Hahaha, yes, Ming & Qing buildings are the biggest part of ancient buildings~ Thanks for your great videos! Naick looks like a big brother and Kim is really charming~
Here are some photos of Shanhua Temple~
m.baidu.com/sf/vsearch?pd=image_content&word=%E5%96%84%E5%8C%96%E5%AF%BA&tn=vsearch&sa=vs_tab&lid=8344387321434710526&ms=1&from=1001192y&atn=page&fr=tab
Thank you for sharing your wonderful experience. I am very glad that I found your channel.
Thanks a lot Xiang!
you guys are really good at filming
Thank you so much. glad to hear that.
there are many Chinese historical shows stories happen in the forbidden city. When Chinese people visited there, they are very interested in visiting certain rooms/halls that some classic drama happen there, lol
Oh really? We didn't know. Are they filmed in the forbidden city?
This good and valuable video reminds me of my frequent visits to The Forbidden City decades ago as a tour leader.to China tour. Thanks.
That musy have been an interesting way to learn a lot about China's history! Glad we could take you on a trip down memory lane 😉
@@NaickKim Thank again
You're very welcome 🤗
@@NaickKim I recommend to Yellow mount (Huangshan) in Anhui Province, the montain scinery/langscape is very like a wonderland. or Jiuzaigou in Zhangjiajie of beautful waterfallsin scenic land., seeing is believing.
If you join a travel agency tour,I think you wouldn't be queuing to the entrance? But the good thing to solo travel is that you have all the time to explore the place and not be time-restricted which is the case if you join a tour with a travel agency.
Yes indeed. We prefer going on our own than going on a guided tour. This way we can explore on our own and enjoy it as we like. It's also difficult to make good videos when on a tour group. And in our experience there are not that many guides who can tell an interesting story.
Thanks for making the VLOG. You mention about not able to get the ticket onsite. So, how do you purchase your ticket?
We bought it at a ticket office across the road from the Beijing railway station. We spent 1 hour looking for an ATM that worked with our foreign bank cards and stumpled upon it haha. Our hostel was also selling the tickets as well. You can also book them online through an agent. You don't need an actual physical ticket (you don't get one), they just register it on your passport number (you need to bring your passport to enter).
you can buy online. they have their app.
@@NaickKim Interesting, I bought my ticket on the spot (just before the security check) , special booth for foreigners and my ticket was my passport. But I was also struggling to find the entrance :D
There is also a museum inside. Worth to check out next time.
Thanks for the tip! We will return next time. There is still so much to discover there. Feels like we just did a small part of it.
I've spent three separate days (from opening to close) visiting and haven't seen it all so good luck if you think you can see it in a half day.
Oh you can't see it all in half a day but we could not spend 3 days there. Must have been cool to see so much of it!
Do you dare to imagine that the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, etc. are all built by hand?
It's crazy isn't it? Can you imagine these marvels being built now without any of the modern machinery?
Welcome to China and thanks for making this video!
You are very welcome! 🤗🙏🏻
Wow that looks so massive and impressive!
It was really amazing. We would love to go back to explore more. Have you been to China?
@@NaickKim not yet unfortunately, I might go there after I move to Japan at the end of the year tho! Are you guys going to explore more parts of the country?
@@AdamRifi Yes we are moving south to Pingyao, Xian, Chongqing, Guilin, Yangshuo, etc. Or at least that is the plan for now.
Wow, Japan! That's so cool. We would love to visit. Where in Japan are you going to live?
@@NaickKim Exciting, looking forward to the videos from there!
We will be living in Tokyo, if you end up going there, let me know and maybe we can film something together!
@@AdamRifi we definitely will! For now Japan is very high on our wish list but a bit over our budget, but when that changes we're heading your way!
Imaging being the servants or guards or officials back then.. imagine the amount of walking.
I know it blows my mind
I been here b4, i will come to summer palace again.
😊👊🏼
That's old Beijing Fried bean paste noodles. I'm not sure if the translation is correct😂
Yes indeed! It was not the best we had. In another restaurant we had one that was way better.
so sad that the tang palace which is sixth times bigger than this palace get destroyed thousand years ago.
Yes indeed! THAT would have been an amazing thing to see. I think it was the biggest palace ever built, no?
@@NaickKim yeah i think so, if u wan to know how tang palace building design look like you can reference to japan traditional building which is inspired by tang culture during tang dynasty.
故宫还是一座博物馆，就像大英博物馆一样。里面还有很多艺术品，都是中国几千年的国家宝藏。看来你们没有去看那些艺术品。有些遗憾。。。
建造物群本身就是最大的艺术品，有什么遗憾的
It's the biggest emperor's place in the world!
Oh is it? It is indeed very massive.
@@NaickKim Tang dynasty's capital city Chang'an' City--now Xi'an was two times large than Beijing forbidden City. but it was destoryed by war 1000years ago. then Chinese capital city becomed Beijing.
Thanks for sharing 😉
The music and the pictures are so matching. What are the music?
The music is from epidemic sound, a subscription based service for TH-camrs. There music library has 1,000s of tracks and they are incredible. The songs are called:
1. Evidence of truth - by Trailer Worx
2. Go from here - by Hallman
3. Origami sky - by Edward Karl Hanson
4. The flap of a butterfly's wings - by Christian Andersen
Music is great!!! The scene is perfect! Wonderful!
Thanks a lot Charlie!
At the gate of the forbidden city. There have intelligent voice guide to rent. 20rmb one person.
Yes we saw that. It can be useful if you want some additional information.
nice film, love it
Thank you Ricky! Where are you from?
@@NaickKim am from mainland China. you did a great job.
😊🙏🏻
The pair in this video did a great job here.,.they really should also visit THE GREAT WALL and make a vlog and post on here too.... LOVE CHINA !
Its so beautiful to watch your traveling Vlogs.
What are the devices (cameras) u guys use to vlog??
Thanks JiJi! It's a pretty long list, you can find it in the description of each video. Camera is the Canon 80D with some good lenses 📸😍
防火大水缸是包著金皮的，被八國聯軍的士兵們用刺刀刮去賣錢了，所以生鏽了！
强盗的后代
@@BBRX17 : 现在不可以这么说，历史的错还是让他停留在历史中吧，自强才是中华的根本！
Yangkip Hongtsg 那可不可以说你是匈奴的后代？ 奴才的后代？
It's very crowded in most tourists places in China.
Yes indeed! The forbidden city, terra cotta warriors, avatar mountain were all super busy. Part of being in China ;)
@@NaickKim I went to Suzhou at one time, and almost got crowded off a bridge in one tourists area. The bridge had no guard rails, and it was across a deep ravine!!!
There are 9999 rooms in the forbidden City
We should go and count them :)
It's actually 9999 and a half rooms because only Heaven have 10,000 rooms and the Emperor as Son of Heaven cannot possess the same numbers as Heaven. Lol
If you want to feel closer to those that once lived in the Forbidden Palace, you can watch ancient Chinese dramas like 延续攻略(Story of Yanxi Palace) for a feel of what life was like in the palace. You can also rent 汉服 (hanfu) from rental shops in Beijing to dress up as a concubine and stroll around the huge palace. If you're not sure which hanfu to choose, be sure to ask the staff there! Snow in the Forbidden Palace is also extremely beautiful, and you should definitely explore the 御花园 (Imperial Garden) if you can. Everything is so mesmerizing there!
Welcome to China...来自中国的祝福：玩得开心、吃得开心😃
Thank you! Where do you live in China?
@@NaickKim I live in Shenzhen
哈哈
Can you bring your own food ? Like uhm sandwich? Yay! After watching Yanxi palace i really want to go china now 🤭
Yes that's no problem. There are many beautiful places there!
if i visit china, i'll be sure to bring my motorised winding fork for those noodles.
the Lions was gold before
Oh really, when was this?
Naick & Kim all the treasure was stolen by Eight-Nation-Alliance back in last century, the most dark history for China. Some tables, poles used to decorated by gold and gems....... they all gone during that time....
Renee Xin I‘m 随便 say say的
噬玩割基 I’m 认真 replying的～ 😉
Renee Xin 你new bee
The wall seemed to have been painted recently?
It was all in pretty good state, I think they redo it occasionally :)
As far as I know, every corner of the forbidden city is maintained regularly
Welcome to my home city
Thank you! What area in Beijing do you live in?
@@NaickKim Xue Yuan Road, Haidian District
China has very rich culture especially Beijing ! beautiful
welcome to china beijing is my hometown that video is amazing
Thank you so much Haotian. Beijing is an amazing place! Do yoi still live there?
@@NaickKim I am in Sydney right now. Will come back when I graduate. I love the roast duck so much ^,^
Nice video!! You guys are so fun
Did you need to show your passport when going in ?
Yes. No passport no entry. We saw one guy getting turned away despite queueing for a looooong time because he didn't bring his.
@@NaickKim poor guy he is.oh no.
Yes he wasn't very happy about it 😳
Is very good vlog,l hop you will have more fun in Beijing
Thanks a lot!
好喜欢您的口音，听上去像是爱尔兰或者苏格兰那边的口音，但看简介是比利时😀😀
木哈哈 我在蘇格蘭和愛爾蘭待過，完全不像喔，像是比利時法語區的居民
@@AjosTok哈哈哈，这样啊😀😀，谢谢告知，我都没有去过😀😀
The pictures are beautiful, the music is good, you are really video expert level
Thank you!
In China, everything is huge and you need to take it seriously.
Radioactive drinks 😂😂😂
We swear haha. Naick now has 11 toes, which is why we never film his feet anymore ;)
In my lifetime i should go atleast once. Oh god..
It is an incredible place! Go go go 😉
very nice couple, welcome~!
Thank you Hong! 😊
If the whole city can be built like the forbidden city...
we like the hutongs too though :)
already done.
Nice 👌🏻
@@NaickKim thx
"most beautiful man-made structure i have seen" mhmmmmmmmmmmm TAJ MAHAL
We haven't seen the taj mahal yet. But it's on the list of things to do. Have you been there?
@@NaickKim yes ,its one of those thing u look at picture and be like bleh but when you actually standing there youll be *-*
@@samy8897 that's great to hear! We're thinking about going to India in January probably. Taj Mahal is pretty high on the list there then. Any other recommendations in that area?
Like your video very much . You all so cute and the video is so official
Welcome to Beijing
One big problem with visiting China is that there are way too many Chinese people in all the touristy sights due to the unfortunate policy of encouraging over-reproduction during the Mao era. Still, there are lots of beautiful sights to visit. There are just not many places you can visit without a crowd in the background.
It's true that we haven't visited a country that is as busy as China haha. Still, we really enjoyed our time in China and would love to visit again.
Good keep going
We will 😊👍🏻
Good I have been there👍👍
Great! When were you there?
Maybe you had 30k steps on that day :)
At least haha! Very tired at the end of the day.
professional tourists, guess you guys did a lot homework before came to china. thumb up
Glad you enjoyed our video!!
ForbiddenCity in Beijing was built and designed by a Vỉetnamese eunuch named Nguyen An, taken as prisoner by Ming dynasty after destroying Ho dynasty in Vietnam, later became a eunuch and architect. You can search Nguyen An eunuch for further information.
I think that's Shaomai rather than pork dumpling 🤔
Those are not temples.
Mostly palaces, but there are some temples in there too
So how could you beat a country like China (forever)???
The diversity you find in this country is unmatched in our opinion.
I think your vlog focused too much on your faces...... you can introduce or comment while the camera is on the view
Next time we'll show our butts a bit more! Thanks for the idea.
@@NaickKim wow, showtime~~~ I'll subscribe your channel so that I wont miss it!
btw, you are from Belgium? I went to Belgium this summer. Ghent is really a beautiful city.
@@NaickKim Have you been to Hangzhou or Suzhou? I strongly recommend.
welcome to my City ：）北京
Thank you!
Cześć witajcie witajcie
👍👍👍great vedo thanks sharing💗💗💗
Looks like Pablo Escobar and Marilyn Monroe had reincarnated into Naick and Kim and enjoying life.
Ahahahaha Jeslyn this really cracked us up! It's what would happen if Pablo and Marilyn would travel budget style, perhaps :p
Omg no dislikes
Haha :) Some people don't like the city I guess.
Naick & Kim but now it has four dislikes:(
@@XDXD-uo6uq Yes indeed. Who knows. Maybe people clicked on it by accident. Or they really don't like us haha,
Naick & Kim ye lol
You are making my choice to not go to China difficult. My biggest worry is being an American and all the political issues going on between our countries. Looks like a wonderful time. There is a youtuber RotoRiot that got to flay FPV drones in the city.. so great footage!! Thanks for sharing! #BlueMooseTraveler
Politics are just politics and don't reflect the people and culture in a country. A few years ago we went to Iran and met the most hospitable and friendly people in the world. We're not muslim but we were invited to celebrate in their most holiest holiday. Everywhere we went they stuffed us with tea and food for free. A man invited us to sleep in his home after we met him for 30 seconds. I can tell you countless stories. Yet if you would believe the media, they're portreyed as extremists, terrorrists and religious nutcases. Our interactions with the Chinese have been nothing but positive.
Thanks for watching! Where is your next trip going?
@@NaickKim will be heading out to Israel/Palestine for a few weeks. Was going to do the Siberian train but this opportunity came up so I will have to push the train back. I have lived in the Middle East and South West Asia and they are very hospitable. Never refuse tea from a Muslim, and never refuse vodka from a Russian! :)) Can't wait to see your next adventures! I need to try this vlogging thing!! LOL. Your budget vs. splurge video had me laughing! I keep things cheap, but will go all out one night for dinner. :)
@@BlueMooseTraveler we never refused either (tea nor vodka), so we're on the same page there ;) we heard Israel is incredible! We'd love to visit. We can only highly recommend the vlogging by the way, I think we have more fun when we film our activities than when we don't, actually :) it's become such a normal part of our day now haha. We'll probably be doing another one of those budget vs. splurge videos at some point, maybe when we make it to Japan... Some day... Because splurging in Japan sounds hella expensive :D have a great trip man!
No worries, politics is just politics, you will enjoy the trip for sure
Derek He absolutely!
Nice 👍
thank you!
Wooowww
Thanks!
👍
Thank you 🙏🏻😊
what? no dislike at all?
Your prayers have been answered!
不要在景点里面吃饭，一般情况景点里面的东西很难吃价格又贵。
Mantap
Forbidden City is no longer forbidden. The real forbidden city now is Zhongnanhai (Central and Southern Seas), the former imperial garden adjacent to Forbidden City, the current headquarters of the ruling party and the central government.
Maybe they should name it the not so forbidden city? Or the city formerly known as the forbidden city?
I think the persent and premier and other officers need a good place work.
能来个中文翻译 听不懂哈哈
1911年以前，这一切只属于一个中国人，不知你们能解读出什么历史意义吗？现在的中国其实也不像看上去的那样像西方一样。