Workers Cultural Palace

Despite the prosaic name and epicentral location at the very heart of town, this reclusive park, northeast of the Gate of Heavenly Peace, is one of Běijīng’s best-kept secrets, and a bargain to boot. Few visitors divert here from their course towards the main gate of the Forbidden City, but this was the emperor’s premier place of worship and contains the SupremeTemple ( 太庙; Tài Miào). If you find the Forbidden City either too colossal or crowded, the temple halls here are a cheaper, much more tranquil and far more manageable alternative. The huge halls of the temple remain, their roofs enveloped in imperial yellow tiles, beyond a quiet grove of ancient cypresses and enclosed within the Glazed Gate ( 琉璃门; Liúli Mén). Rising up to the splendid Front Hall, the scene of imperial ceremonies of ancestor worship, are three flights of steps. Only gods could traverse the central plinth; the emperor was consigned to the left-hand flight. Note how the plaque above the Front Hall is inscribed in both Chinese and Manchu. Sadly this hall, as well as the Middle Hall ( 中殿; Zhōngdiàn) and Rear Hall ( 后殿; Hòu Diàn) behind, is inaccessible. The northern perimeter of the park abuts the palace moat (tǒngzi hé), where you can find a bench and park yourself in front of a fine view. For an offbeat experience, practise your backhand within earshot of the Forbidden City at the tennis court (6512 2856) in the park. Take the northwest exit from the park and find yourself just by the Forbidden City’s Meridian Gate and point of entry to the palace, or pop out of the eastern gate to Nanchizi Dajie.