Dream trip: Conquer a Forbidden City
By Jen Lin-Liu
(Budget Travel) — Welcome to a secret world. For nearly 500 years, the Forbidden City’s fortified walls and 170-foot-wide moat protected the Chinese imperial family from fires, invaders, and nosy Europeans.
These days, a new menace lurks outside the barriers: the wrecking ball. All over Beijing, ancient hutong, or alleyways, and traditional houses with tiled roofs and courtyards are giving way to state-of-the-art highways and skyscrapers.
Thankfully, the Forbidden City has not only dodged the bulldozer, it’s been newly restored, from its charcoal-heated kang beds to its gold-lacquered banquet halls.
