How to Take the Best Photos of Forbidden City Turret and Moat

If you plan your Beijing tour, you’ll definitely add “Forbidden City ( also known as Palace Museum)” to your Beijing visiting list. Before you visit Forbidden City, you normally will search for some online information on how to visit Forbidden City to prepare for a life-time visit to the great Palace Museum.

One primary thing that is often missed is to visit the magnificent turrets of Forbidden City and its surrounding moat. There are four beautiful turrets of the same structure on the four corners of Forbidden City. Each turret tower has nine girders, eighteen columns and 72 ridges. The two turrets on the northeast and northwest corners offer the best photo opportunities.

The turrets are inaccessible to visitors. People usually finish their visit to Forbidden and exit from its north gate. Then turn either right for the northeast turret tower or left for the northwest turret tower outside Forbidden City.

The turrets are in full view, with a prominent setting above the moat and the forbidden City walls running either side. The northwest turret is a perfect spot for taking best photos of the turret in sunrise glow and night view as well; the northeast turret offers good daytime and night views, and the sunset view as well.

It is a shame that when they exit from the north gate to Forbidden City, many people even don’t bother to look up at the two corners outside Forbidden City where the two magnificent turret stand.

The different four seasons present different views and photo opportunities. In addition, different time of a day also makes unique and fantastic pictures of the turrets.

There are three good photo taking spots where you could take the best pictures of the turrets of Forbidden City. The first is outside the Northwest Turret; the second is outside the turret of Northeast and the last is Jingshan Park where you can also have a panoramic view of the whole Forbidden City.

The Northwest Turret in sunset glow after snowing in Beijing