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

The Northwest Turret in sunset glow after snowing in Beijing
The Northwest Turret in sunset glow after snowing in Beijing

The glorious Turret in the winter sunset glow.

The glorious Turret in the winter sunset glow.
The glorious Turret in the winter sunset glow.

The Turret above the moat with the wall running either side

The Turret above the moat with the wall running either side
The Turret above the moat with the wall running either side

The Northeast Turret Tower during day time in cold winter.

The Northeast Turret Tower in cold winter.
The Northeast Turret Tower in cold winter.

The beautiful northeast Turret Tower under sunshine

The beautiful northeast Turret Tunder sunshine
The beautiful northeast Turret under sunshine
taking the pictures defiance of the cold

The Northwest Turret Tower seen for Jingshan Park

The prominent tower
The prominent tower

Tip: Hassle-free Beijing Guided Tours

If you don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours,  here are some options for Beijing guided tours:

Beijing Day Tour
Beijing Tour Packages
Beijing Winter Tour
Beijing Autumn Tour
Great Wall Tour
Car Rental in Beijing
Beijing Tours
China City Tours
China Tour

Further Readings


Best Time to Visit Beijing
How to plan a trip to Beijing

Top 10 Attractions in Beijing
How to Visit Forbidden City
How to Visit Temple of Heaven
How to Visit Summer Palace
How to Visit Ming Tombs
How to Visit the Great Wall of China
How to Visit Tiananmen Square
How to Visit Hutongs
How to Visit Olympic Sites

Top 10 Markets in Beijing
Top 10 Shopping Malls in Beijing
Beijing Shopping

Wangfujing Walking Street
Qianmen Commercial Street
Gui Jie ( Ghost Street) Food Street

Any questions, just drop a line.

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