How long will it take you? About an hour and a half maybe 2hours
How much will it cost you? 6RMB!! (That's about $1AUD)
And...
The quality of the train? AMAZING! No joke - With more than enough room to fit out packs in front of us and still stretch our legs out! I still cannot get over how amazingly clean and room-y the train was and all for $1... Brilliant.
We stayed at the City Walls Hostel in an old hutong area. The hostel was great - The host was friendly and genuinely welcoming. He gave us a detailed mapped and outlines all the 'go-to' areas and all the 'avoid' areas. We stayed in an 8 bed dorm - 2 bunks downstairs, 2 bunks upstairs - So it was more like a 4 dorm. At 100RMB (about $15AUD) a night, you can't really go wrong. The only feedback I would say is the lockers are small - I could fit my iPad and travel documents. So if you're staying in the dorm and you have large valuable items - You may want to bring a security net (if that worries you)
As soon as we arrived we unpacked our bags and headed to the Forbidden City. The bus is cheap and easy enough to catch - but we opted to walk - It took as about 30min from the hostel.
I want to rant and rave about the Forbidden City, but it left me a little underwhelmed. It is stunningly beautiful and decorated elegantly. The history is amazing and the size of the halls with the golden architraves blows your mind... but it was just lacking in that POW! there was something missing in the atmosphere of the place, that made it pleasant and nice to see - but didn't leave me thinking "WOW - THAT WAS AWESOME".
Take your time to walk through here and, as I have said before, take a good guide book with you. You will benefit more for this and truly grasp a sound understanding of the Forbidden City.
Entry into the Forbidden City will set you back 60RMB (Just under $10AUD).
