The only real reason to climb to the top of Jingshan Park is for the amazing views over the Forbidden City. Of course, what you really see is how revolting the air is here. While it just shows up in the close up photos of the palace as a grey sky, from a distance, the soupy air is quite shocking. You can't really see much, but the entire fogged in area behing the walls is the Forbidden City and its endless courtyards. The clearer photo was obviously taken at closer range, and shows the moat that provided the dirt for Jingshan Park. Also, to clear up any confusion, the photos in the previous post were from the internet, and are either heavily photoshopped or taken one a very rare clear day in Beijing; these photos are what you can expect while you're here.

Jingshan Park rises from the back of the Forbidden City. It's a fake mountain in this otherwise flat city, built from the leftover dirt from the moats surrounding the Imperial complex. But it's main purpose was to ensure good feng shui. Feng Shui dictates that it's lucky to live on the southern slope of a hill, and all previous imperial palaces had been so placed. Since that wasn't possible in Beijing, a hill had to be built to ensure the imperial family's continued prosperity. The park isn't particularly interesting, although it has a couple Buddhist temples at the top. Also, the last Ming emperor hanged himself here in the seventeenth century, if that makes it more interesting. Doesn't say much about the promises of feng shui though.