Beijing Top Attraction, Forbidden City or Great Wall of China?

Most tourists who visit China would not want to miss either the Forbidden City (故宫) or the Great Wall of China (长城). Should you only have time to visit one attraction in China, which do you think is Beijing top attraction?  The Forbidden City (故宫) or Great Wall of China (长城)? 

 

 

Beijing Top Attraction

 

Many of my non-mainland China colleagues chose to visit Great Wall of China as most feel that it is a magnificent architecture of all times in history which they do not want to miss when they were in Beijing. When I asked the same question to my mainland China colleagues, which would they recommend. They unanimously chose Forbidden City. Their reasons were that the Great Wall of China is rather far from the city. It may takes more than an hour or two to reach the destination due to the unpredictable traffic condition. The Wall is just a piece of wall and nothing else, what you get will be probably nothing more than some exercise as you need to climb the steep, high steps.

 

Great Wall of China (长城)
Great Wall of China (长城)

 

As for the Forbidden City, it is within the second ring of Beijing and it is very accessible by public transport. Moreover, this attraction has many chambers and sections. Each chamber, each section has its own unique story to tell. It will give tourists some perspective of the China history and a glimpse of the life behind the well-guarded wall.

 

Forbidden City (故宫)
Forbidden City (故宫)