Jingshan Park

This guide to Jingshan Park in Beijing follows the last days of the Ming dynasty in 1644, when Beijing fell to rebel forces and the emperor Chongzhen vanished from the Forbidden City below. It traces the hand-built hill itself, mounded from earth dug out of the palace moats to shield the palace according to feng shui belief, its five peaks each crowned with a pavilion built for emperors to admire their capital. Look south toward the golden roofs for the view the story keeps returning to.