More Road & Subway Closures This Weekend; Forbidden City Closes

原创 Joey K. theBeijinger

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Drivers take heed: if you're planning on using your car or electric scooter in Beijing this weekend, prepare for some serious detours. In preparation for the 70th Anniversary of the People's Republic of China, pretty much every major road in the center of the city and extending east to Chaoyang Park (the area roughly outlined in the image above) will be closed down to vehicles, to allow for military parade drills.

Oh, and cancel your plans to visit Tiananmen Square: it's closed to the public Sep 14 and 15, while the Forbidden City will be completely closed from Sep 21 to Oct 1.

Road closures and restrictions

On Friday, Sep 13 (tomorrow), all motor vehicles will be prohibited on Chaoyang Park Road and Workers' Stadium North and East roads until the rehearsal revelers have passed through.

Beginning Saturday, parking will be prohibited on most major roads north of Qianmen Donglu and south of Dongsixi Dajie within the East and West Second Ring Road, as well as on Workers' Stadium East Road, Jianguomenwai Dajie, and the roads that run from the Agricultural Exhibition Center to Pinganlixi Dajie (including Workers' Stadium North, Dongsishitiao, and Di'anmendong Dajie).

By 5pm on Saturday, most major roads north of Qianmen Donglu and south of Dongsixi Dajie within the East and West Second Ring Road will be closed, as will Workers' Stadium East Road. Most closures will run until the evening of Sep 15, but some closures in the Qianmen area will be in effect until Sep 16.

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Subway closures

The drills will also affect subway stops along Lines 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 14:

Saturday, Sep 14

大望路 Dawanglu (Line 1), closed 12.30pm, Sep 14 to midday, Sep 15
天安门西 Tiananmen West and 天安门东 Tiananmen East (Line 1), closed from 4pm
复兴门 Fuxingmen and 国贸 Guomao (Line 1), 建国门 Jianguomen, 复兴门 Fuxingmen, and 宣武门 Xuanwumen (Line 2); 西单 Xidan and 宣武门 Xuanwumen (Line 4); 东单 Dongdan (Line 5); and 国贸 Guomao (Line 10), closed from 5pm
崇文门 Chongwenmen (Line 5), closed from 6pm
八宝山 Babaoshan (Line 1); 圆明园 Yuanmingyuan, 北京大学东门 Peking University East Gate, and 人民大学 Renmin University (Line 4); 天通苑北 Tiantongyuan North, 惠新西街北口 Huixinxijie Beikou, and 宋家庄 Songjiazhuang (Line 5), closed 5.30pm to 9.30pm
雍和宫 Yonghegong Lama Temple (Line 2); 雍和宫 Yonghegong Lama Temple and 灯市口 Dengshikou (Line 5), closed 6pm to 10.30pm
蒲黄榆 Puhuangyu (Line 5); 北工大西门 Beigongda Ximen and 蒲黄榆 Puhuangyu (Line 14), closed 6.30pm to 9.30pm
郝家府 Haojiafu (Line 6), closed 7pm to 9pm
四惠东 Sihui East (Line 1); 东四 Dongsi (Line 5/Line 6), closed 7.30pm to 10pm
积水潭 Jishuitan (Line 2), closed 9.30pm to 10.30pm
四惠 Sihui (Line 1), closed 8pm to 10.40pm

Sunday, Sep 15

八宝山 Babaoshan (Line 1), closed 2pm to 7.30pm
复兴门 Fuxingmen (Line 1/Line2) closed from 2.30pm
和平门 Hepingmen (Line 2), closed from 3pm
天安门西 Tiananmen West, 天安门东 Tiananmen East (Line 1); 前门 Qianmen Station (Line 2) closed from 4pm
惠新西街北口 Huixinxijie Beikou (Line 5), closed 4.30pm to 7.30pm
All stations from 复兴门 Fuxingmen to 建国门 Jianguomen (Line 1); 宣武门 Xuanwumen, 建国门 Jianguomen, and 崇文门 Chongwenmen (Line 2); 宣武门 Xuanwumen and 西单 Xidan (Line 4); 东单 Dongdan and 崇文门 Chongwenmen (Line 5), closed from 5pm
宋家庄 Songjiazhuang (Line 5); 郝家府 Haojiafu (Line 6), closed from 6pm to 8pm
东四 Dongsi (Line 5/Line 6), closed 7pm to 9pm

TL;DR

If all of this seems a bit confusing, here are the bullet points:

Try to spend your weekend outside of the area marked in yellow in the image above.
After the weekend, expect it to be increasingly difficult to circulate in the yellow area, regardless of your mode of transport, until the anniversary has passed. This image was actually first circulated back in 2015 during the 70th anniversary of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, and if that year was anything to go by, the city is going to be locked down, tight.
At weekends especially, forget that Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City even exist. Just imagine a big, tall, impenetrable wall around the area (like in the olden days!) and don't try to approach it until after the anniversary.
Park your car, and dust off the bicycle for the next few weeks.
Just leave Beijing completely and come back after Golden Week.