Beijing Forbidden City mobility issues
 

I am recovering from knee surgery and cannot walk long distances or stairs. Is it possible to visit the Forbidden City-Palace Museum or the Summer Palace? Thanks for all advice.

Read this: http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2...-a-wheelchair/
and http://www.globalaccessnews.com/beijingchina04.htm
Use Google and you'll find tons of experiences.

I remember the that both sites are huge and seem to go on forever. The Forbidden City was more flat, and the Summer Palace was more hilly. There were indeed stairs to go into the buildings.

Given your limitations, I would plan on just getting a taste of each site. Just plan on walking around a bit, and resting. You can enjoy much of the architecture from the outside. My younger son described the Forbidden City as a "boring bunch of red buildings" and there is some truth to that--the Summer Palace is much prettier, with the lake. Actually, get yourself a copy of the Eye Witness book for Beijing, so you can get an idea of the original use for each building. It was our bible in Beijing.

Thank you both for your input. It is very helpful.

I agree that you should be able to visit a SMALL segment of each (or both), but each is vast, and anything you can do to conserve your strength and energy by using a wheelchair would likely be a very good idea.

My favorite parts of the Forbidden Palace were the private quarters to the north. IIRC, the doorways connecting various sections sometimes had a base of 2 or 3 inches, but there weren't a lot of stairs into the buildings in that section (though there were some). The main "public" buildings -- the palaces, etc. -- are surrounded by stairs, but even there, you might be able to appreciate them, as they are massive and, IMO, generally more interesting from a distance than from the top of the stairs looking in. JMO!

My favorite parts of the Summer Palace were in the lower, flatter part of the park, so again, you might be able to see more than you might think.

Hope that helps, and good luck!