The Forbidden City - Please Come In

After a decent night's rest on an extremely hard bed (aka a piece of plywood with a 1 inch pad on top), I set out for another look at the Forbidden City, my interest piqued by the sights of the exterior from the day before. Another hazy day stood ahead, always giving the feeling of rain, though that's basically the normal grey color of the sky in Beijing. Again, I followed the path of the weeping willows and the wide moat, leading to the front of the massive palace, this time paying the entrance fee to pass beneath the gates to one of China's most popular attractions. Through the Meridian Gate, the city revealed itself to me, more impressive in size than I had imagined. In front of me, five marble arched bridges crossed the narrow moat and led towards the Supreme Harmony Gate, an elaborate passageway flanked by two golden lions, protecting the most important buildings of the palace. It is said that the massive courtyard here could hold up to 100,000 people during imperial performances, of course only for an elite list of guests. During its time of creation over 500 years ago, this area was strictly off limits to anyone other than the royal family or its guests. It survived hard times, was restored in the 17th Century and then was restored again a few times in the past 100 years, making it past the culturally destructive cultural revolution that often involved destroying religious and ceremonial artifacts. Today the Forbidden City is touted as the largest and best preserved collection of ancient Chinese buildings in existence.

After taking an excessive amount of photos upon my initial entry, I moved towards the next gate, marvelling at the extreme detail of every single piece of the building. These wooden structures are hand painted with exquisite designs of red, blue, purple and gold, only revealing itself upon close inspection. The incredible part is that this attention to detail is evident in almost every piece of architecture in the City. Within the middle of the complex, fighting my way through many tourists and flag toting tour groups (some all wear the same flattering hats to identify themselves and provide a sense of togetherness), I came upon the three main halls - the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Middle Harmony, and the Hall of Preserving Harmony. Pushing in close to see the contents, most of these rooms are rather spartan, though not to say that they are dull. They feature the same details as everywhere else on the doors, carpets and ceilings, but the rooms often contain one officious-looking throne, covered in beautiful wood carvings. It was often from these perches where the emperor would make his decrees, and his word was the final one. Snaking from one temple to another, I couldn't help but imagine the feeling this place must have held during its peak. A true oasis of wonderful architecture, golden rooves, and tranquility, separated from the "plebeians" outside the high concrete walls.

Also interesting was the mix of people during my trip inside. I saw people from countries all over the world, a good number of which I could identify thanks to the Paralympics. Still taking place after the Olympics, I was there during the Paralympics, so I saw many of the athletes sporting shirts and jackets with their country name on the back - from the US, China, Bosnia, New Zealand, Argentina, Lithuania, Italy, France, Holland and many more.

Behind the first series of temples, a long marble slab lays on an incline leading from the back of the raised temples to the courtyard below. This massive 250 ton rock was brought in from a neighboring province during one winter, pulled across a sheet of ice the entire way. The "stairway" is probably 20 feet wide and 200 feet long, so this must have been quite a task. Now covered in etchings of dragons and such, the emperor was carried on a throne up and down this inclined walkway to get to and from his perch. Around the side of many of these thrones are massive barrels, more examples of the opulence of the rich place. For a while I found a quiet spot to sit beside one of the barrels, able to get away from the crowds and enjoy the brilliance of these temples. Finally making my way to the back of the complex, I came to the Imperial Garden, a nice collection of exotic trees, a few lakes and some flowers, though it was a little too crowded to really enjoy at the time.

Having taken two hours to ramble my way to the back, weaving in and out of the temples, I turned back, this time opting for the side routes, revealing another labyrinth of former houses and courtyards, many still closed to the public. This area truly is another village within the Forbidden City, and it is said that the last emperor even had a tennis court constructed in one of the plazas, though I didn't see that. Speaking of things I didn't see, I was also quite pleased not to see the Starbucks that somehow bought its way into the middle of the Forbidden City, according to my map. I did see a coffeehouse at the location, but I was glad not to see the ubiquitous green logo standing out next to the marble plazas. For my last stop on the way out, I climbed one of the towers, offering a dwarfing view of the outside courtyards and many people below, also revealing a small display of the traditional silk clothing worn by many people that once inhabited the place. Though full of people, the Forbidden City certainly lived up to my expectations, offering a wonderful view and preservation of how ancient China would have looked, well, at least the regal part of it.

(One of the first views inside the Forbidden City. The massive scale of the whole place is impressive.)

(Details, details, details.)

(Wearing a Mexico t-shirt in China? Mmhmm.)

(A temple in the Imperial Garden.)

(A Chinaman in a hat, not to be confused with Chinaman's Hat, the island off the coast of O'ahu, Hawai'i. Hopefully you realized that that's a person and not an island without my help.)

(Another view of the scenic city.)

(Ornate roofing. I had the same look in my dorm in college...nothing special.)