The first thing
you’d see before you enter the gate is a portrait of Mao. Similar to gates
found in palaces in South Korea, this one is rather big and you could climb it
if you want, for an extra fee. Entrance to the area is gratis but be ready to get
pushed and shoved. What would be a great day to visit Tian’anmen Square and the
Forbidden City? I wouldn’t know. I went on a weekday hoping that the crowd
would at least be thin. Well, it was probably thinner than it would have been if
it was a weekend, but there was still a big crowd in there. Whatever the board
of tourism is doing, it’s obviously working. People are mostly obsessed with
structures that have witnessed the intriguing events of the past, and the
Forbidden City has a lot of interesting figures in history to back it up, from
the 24 emperors who lived in it all the way up to the infamous Empress Dowager
Ci Xi.
The area is just
across Tian’anmen Square and also shaped as such. If you have a metro map of
Beijing, you’ll easily spot the Forbidden City area by locating the big square
in the middle that no metro line would dare cross. That’s approximately the
whole area, and since it is a national heritage it is bound to stay that way.
The suggested stop would be Tian’anmen East if you want to start your tour with
a peak of Tian’anmen Square before going to the Forbidden City. Why
is it called “Forbidden” anyway? I’ll leave that to the history books. And
Google. And Wikipedia. Knowledge is not unattainable nowadays for those who
seek it. It’s called the Internet, my friend.
Once you enter
Tian’anmen (the gate with the Mao portrait) you will find yourself in a big
square facing another big gate called Duanmen. This one has three dummies on
the veranda posing as royals to greet you. Enter that gate and you will find
yourself in a much bigger square, this time with stalls selling all kinds of
souvenirs which include those crawling toy soldiers with a Chinese flag pinned
on their ass. Far north would be the biggest gate in the area called Wumen.
That is the main entrance to the Forbidden City, the entrance ticket for which,
at the ticket booth, would be tagged as a “National Palace Museum” ticket. Withdraw
60 yuan from your wallet.
The setup is
pretty much the same. I guess East Asian Palaces are really built that way. There
is a very big elaborately designed gate. There is a square surrounded by
palaces to the north (usually the main palace) and on both sides (hall for
ministers or temple for the arts, etc). Most of the time, there is a stream flowing under a bridge on the main square, which is almost always at the
entrance. The succeeding ones would then have no body of water. Instead, they
have footpaths at the center usually lined up with specially designed stones. If the main
palace is elevated, there would be steps that would bear a unique
design that further adds to the character of the place.
What you would see
next would be more red and gold. Aside from palaces the Forbidden City also has
many pagodas and pavilions, as well as some unique sculptures based on Chinese
myth, or technical innovations during the early periods of Chinese History such
as a sun dial. Other than that you would also find some large metal pots. And
stuff. And then there are the tourists, but they are not part of the
attraction. Or come to think of it, maybe they actually are!
It would be nice
to roam around these palaces all by yourself, maximizing all opportunities for
a photo op without having to wait for the crowd to disappear. But I think that
would also be a bit creepy. I’d rather have people rather than Chinese History
ghosts as companions while gallivanting. Give up your print
modeling ambitions and just enjoy the view. Watch the people. Watch people
watching other people. Be an observer.
If you are looking
for exhibits, they have a few inside. For example, there is the Hall of Clocks,
which is housed in one of the palaces. You’d be seeing clocks inside,
obviously. Lots of them: with different designs coming from different nations
and acquired by China through trade. If you love clocks you would have a great
time in there. Otherwise, you’ll just nitpick on how ridiculous some of them
are. Design had been prioritized over ease of use. Some of the clocks would be
hard to locate because of all the artwork. In our house our clocks are mostly
just ovals and squares, but they serve their purpose even if they are not
aesthetically pleasing to look at. Then again, our house is not a museum for
clocks.



What followed? More
walking, more color red everywhere you look, and some dragons. There is this wall
with colorful dragon designs, nine of them I think, which reminded me of
Kowloon. If I remember correctly that means “Nine Dragons” in Cantonese. It
must be a significant figure for them. I think emperors usually use it as a
symbol for their power. That explains why they are everywhere. If you lived in
the palace grounds back then, seeing all those dragons everywhere must have been
an intimidating and constant reminder that you have an emperor who is
supposedly a deity.
Like I said, the
palaces all look similar to the untrained eye, although some features are
distinguishable like the design of the doors, the balcony, and the roofing detail. They seem to follow only one theme. Of course, the more
detailed the design, the more important the building is, or the person who resides
in it. But since I had no guide, I had no clue. Poor me.
There is another
exhibit on jewelry. There you would have an idea how they dressed during those
days. I think you already have an idea from pop culture and historical dramas,
but the pieces in this exhibit are said to be legit. I am only disappointed
that there seems to be just a few in there to be seen, and the popular ones,
such as that elaborate headdress of an empress, were very hard to capture on
film because of the throng of people surrounding it. In ancient China they dressed to impress. In the modern world, you dress
like that and snatchers will rob you at gunpoint under the stark daylight.



I am sorry if I
could not give pointers as to where to go or what you should see. First, it is
so easy to get disoriented with all those people areound you, so what I did was
I just followed them wherever they went. And second, I did not have a map with,
which would come in handy if you are OC. Otherwise, just follow the flow of the
crowd, unless they lead you to another mini museum with a separate entrance
fee. As for me, I was led to the theater.
Opera was popular
during the imperial days. It had its highs and lows but we could say that it
had its taste of fame. I was amused with the theater because of the design and
the mechanism they used to hang actors from the ceilings, pretending they were
divine. I suddenly remembered Moulin Rouge, hahaha. Just opposite the theater
is a mini exhibit and it is free! You see some scripts inside, wigs, the spot
where some royals would watch the plays, and a mini version of the theater
outside in a glass case showing you how they made it work.
According to my
photo stream I was next led to another museum, this time for the Buddhist arts.
It was not as alluring as the one housed at UB’s Winter Palace, but the
collection here is also impressive and further advanced my desire to get to
know the religion, which I always say but never really had the time to do.
Maybe when I finish wandering around Asia I would put this on top of my
priority list.
And then came the
gardens with the redundantly red pavilions and mini bridges over Koi ponds. One
particular garden that might be of interest would be that with the concubine’s
well in it. You have to read this, it i very Sadako. So the empress dowager
felt that a certain concubine was influencing her son. She ordered for her to
be killed by tossing her into a well. Obviously, she drowned. That’s, like, so
Sadako, right! Luckily, there haven’t been any reports on long haired women in
white crawling out from the palace wells. Well, the actual well that is there
now seems to be just some sort of replica. Hello, that just seems small even
for a kid to drown in. Anyway, this made me want to get to know Xi Ci more. She
seems like your typical Pinoy soap opera villainess if you base it on accounts
regarding her life. And I love them typical Pinoy soap opera villainesses.
And then I
remember pausing for a while and grabbing a drink. Or was that an ice lolly?
Anyway I sat inside a souvenir shop cum snack bar with a perfect view of a
pagoda overlooking a Koi pond. Peace! And then I entered some of the Pagodas
and checked the interiors. Some of them had cool ceilings and the doors are still,
attractively bright red but just blends so well with the design.
I was just walking
there with my toungue hanging out of my mouth again out of thirst when I found
out that I was already in a familiar spot near the entrance. How many hours
have passed? You might want to start your tour of the Forbidden City early in
the morning. Gates are said to open by 8:30 AM, and if you are lucky, you might
just get that perfect photo op. Just wear your running shoes and outdo the
other tourists in their own game.
Wait! Your trip is
not yet over. There’s still the Tian’anmen Square, which is just a square but
built to impress the world. If you are still in need of some history tour, the
Naional Museum would be the building to your left, if you are facing the
square. There is an identical building on the other side but I am not sure what
it is and if it is open to the public. There is a people’s monument, Mao’s
Memorial Hall, two more big gates to the south, a railway museum. Lots to see!
I’d say you give
the whole morning to the Forbidden City, the afternoon to Tian’anmen Square,
and the evening to Wangfujing Street for some serious shopping. Wangfujing
Street is Beijing’s version of the typical pedestrian shopping street meant to get
you bankrupt. I’ll cut it here. This article is long enough as it already is.
Just see the Photobucket album for more pictures. I think there are 90 of them.
The video is boring but if you want to see what’s waiting for you inside, I
suggest you watch it.
DONGCHENG: 02 - The Forbidden City of Tourists
2 creature/s gave a damn:
forbidden city was worth 4 hours of my time in beijing.I enjoyed it but i had to endure the jostling since i went there on a saturday(my mistake).good thing i went there in spring(late march)so it made the long walks a lot easier.
@melvin - I think it was summer when I went there, really humid! And then the crowd was thick so it was a bit exhausting. Still, marvelous structures they have there although everything gets monotonous after a while, must be all the red and gold. Hehe.
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