The Forbidden City and Tian'anmen Square, Finally
Christmas has come and gone in China, and we rang in the new year on the couch after bad air ruined our plans to go out. About Christmas: while the Chinese don’t typically celebrate it, establishments around Beijing have figured out what westerners look for this time of year, and like all good Chinese experiences, shopping for Christmas decorations here is twice as flashy and loud as anything you’d find in the U.S. Seriously, the Christmas trees, lights, and ornaments are off the hook—blinking, strobing, sparkling, singing, winking, laughing, Beijing’s got it. We bought a live, potted Christmas tree here that was hand-delivered to us and could have been fully decorated if we’d wanted—there were several themes to choose from. Also, my mom bought us a Christmas wreath while she was here that came with bright, red and white spotted glass mushrooms on it. American Christmas: outshone. (But only in superficial terms).
Anyway, this post is really about the Forbidden City. Full disclosure, I went there about a month ago (with mom) and then dragged my feet on posting about it because I lost perspective and thought the Forbidden City would be a yawn-fest for everyone. Then I realized that's only true for those of us living in Beijing. How many times did I think about the Forbidden City when I was living in Boston? Approximately none. All that said, looking at and even reading about the Forbidden City can be overwhelming, so brace yourself. Here we go!
Looking at the Gate of Heavenly Peace (Tian'anmen) from Tian'anmen Square.
We went to the Forbidden City on a cold day in early December, and did an impromptu tour of Tian’anmen Square on the way. If you’re fuzzy on the details of Tian’anmen Square’s significance in China’s history (specifically the protests there in the 1980s), I recommend giving it a google. While Tian’anmen Square existed in some form from the 1400s onward, Mao Zedong expanded it in the 1950s, turning it into the word’s largest public square with a capacity for more than 500,000 people. It lies just south of the Gate of Heavenly Peace (a.k.a., Tian’anmen), which itself is just south of the entrance to the Forbidden City. The square is flanked by The Great Hall of the People (where the National People’s Congress meets), and the National Museum of China. You can go inside both, but I’ve done neither, so stay tuned on that. In the middle of the square is the Monument to the People’s Heroes, which looks like...a monument, and was built in 1958.
Tian'anmen Square--see the Monument to the People's Heroes (tall skinny monument straight ahead) and Mao's mausoleum (behind and left of the monument). Off to the right is the Great Hall of the People.
A closer look at the Monument to the People's Heroes, with the Great Hall of the People behind it.
Maybe most notably, the square also surrounds Mao Zedong’s mausoleum, where you can go to get a look at the guy himself (also have not done yet). Security is high at Tian’anmen Square, with metal detection and bag screening for anyone entering, plus occasional passport checks (I’ve heard). We did a quick walk around the square and snapped some photos of the huge picture of Mao displayed on the Gate of Heavenly Peace, across the street from the north edge of the square. Without knowledge of the events that happened there, it’s easy to be bored by the whole experience—it’s just a big square, after all—which is why I recommended googling it.
A closer look at Mao as we headed through the Gate of Heavenly Peace.
From the square we made our way through the Gate of Heavenly Peace toward the Meridian Gate, which is the southern entrance to the city. For those of you who don't know, the Forbidden City is the palace complex used by the Ming and Qing dynasties (1400s to early 1900s). It is a massive, walled city that was home to 24 Emperors and their courts. It covers about 180 acres, consists of 800 buildings and 9000 rooms (FYI, a lot of internet sources claim there are 9,999 rooms, but I have yet to read this from a source I trust). The complex originally marked the geographical center of Beijing, and back when it housed the emperor it was (surprise!) forbidden to anyone outside the exclusive court community.
Looking back at Meridian Gate after entering the Forbidden City.
Just inside Meridian Gate, looking toward the Gate of Supreme Harmony. The Golden Stream flows through this courtyard (between the marble "fences" running horizontally across the middle of the photo) and you can cross it using one of five marble bridges.
Looking back at Meridian Gate from the Gate of Supreme Harmony.
We followed a walking tour from my Lonely Planet Beijing book, which took us through the “outer court,” which is a straight shot northward from the Meridian Gate. We first went through the Gate of Supreme Harmony which is guarded by two massive bronze lions.
One of two bronze lions guarding the Gate of Supreme Harmony. Note that one of the lion's paws is resting on a globe, which symbolizes the emperor's world dominance.
Another shot of the same bronze lion. Sidenote: all over Beijing there are pairs of lions (often made of stone) guarding the entrances to banks and other institutions where security is important. They're also in front of restaurants and hotels in a more kitschy capacity.
Pairs of lions make many appearances on the palace grounds, guarding the entrances to important buildings. The male lions pin a globe under one paw to symbolize the emperor’s power, and the female lions have an infant under one paw to symbolize the emperor’s fertility.
Ceramic pillow. Because why use something actually soft?
We took a detour from the outer court to look at the Ceramics Gallery, which houses vases, dish-ware, statues, and even ceramic pillows(!) from hundreds of years of Chinese emperors. I didn't take many photos because the lighting was dim, and most of the artifacts were behind glass, but it was amazing and if you're ever at the Forbidden City you should check it out.
Back to the outer court, we walked through (in order, south to north) the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Middle Harmony, and the Hall of Preserving Harmony. Each of these halls had a specific purpose, with the Hall of Supreme Harmony being the most important ceremonial venue, and the Hall of Preserving Harmony functioning more as a banquet hall. All three are stunning, and home to an imperial throne that you can see (but not touch!) through large entryways typically blocked by a seething mass of Chinese people pushing and shoving and taking photos.
The Hall of Supreme Harmony.
I lost my mom in one of these crowds for about ten minutes—after fighting my way out, I wandered around the crowd looking for her and hoping she hadn’t been trampled to death on her first trip to the Forbidden City. Turned out she was fine.
The photo crowd.
After reaching the Hall of Preserving Harmony, we took a right and walked through the “Treasure Gallery” which is displayed through a series of buildings that run parallel to the central axis of the Forbidden City. On this detour, we saw the palace’s opera house, which ran performances on multiple levels (performers on the first floor and second floor!) and then walked through several galleries of gifts, artwork, and jewelry formerly owned by emperors, their concubines, and their courtiers. Back in the day, the palace was staffed by thousands of eunuchs (guys relieved of their “manhood” and therefore no threat to the emperor) who were notorious for their manipulation skills, and performed all kinds of services for high ranking officials and the emperor's concubines.
Okay, rather than explaining everything else in disembodied paragraphs, I'm going to put the rest of the tour in photo captions, so your info will come with pictures :)
The Hall of Supreme Harmony was used for ceremonial occasions like coronations and the emperor's birthday. This hall features an elaborate dragon throne.
Looking off to the left from one of the halls.
A crane in the outer court.
The painted woodwork below the eaves of the roof is called "dougong" (doh-gong). It's a traditional Chinese architectural feature dating back to the late B.C.s that's made up of intricate interlocking pieces of wood--no nails or glue are involved, only joinery.
The gateway from one courtyard into another.
The little figurines running along the ridge of the eaves are called roof guardians, and they are all over the place in Beijing. Here, the last creature in line is the imperial dragon, and the procession is led by a figure riding a phoenix. In between are a series of mythical beasts, all facing outward to protect the building. The more beasts there are, the more important the building. According to my research, nine is the maximum number of beasts. That said, this hall has ten, so don't believe everything you read.
All three Great Halls in the outer court sit on a three-tier marble terrace with balustrades.
The tiered terrace behind the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
In the outer court.
The throne! The entire court was required to tap their foreheads on the floor nine times in the presence of the emperor. This is called "kowtowing."
One of the three great halls in the outer court.
The staircase leading to the back side of the Hall of Preserving Harmony. The carved marble running between these two staircases includes one massive piece that weighs 250 tonnes. To solve the problem of transporting it from the quarry (back in the 15th century), the engineer in charge had wells dug at regular intervals along the route so that (in winter) the road could be doused in water and the giant piece of stone could be pushed/pulled over ice to the Forbidden City. It actually worked!
Another shot of the famous piece of marble. The emperor's minions would carry him up the stairs on a palanquin/litter/carriage, the muscle on either side and the emperor gliding up the middle. This is therefore called a "carriageway."
Two of 308 giant vats in the Forbidden City. Some are bronze, some are copper, and they were used to store water for dousing fires.
Gateway from one courtyard to the next. Note the view of the White Dagoba in BeiHai Park through the gateway.
Passing from one courtyard to the next.
Another guardian lion. This one has a baby lion under her left paw, symbolizing the emperor's fertility.
Some kind of carved stone container, but I'm not sure what for...
Courtyard we passed through on our way to the Treasure Gallery.
This is called the "Nine Dragon Screen" and is one of three still preserved in China. This one served to protect the emperor from evil spirits.
This is the entrance to the Treasure Gallery, which is housed in smaller, identical version of the Forbidden City that runs parallel to the central drag of the city. This is where the imperial concubines lived during the Ming dynasty.
These dragon-head spouts surround the raised marble platforms in the city, and (still) serve as drainage mechanisms.
The Forbidden City's biggest opera stage. There are multiple floors, I could only fit one into the photo though :/
A sundial--there are several of these throughout the city, and they are symbolic of imperial justice.
Shady courtyard to the east of the city's central drag.
Hazy view of the outer court. I believe these big urns were for burning incense?
Looking across the courtyard behind the Hall of Middle Harmony, where the emperor received ministers and rehearsed speeches.
Tree in the imperial gardens.
In the imperial garden--there's a little pagoda at the top of this stone sculpture.
A wall in the imperial garden. The garden, by the way, is 7000 square meters.
Two kneeling bronze elephants flank the Gate of Divine Prowess on the north side of the imperial garden. They signify that even huge beasts like elephants kowtow before the emperor.
Wild-haired lion guardian!
Looking back at the north gate to the Forbidden City after exiting.
The moat surrounding the city.
There’s a certain numbness that comes over you after you’ve stared at hundreds of stunning pieces of architecture, and we went a little rubber-kneed towards the end. We finished our tour of the city in the imperial gardens by the north gate, and my eyes were glassy by then. Even though about half of the city is closed to the public, there’s still too much to see in just a few hours. We skipped a bunch of the inner court by going through the Treasure Gallery, so next time I’ll be sure to check out what I’ve missed.
After leaving, we tried to get a cab and realized we were surrounded by people trying to scam us. One driver told me he’d take us where we need to go for 150rmb. That’s somewhere around $20-25 US which sounds acceptable if you’re used to New York, Boston, or D.C. cab prices, but in Beijing that’s some serious price gauging. I forced my mom to walk a while until we were clear of the obvious tourist trap/scamming operations, and we finally found an honest cab driver who used the good old meter. Our ride cost about 37rmb, which is more like it. After several hours of being not quite warm enough, I was glad to sit back in cab and hang out in traffic for a while.
The Forbidden City is truly mind-blowing, as may or not be clear from my poorly lit photos. The history of the city is long and complex, and I'm certain that most of the nuances of the architecture and layout were lost on me (my mom will notice that I did most of my research after the fact, for one). You should know that I've only scratched the surface of facts about it here, and you should also know that, like a lot of famous Chinese sights, there's a bunch of misinformation floating around on the internet about the Forbidden City. Hopefully I haven't fed you too many lies here. I recommend a well-research documentary on it if you want to know more.
That's all for now, thanks for reading! And remember:
