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 | Beijing Forbidden City Reviews | Tips 1 - 10 of 420 |  |
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The Forbidden City is also known as the Palace Museum. It is the largest palace in the world and was built in the beginning of the Ming Dynasty (1406-1420) Construction of the palace took approximately 14 years to build. A total of 24 emperors were enthroned here. There are a total of 9,999 rooms ( the number 9 was always used by the emperor, because it was considered the highest single- digit odd number.) There are also 9 nails in each door, horizontally and vertically. The color red signifies happiness, yellow signifies earth, which can be seen throughout the city for it was most extensively used by the emperors, who were regarded as the supreme rulers of humanity. Black, which signifies water was used on the library in hopes that it would protect the many books contained within from fire. Within the city walls lived a total of 3000 people, consisting of eunichs, servants, concubines, the emperor, and empress. The tatal area of the Forbidden City is equivalent to 180 acres. After 1911, there was no emperor. The last known emperor resided in the inner quarters of the palace for an additional 30 years until he was thrown out and the palace was opened up as a museum in 1925. Leave a Comment Directions: In the Center of BeijingWebsite: http://www.dpm.org.cn/
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| | | | Forbidden City: The echoing halls of fading dynasties...Part 1 | Tip Rating: | | | | |
Looming large around you, the walls of the Meridian gate seem to represent Chinese authority: stark, blank, smooth, monolithic slabs. They are disturbinglt attractive in their flawless immensity, carving three sides of a wide, cobbled square. The southern side remains open, the end of the monumental walkway from its more famous sister gateway - Tian'anmen. The northern wall is pierced only by three tunnels, like tiny mouse-holes in a vast red skirtingboard. Through these damp tunnels, you enter the spectacular, echoing yards and halls of the Imperial Palace - the Forbidden City.
Standing in the inner quadrangle, the power of the Chinese imperial civilisation is palpable, and causes a shiver. The walls around you create a sense of human frailty, of inconsequence and mortality. This is, of course, the whole point: no-one except the emperor, with the mandate of heaven, was ever supposed to feel comfortable here. Worldwide, through history, the power of monarchs, dictators and regimes has been best promoted through vast areas of stone and marble.
Within the gates, beyond these tunnels, the fragility, and human scale increases, as the sense of fear decreases, the further back you go. The more you wander into the personal space of the emperors, into the private areas, the scale reduces until it feels human again. Beyond that Meridian Gate, the power was exercised at a human level, and the emperor was seen only by the vetted few: ministers, guards, officials, eunuchs and concubines. All depended upon the emperor for their lifestyles, their livelihoods and ultimately their lives, so it would be a brave person who challenged the authority inside those walls. To the many outside the palace, the power was the walls. Leave a Comment Directions: Ming and Qing directions: At the centre of the universe Chinese directions: at the centre of China Tourist directions: north of Tianan'menWebsite: http://www.dpm.org.cn/
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| | | | Forbidden City: The echoing halls of fading dynasties...Part 2 | Tip Rating: | | | | |
Today, tourists trim through in great phalanxes, led by cheery, bland tour-guides with tinny wailing voices made tinnier by the little battery-operated loudhailers. Their screechy voices echo around the squares, bouncing off the million panes of glass, the marble steps: somehow it adds to the atmosphere.
Simone de Beauvoir commented on the sterility, and it is hard to disagree. There is no warmth or love in the Forbidden City. There is harmony, but no signature - it is an architectural formula bound by timeless rules, superstitions and values. It is not a city, yet it is not a palace. It is an instituion - an emperor's workplace. There are no quirks, no flaws and no mistakes: feng shui mapped the form, man built the structures. It is not beautiful, it is aggressive, powerful and demanding. Unlike many ancient buildings around the world, the Forbidden City cannot be described as "living history": it simply exists like a bookmark of previous civilisations. The scale is overwhelming, its form impressive, and the whole package is haunting and unforgettable, but there is little evidence that has ever been laughter, love or pain here.
To many it represents China - closed, secretive and aloof. To others it is a symbol of past glory, to be created again. To most visitors, who cares as long as we can keep up with Lei Lei with the loudhailer or we'll never find our bus again. Leave a Comment Directions: Ming and Qing directions: At the centre of the universe Chinese directions: at the centre of China Tourist directions: north of Tianan'menWebsite: http://www.dpm.org.cn/
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