Forbidden City, Beijing

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A very serious advice:

Pay attention to every detail of the explanation done by our guide (person or book), during the visit: that way you will find out that "peace and harmony" is the dominant concept all across the place. You will visit doors, palaces and halls of all kinds of peace and harmony: Supreme harmony, preserving harmony, Heavenly peace, terrestrial peace, central harmony...

Take a lot of pictures to document, all the differences (?) among them.

Back home sort them carefully, and find out that... you are lost. For us, western people, everything is so similar that all the descriptions become... words.

So, mix your pictures, and find the harmony resulting from that mess.
That's the forbidden city: a beautiful big old city (with harmony) whose details are only for expert's eyes.

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Well, finally it comes to the end of Forbidden City after the Well of Concubine Zhen. I left the far east palace of Forbidden City, turned left passing through a long wall with trees to reach Gate of Divine Prowess (Shenwu Men) and exit The Forbidden City. When I left the Forbidden City, I felt release from some kind of stress. And I saw the beautiful Jingshan Mountain, and enjoyed seeing the sunset views at the water canals on both side of the gate. Imagine how difficult for people who lived and worked inside the Forbidden City in the ancient time without leaving the palace for their entire life!!

Gate of divine Prowess is the main gate at the north of Forbidden City. It was built in 1420. During Ming Dynasty, it was called the "Xuanwumen， 玄武门". It named after a divine animals of ancient time, the Black Tortoise (the seven mansions of the north sky) 玄武。During Qing Dynasty, to avoid reiteration with name of Emperor Kangxi, whose name was Xuanye 玄烨, the gate's name had changed to Shenwumen, 神武门 untill today. In 1924, feudalistic period Emperor Pu Yi was expelled out of Forbidden City through this gate.

In Chinese: 神武门 (Shen Wu Men)

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The Forbidden City is called "The Palace Museum" now, cause it is no longer a Forbidden City as everyone can visit the Palace now with admission charge. It is located in the central of Beijing, which was the imperial palace of Ming and Qing dynasties. This palace was to constructed in 1407, and completed in 1420. There were 24 emperors from the Ming and Qing dynasties living here with nearly 500 years old history. Emperor Yongle was the first emperor who lived here. Among others, Emperor Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty and Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty made many changes of the Palace complex. In 1911 revolution, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen broke out and overthrew the Qing Dynasty, ending 2,000 years of Chinese feudal monarchy. In 1925, it became a museum named "The Palace Museum" till today. It was declared as UNESCO site in 1987.

I visited the Forbidden City on 7th Oct 2011. I managed to queue for the ticket at 8am on the last day of National Holiday. During the National Holiday, it was too crowded to queue for the ticket, and definitely not a right time to visit. The TV news announced that The Palace Museum has the most visitors among all the attractions in China during National Holiday. The reason is because this is the "Must" place to visit for the Chinese once in their lifetime.

Before I went, I studied what to expect and how long would it take to see it all. Well, the answer is I don't think anyone can see it all in one day because it was so huge, hall after hall with small alleys with red brick walls. If you go with a tour guide, you will most likely miss out a lot of halls and palaces on the east and west, cause they might only show you the important palaces from Meridian Gate (South) to Gate of Divine Prowess (North).

There was a lady gave us some introduction of the museum, and selling us a map with guide book (Y5) while we were in the queue. The map and the guide book were very useful, especially the map gave me the sequence number, so I could avoid wasting time going back to wrong directions. The map and the guide are in bilingual, Chinese and English. So, if you see someone selling maps in your queue, take a look at it!! The map's sequence to visit the palaces as the following:

Outer Court:
1) Meridian Gate (Wumen Gate) - In my review
2) Hall of Martial Valor (Wuyin Hall) - In my review
3) Gate of Supreme Harmony (Taihe Gate) - In my review
4) Hall of Supreme Harmony (Taihe Hall) - In my review
5) Hall of Central Harmony (Zhonghe Hall) - In my review
6) Hall of Preserving Harmony (Baohe Hall) - In my review

Inner Court:
7) Gate of Heavenly Purity (Qianqing Gate) - In my review
8) Palace of Heavenly Purity (Qianqing Palace) - In my review
9) Hall of Union (Jiaotai Hall) - In my review
10) Palace of Earthly Tranquility (Kunning Palace) -In my review
11) Gate of Earthly Tranquility (Kunning Gate)
12) Imperial Garden - In my review
13) Hall of Imperial Peace (Qinan Hall) - In my review

West Palaces:
14) Palace of Gathered Elegance (Chuxiu Palace) - In my review.
15) Palace of Universal Happiness (Xianfu Palace)
16) Palace of External Spring (Changchun Palace) - In my review.
17) Palace of Blessings to Mother Earth (Yikun Palace) -In my review.
18) Palace of Eternal Longevity (Yongshou Palace)
19) Hall of Great Supremacy (Taiji Hall) -In my review.
20) Hall of Mental Cultivation (Yangxin Hall) - In my review.

East Palaces:
21) Hall for Abstinence (Zhai Palace)
22) Hall of Benevolence (Jingren Palace) - In my review.
23) Hall of Celestial Favor (Chengqian Palace)
24) Hall of Quintessence (Zhongcui Palace) - In my review.
25) Hall of Justice (Jingyang Palace) -In my review.
26) Hall of Eternal Harmony (Yonghe Palace)
27) Hall of Prolonged Happiness (Yangxi Palace)
28) Hall of Ancestral Worship (Fengxian Hall)

Far East Palaces:
29) Nine-Dragon Screen- In my review.
30) Gate of Peace and Longevity (Ningshou Gate)
31) Hall of the Norms of Government (Huangji Hall)- In my review.
32) Palace of Peace and Longevity (Ningshou Palace)- In my review.
Garden of the Palace of Peace and Longevity (Ning Shou Gong Garden)-In my review.
- Pavilion of Bestowing Wine
- Studio of Ancient Glory
Pavilion of Cheerful Melodies. -In my review.
33) Hall of Character Cultivation (Yang Xing Dian)-In my review.
34) Hall of Joyful Longevity (Leshou Hall) -In my review.
35) Hall of Harmony (Yihe House)- In my review.
36) The Well of Concubine Zhen (Zhenfei Well)- In my review.
37) Gate of Divine Prowess (Shenwu Gate)- In my review.

I left Forbidden City at 4pm, and managed to glance through important halls and gardens. I did not have time to see most of the museums' displays. Good luck!!!

In Chinese:
Forbidden City- 紫禁城 (Zi Jin Cheng)
Palace Museum- 故宫博物院 (Gu Gong Bo Wu Yuan)

Opening Hours:
April 1- Oct 31 (8:30-17:00)
Nov 1- March 31 (8:30-16:30)

Admission:
April 1- Oct 31 (Y60)
Nov 1- March 31 (Y40)

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This is a well-known well in the Chinese history. Concubine Zhen was thrown into this well from the order of Empress Dowager Ci Xi due to political issue and power in the imperial palace. The signboard was written as:

" Concubine Zhen was the beloved concubine of Emperor Guangxu. She sympathized with and supported the Emperor's views on constitutional reform and modernization. After the reform was suppressed by Empress Dowager Cixi, the Emperor was taken into custody in Yingtai while the Concubines was confined in houses under guards. When the Eight-Power Allied Force attacked Beijing in 1900, Concubine Zhen was thrown into and drowned in this well by Eunuch Cui Yugui at the order of Cixi. "

"In 1901, she was posthumously conferred the title of Noble Concubine, the third-level consort. Concubine Jin, her sister, set up the mourning chamber for her to praise her sincerity and determination. "

In Chinese: 珍妃井 (Zhen Fei Jing)

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Hall of Harmony is a link building with Pavilion of Prospective Happiness (Jing Qi Ge). This building complex is located northern part of the far east Forbidden City. Currently, this hall is a museum displays imperial gifts now.

The signboard is written as:

" Constructed in 1776 during the Qing Dynasty, this hall is linked with Jing Qi Ge (Pavilion of Prospective Happiness) by a covered corridor. It was built for Emperor Qianlong's retirement. The words "Yi He" mean preserving one's vital energy."

In Chinese: 颐和轩 (Yi He Xuan)

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Hall of Joyful Longevity is located north of Hall of Character Cultivation. Empress Dowager Ci Xi had live here before. It is a museum that display giant jade from the Imperial. The signboard was written as:

" This hall was constructed in 1776 during the Qing dynasty as a copy of Chun Hua Xuan (Purity Studio) in Chang Chun Yuan (Garden of Eternal Spring) for Emperor Qianlong's retirement. In front of the hall, on the wall of the covered corridor, there is a stone inscription reproducing the Rubbings of Model Calligraphy of Jingsheng Studio. Since the Qing Dynasty, a huge jade carving titled " Yu the Great Quelling the Floods" has been preserved in the hall. It is the largest jade carving in the Palace Museum. After the celebration of the 60th birthday, Empress Dowager CiXi lived in the west chamber of this hall. The words "Le Shou" come from The Analects of Confucius, meaning "intelligent people are happy people, and benevolent live long."

In Chinese: 乐寿堂 ( Le Shou Tang)

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The Pavilion of Cheerful Melodies is located far east of Forbidden City, east of the Hall of Character Cultivation. This was a performing stage that emperors and empresses enjoyed watching opera in here. The signboard was written as:

" This pavilion was constructed in 1776 (the 41st year of the Qianlong reign period of the Qing Dynasty). In 1817 (the 22nd year of the Jiaqing reign period), a three-story opera stage, the largest stage in the palace, was added to the pavilion. The pavilion is 20.71 meters high, with a construction area of 685.94 square meters. The upper story of the stage is called Happiness Stage; the middle part, Position Stage; and the lower story, Longevity Stage. Longevity Stage has five trapdoors in the ceiling, leading to Position Stage. By the trapdoors, there are capstans and wheels, allowing dramatic entrance and exits of supernatural beings, ghosts and demons. During large-scare performances actors and actresses appeared on the three stories at the same time. The stage can hold 1,000 people. This pavilion faces Yue Shi Lou (Pavilion for Reading) to the north. The two words "Chang Yin" signify loud and cheerful sounds. "

In Chinese: 畅音阁 (Chang Yin Ge)

On the north of this hall is the Pavilion of Reading. The signboard was written as:

" Built in 1776 during the Qing Dynasty, this pavilion has two stories. Every New Year's Day and on the emperor's birthday, the emperor and empress, princes and high ranking officials watched operas here. Officials sat in the covered passages on both sides. On her 60th birthday, Empress Dowager Ci Xi was accompanied by Emperor Guangxu, his empress and officials in watching performances for more than 10 days at this hall. The words "Yue Shi" mean making correct judgement of reality from watching stage performances. "

In Chinese: 阅是楼 (Yue Shi Lou)

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Hall of Character Cultivation is located at the center between Garden of the Palace of Peace and Longevity and Pavilion of Cheerful Melodies. It was mostly used as a function hall in the Qing Dynasty. The signboard was written as:

" This hall was constructed in 1776 during the Qing Dynasty, as a copy of Yang Xin Dian (Hall of Moral Cultivation). Emperor Qianlong planned to live here after his abdication but never did. In December 1781, the emperor held a banquet in this hall to entertain princes, high-ranking officials, Mongolian chieftains and Manchu nobilities. When Empress Dowager Ci Xi lived in Le Shou Tang (Hall of Joyful Longevity) in the late Qing Dynasty, she dined in this hall in Dong Nuan Ge (EEast Chamber of Warmth). In 1903 when Emperor Guangxu lived here, he and Empress Dowager Ci Xi would meet the wives of foreign envoys in the hall. In 1909 a celebration was held here when Empress Dowager Long Yu was given a title of honor. The words "Yang Xing" are derived from Mencius, meaning "cultivating one's character to reach benevolence."

In Chinese: 养性殿 (Yang Xing Dian)