[北京] Beijing – Forbidden City Part 1
Hey Steemians, It’s been a while since I did a travel post so I think today I want to share one of the most amazing locations I got to tour when I was out in china – Beijing’s Forbidden City! I took a few snaps and thought I’d share some with you all. If you guys have some time, be sure to visit this historical site. I would be kicking myself if I missed it. This place was so huge and I did so much on this day so I will be splitting this series up a little to get some more detail in.
Another Time
China is a country rich in History and Culture. Every Heritage site I visited delved deep into the past and some shared multiple eras of interest. During my time in Beijing I hit the ground running and wanted to see as much as I could in the limited time I had. Jet lag was lingering but there definitely is rest for the wicked. Immediately after my trip to Tianamen Square:
https://steemit.com/travel/@momosan/hello-beijing-tiananmen-square
I took the underpass walkway to head for the Forbidden City. Walking through a side entrance garden was a peaceful and tranquil. The weather was warm but the air not as heavy as one could have expected.
The deck and grass garden accompanied by water features were a pleasant site and this route was far less congested than the main entrance.
The Forbidden City is a grand Palace complex situated in the heart of Beijing. The majestic structures have served a total of 24 emperors and was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368 ~ 1911).
Source
Emperor Chengzu (Yongle Emperor) was the Third Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. His reign raised the power of the Ming Dynasty significantly. Appointed as the Prince of Yan (Beijing), the Forbidden City was built as the new capital in place of Nanjing. Construction commenced in his 18th year of power . The building of the Imperial Ancestral Temple can followed regulations the Zhou Dynasty. This is evidence that a mix of eras influence each other, which suggests to me that rulers sought wisdom and embodied their knowledge into every action. This regulation meant the temple would be built on the left with a Shejitan (Altar) on the opposite side.
The architectural design of the Temple resonates with the Forbidden City, assuming and South facing structure with a symmetrical layout. The Halberd Gate is said to be the ‘Door of Manners’. Sacrificial Hall was for worship and there exists a Resting Hall (still forbidden) where ancestors are to rest. This park before the Forbidden City was immense and it was a great walk through it and get a feel of what was to come.
The capital housed a spectrum of national treasures; the City is also referred to as the Purple Palace by astronomers due to the Purple Star of the heavens which complimented the notion of the heavenly emperor residing in the purple city. Strict entry requirements were put into place to allow only those with permission to enter… Hence the name, ‘Forbidden City’.
Fortunately for us, the City has since been a tourist attraction for many around the globe and a journey through time can be experienced.
Source
Along the way we had a chat with some of the locals who were helpful and browsed over some of the tourist shops/paintings. No one was pushy to make a sale here. Whether it was the time of day or season, it was fine to just look around and move on. With the day pressing on we decided to swiftly make way to the main gate entrance.
Dotted around the grounds there are information boards written in Chinese, English, French, Korean and Japanese. Info here was brief yet informative and I benefitted from these boards to recall some brief points when looking back on my photos and videos.
Arriving at admissions, tourists were funnelling in from different routes. There were many Chinese tourist groups congregating with their guides and this made up the majority of the visitors at the time.
Tickets for foreigners are around 60 RMB and if you’re a student, bring some ID to show for a hefty discount. Most visitors would either have a guide or rent an electronic one. The ‘E-Guide’ worked surprisingly well with GPS activated content. Simply walking around the site would trigger the guide to reveal some historic information as your explored. In my opinion, if you are solo travelling without a guide or much knowledge of what you are visiting, these are essential and money well spent to enhance your experience at the Forbidden City.
We queued, queued and queued a little more going past security. It’s worth noting that at various public venues (transport included) there are scanning procedures to follow if you are carrying bags. I welcome such a precaution but hope this can be seen as protocol rather than a formality exercise.
Finally free of security and the crowds, I found myself walking through this gargantuan arch leading into the Forbidden City. I am not sure why, but this was quite a cool moment for myself. Walking towards the light, filing up with anticipation as I approached the other end.
Forbidden Welcome
Upon entering the City grounds, an overwhelming landscape reveals itself. The flat grounds leading onto the next palace structures are exquisite. I couldn’t help but spin around for a moment to soak in where I was and what I was actually seeing. The blue sky with scattered clouds created an almost picture perfect contrast with the golden like roofing and symbolic red coloured structures.
It’s worth noting the abundant use of yellow is due to its representation of the royal family. One could easily see that yellow was the dominant theme and it was absolutely glorious to behold. The more I listened and researched, the more I began to appreciate the intricate details put into every detail of the Forbidden City. So many symbols, processes and influences embedded into this piece of History. There were tonnes of people in groups, listening to their guides and taking pictures. I could only do the same as I immersed myself into this walk through time.
Symbolic Against Time
I finally got to see a Chinese Guardian Lion. Having originally thought these to be representative of smaller Dragons,I was corrected and informed about the Stone Lion and it’s protective symbol. The Ming Dynasty lion is a guardian of the Forbidden City and these are often found in pairs (male and female).
As above, we can just about see the guardian lion pair. As I walked up with stony steps, the stone dragon carvings caught my attention. This was awesome. Such detail made me wonder how much restoration was required to preserve this sight. Twin dragons in the sky, even the stone steps themselves had carvings.
The golden urn/cauldron still has remnants of its shine today. These vessels are huge and were apparently used to hold water in case of a fire. These cauldrons are placed around various areas of the palace grounds. An amazing account of how these majestic containers were looted by French and British forces. Gold was scraped off of these huge spheres in an effort to plunder, I could see streaks upon streaks as I imagined soldiers attempting to strip away as much as they could.
On my way to the Hall of Supreme Harmony I came across multiple statues that held their own stories.
Crane and Tortoise
Together, the Crane and Tortoise are Bronze statues which represent longevity. The Crane embodies Wisdom, Long Life and a fatherly connection. The roaring Tortoise on the other hand adopts an almost dragon like appearance. Strong and sturdy, the representation of the universe and its stars are on its very body. A symbol of strength and longevity of centuries and beyond.
Source
Sundial
Used to tell time in pre-modern China, the shadow cast by the sun over the dial would gauge the time of day. The dial is representative as an example and featured a circular marble dial with carvings on either side. An iron gnomon is aligned perpendicular to the dial. The clever calculation to position this dial parallel to the equator of the Earth and the shadow cast onto the dial from the gnomon was used to indicate the time.
Interestingly, between Spring and Autumn, time is gauged on the surface of the dial while the rest of the months between Autumn and Spring are gauged from the bottom of the dial. In addition to the strategic positioning to serve time telling purposes, the sundial in front of the palace symbolises that the emperor held power to grant time across the lands.
As I walked around some of the more remote areas of the grounds, I came across a row of dragons… Literally. These are in fact used to drain water! There was no rain or water to be seen on this day but they are in fact used to prevent flooding. Modern renovation has included open drainage and cleverly placed excavations into existing architecture. This approach to restoration and preservation is innovative to me and I would have loved to see the flowing water from these Dragons.
A Brief Pause
For now I will end part 1 of my blog entry here. There was simply so much to see and talk about. Everything had meaning, history and other influences tied in. I am by no means an expert historian but I was entranced by some of the sights around Forbidden City. Hope you guys enjoy reading my travel entries and I will be continuing this journey in a new post soon.
Thanks for reading.
Momosan