Forbidden City

My first act of tourism in Beijing last weekend was to visit the Forbidden City.   It was the home of the emperors from the Ming and Qing dynasties.  It is named the Forbidden City because for over 500 years it was off limits to commoners.  It is now one of the main tourist destinations in China...check out all of the people in the picture below:

When you are walking into the Forbidden City there is an instructional announcement.  One of the things that they tell you is to please not push.  I chuckled at this as I walked in thinking it was maybe some misunderstanding in translation.  Oh no...when you got up close to the buildings (which you weren't allowed to enter) you were literally pushed and shoved and cut in front of and bumped by the loads of people trying to take a look.  Personal space...not something that is observed in the Forbidden City.

The complex is massive and covers just under 8 million square feet.  I entered through the Meridian Gate which is the south entrance.  It is also the entrance that the emperors used so  I saw it fitting that I should use it...kidding...it was the one closest in walking distance from my hotel.  The Forbidden City actually straddles the meridian of Beijing so it splits the city in half.  There are three main halls that lie along the meridian which are the main focus of the guided tours that come through...also the main areas where one is likely to be pushed.  This is one of the three buildings:

I was surprised that almost all of the buildings were constructed of wood.  If you look closely at the picture of above you'll see some big vats at the base of the building.  These were used to keep water in case of fire.  Some of them were actually bronze and must have looked amazing when they polished.

I very quickly got tired of the massive crowds and the tour guides along the meridian buildings.  If you walk on either side of these there are all sorts of halls and walkways that were far less crowded...and I found to be far more interesting.

These side alleys haven't recently been restored so the paint is peeling and the wood is faded and I found them to be far more genuine.  I spent more time wandering around them and snaking my way in and out of the alleys.

Red is considered to be good luck so almost all of the buildings and walls were painted red.  However, the rooftops were all gold (hard to see in the pictures because of the lighting).  Gold represents wealth and power...of course...so it was only fitting that the roofs of the buildings in the Forbidden City be gold.

As with most older buildings, there were gargoyles all around for decoration and to ward of evils spirits. 

This guy was trying to talk to me...

There were also all sorts of dragons decorating the City.  I'm not sure if you recall from a former blog post but dragons of royalty will always have five claws.

I think I wandered around the Forbidden City for about four hours.  I saw quite a bit of it but am sure I missed heaps.  It is definitely worth the visit if you are in Beijing....just don't push.