Day 6: Good morning, Beijing! (Tiananmen 天安门, Forbidden City 紫禁城）

We reached Beijing at 7.20am. 

The first place (within the airport) we went to - for breakfast 

 How to place order:
1) Queue up, place your order and pay at the cashier's
2) Get a number tag
3) Find a table

 Porridge

 Our breakfast. We liked the doughstick. It is different from Singapore's version. Singapore's is limp and soft. Beijing's is slightly crisp on the outside and soft and fresh on the inside.

 We were amused that their morning egg is a fried one. We were expecting a half-boiled.

 We queued up at the taxi stand. The stand itself was a very, very long one.

In Beijing, their taxi meter starts at RMB 10, plus RMB 2 for petrol. And unlike their Shanghai counterparts,  a plastic shield is not in place to protect the driver.

The cab fare from the train station to our hotel was RMB 37.

After we rested for a while at the hotel, we walked to Tiananmen. At 10.30am, there were hordes and hordes of people thronging Tiananmen to go into The Forbidden City. 

We walked past Tiananmen to see many stalls paddling their ware. I was stupid enough to buy a RMB 60 pack of AA sized batteries.

We opted for the Automatic Guide - a sensory device that automatically explains or relates a tale about the various architecture in The Forbidden City the moment you walk on the ground. Amazing huh? The whole Forbidden City was sensored.

Each automatic guide cost RMB 40 to rent with a deposit of RMB 100 per guide.

A woman selling maps and explanations of The Forbidden City for RMB 5 at the ticketing queue. She kept repeating,"Buy a map and the explanation booklet so that you won't enter the City for nothing. Even if you don't use it, you can bring it home to educate your kids about The Forbidden City!" I was so intrigued by her that I stared at her at one or two-step distance. She saw me staring at her but continued to speak as though I was not. I bought one set from her, of course.

Ticketing information:
RMB 60 per pax
RMB 20 for children below 1.5m

Each time we went to an architecture, which was always a throne room of some kind, we saw crowds like this ...

 all fighting to see a throne like this

There were also quite a few magnificent pieces of stone carvings like this, even at the Temple of Heaven

There were exhibitions on the lifestyles of the royal family. The above exhibition was about the marriage of the Emperor. The auspicious hour for an emperor's wedding was from 11pm to 1am, so many candles and lamps were required.

The Palace Garden 御花园 - the only place in The Forbidden City that has plants

As I am typing this, an idea struck me: is this symbolical of the state of The Forbidden City? The Forbidden City saw many deaths. The only place in the City, The Palace Garden, that has plants - a symbol of life is incidentally a place with no death occurrence. Is it a coincidence or was it destined?

 The intricate structure of the architecture

 Two trees hugging each other - Couple Tree (夫妻树）

A palace Empress Cixi lived in

 It is difficult for me to imagine how grand and beautiful the place was, ever

 An exhibition about the concubines. They were ranked and even the daily utensils were differentiated.

This was where Empress Cixi made the young emperor repeated her instructions from behind the yellow curtain （垂帘听政）

 The Palace is huge. Very, very huge.

 Behind the red bricked wall were many lives lost

Treasure Gallery 珍宝馆

RMB 10 per pax was required to enter to view some other exhibits like Concubine Zhen's well (珍妃井）

 An impressive carving of nine dragons at the entrance of Treasure Gallery

 Wood carvings of dragons on the doors of the structures

 Even the roofs were adorned with intricate carvings of legendary animals - the sons of Dragon

Concubine Zhen was pushed into the well by the order of Empress Cixi as Concubine Zhen found favour with Emperor Guangxu.

It is difficult to imagine how a 25-year-old woman could be pushed into a well that small.

It was 5pm when I made my way out. Coco and my parents apparently had went some other way and after waiting for them for more than half an hour, I decided to walk out, hoping to see them outside.

As I was walking out, I could not help but marvel at the magnificence, yet sigh at the great sense of loneliness, of The Forbidden City. So many power struggles, resulting in the loss of lives after lives, many of which were young lives. Many others were innocent. So many only wanted to get by and survive in the Palace, yet were forbidden to. It was truly The Forbidden City.

When the teenage girls first entered the Palace as consorts, did they realise what they were in for? Did they somewhat forsee what they could end up as?

Dynasties after dynasties - to us commoners, they were victories of a new generation or era. But behind every victory, there was great bloodshed - the deaths of emperors and princesses. I could imagine the great fear and hopelessness that seized the royal families when the enemies came charging into the palace.

A sense of sadness and melancholy came over me as I walked around the Palace. Almost for every place I went to, there was a sad tale to tell. I did not expect The Forbidden City to be such a depressing place. I wanted to treat it as a Palace Museum (故宫) which is its very current name, but it was The Forbidden City. No other name is as apt as it.

 Chairman Mao looked lonely up there on the Gate

Many were still taking pictures at The Gate

Despite walking for about 6 hours, we only managed to cover half of the huge place!

To truly enjoy the Palace - if the Chinese history so intrigues or mersmerises you despite all its melancholy and sorrows, go there early like 8.30am to beat the crowd. To cover the ground entirely, one day certainly is not enough. I don't know how those tour groups do it, to conquer The Forbidden City and a few other areas within a day. It is advised to have two days allocated for The Forbidden City - only if you enjoy Chinese history. If you don't give a heck about it, you would feel that The Forbidden City is a dread, and a drag.

Some after-thoughts ...

I honestly surprised myself. I thought I'd hate the place. Despite studying Chinese history at 'A' levels, I was apathetic towards the happenings in the actual history. I just thought the Boxers were a silly bunch of xenophobics and Empress Cixi was ridiculously ignorant and stupid, except that emotions and feelings were often conveniently left out in the history notes and books. Perhaps if the written history had been more literature-like, I would not have been so averse towards it.

Looking at the discoloured pillars and structures, and the very many similar architecture in the Palace, I could not help but wonder if emperors really did exist. How could emperors be living in structures so dilapidated looking? But when I saw some intricately refurbished doors, I could imagine that the paint was once always new and good. The faded fabrics and curtains which dorn the rooms must have once been luxurious-looking.

Power corrupts - the tale Empress Cixi had lived to tell. From a simple consort, she rose to become a Dowager and was so obsessed with power that she wanted to rule all the time. And she did - for 47 years. A strong-willed girl who turned absolutely ruthless and self-serving, destroying anyone who stood in her way or at risk of threatening her position.

For all the splendour of the many dynasties, the evils of Empress Cixi remain the most mind-etching.