Small World, Big City: Forbidden City

I had been to the Forbidden City before, in high school, but I had forgotten how massive it is. This morning, I met a friend from Korea who has not toured Beijing before. Otherwise, I might have just skipped the Forbidden City since I had already gone. I'm glad I went again, but it was a very exhausting day.

First, we had breakfast in the cafeteria of the building where our Chinese friend works. It was probably the best breakfast that I have had in a long time. I don't really like Western breakfast at all, but I have to eat in the morning so I usually force myself to have some fruit and yogurt. Chinese breakfast is amazing. First of all, I love rice porridge. The cafeteria had three different types--one with pumpkin and these little red Chinese herbs (I forgot what they are called in English), one with vegetables, and a third that actually isn't porridge, but a common Beijing breakfast stew with intestines and liver and lots of garlic. There were all sorts of cold plates, including wood ear, cucumbers, and eggplant, and various fruits. They also had sticky rice.

Luckily we had this amazing breakfast, because we spent the next five hours or so walking.

Now that I know the Chinese metro lines, it's actually quite easy. The trains come quite often. We went to Tiananmen Square to access the Forbidden City, which in Chinese is called the Palace Museum. At first, it's overwhelming how beautiful the structures are--orange tiled roofs, red columns, and dragons painted everywhere. After the third or fourth gate though, it all sort of looks the same. Still amazing though. In the first square, there is an area to buy tickets. We didn't think to reserve in advance, so we waited in line for about an hour. Since we went later in the day, there were actually less people, since most tour groups like to go in the morning.

It's fun to imagine how this place must have been centuries ago. The main entrance where we all enter used to be reserved only for the Emperor. Entering the Forbidden City without an invitation was punishable by death. A lot of the cobblestone is worn and crooked, making it difficult to walk on after the second or third hour, but it also makes it easier to think about all the people that have walked through these areas before. I'll post photos later, since it's too difficult to coordinate that with the restrictions on blogger here. I found out that if I am using the mobile data on my phone, I can access both facebook and blogger. Thus, I can post on my blog by writing in my aol email account (can't access gmail or google using the internet here), which I then open on my phone and paste in using the blogger app.

Beijing is hot, but since I'm used to bikram yoga, the heat doesn't bother me so much. I've been warned about the pollution by many Americans, but honestly, it's not so bad compared to Taiwan. I think Taipei is actually worse--when I am there, I have to use an inhaler every day. In Beijing I have been okay so far, maybe because it is less humid.

This time around, I took time to look at the ceramics collection, which is quite impressive. The way the museum is laid out let's you see how ceramics in China evolved over time, starting with pieces that are over 10,000 years old! Another interesting exhibit is the Hall of Clocks, which has clocks that were given to or purchased by the Emperors on China. They are incredibly ornate, and I actually have not seen anything like them. There is one huge clock that runs on water.

My favorite part of the Forbidden City is actually the Nine Dragon Wall, which is in the Hall of Treasures. As the name might imply, it's nine different colored dragons, with a yellow one in the middle facing front. It's a very long wall, probably at least forty feet. In the same area is the chambers of some of the concubines. Apparently there are a lot of grisly stories of concubines being murdered or assassinated in gruesome ways.

We ate lunch in the palace restaurant, which is actually very affordable--about five dollars per person. The main gates are all decorated with lions. In some areas, the male lion has a paw on what is supposed to be the earth, symbolizing the Emperor's power. The female lion has her paw on a baby lion, symbolizing the Emperor's fertility. I actually think the Forbidden City may be best explored in two days instead of one, so you can absorb all of the history that has happened within those walls. There are so many details--the main doors have nine rows and nine columns of knobs because of the power associated with the number nine. In some gates, there are paintings on the ceiling of lotuses, though mostly dragons. There are stone fences where each post is intricately carved, and one area where there are probably fifty dragon heads carved along the steps.

I'm glad that my friend brought a selfie stick, so we could take some photos together. Surprisingly, we only say one or two other people with this stick. I would have thought way more people in China would have them.

When we tried to exit, exhausted after all of the walking, we were redirected. A man asked us if we needed a ride, and warned us that it would take 40 minutes to walk out otherwise. My guidebook however, warned me against accepting transportation because it was often a scam. "There's not way it's forty minutes," I said to my tired friend, "Iet's just walk it." As we entered a long walkway lined with weeping willows and a river, which grew to be far longer than we expected after a bend or two in the road, we realized that it probably really would be forty minutes. The walk however, took us through part of the old alleys, where there were a lot of vendors.

We bought some watermelon, and the woman selling it said, "You are both so pretty, where are you from?"

I told her my friend was Korean, and that my parents were from Taiwan.

"Oh," she said, "So we are all the same people."

Not really, I thought, since I'm actually American, but I guess she meant it in the sense that Taiwan is part of China. The more I know about China though, the more I think that Taiwan really is extremely different. Of course, in terms of traditional culture they are similar, but in terms of modern culture, it is quite divergent. As an American, both Taiwan and China are foreign to me, but I am somewhat at home in Taiwan--how people communicate, how they behave in public, are things that I am accustomed to because I was raised by parents who grew up in Taiwan. I haven't quite put my finger on what it is yet, but I find those things are different in Beijing. Maybe in Fujian, where a lot of Taiwanese immigrated from, would be more similar.

We managed to get back to the subway station, and went to a massage parlor. Our Chinese friend gave us a groupon (apparently they have groupon in China too!) for two massages, which was really nice after such a long day.